00:22 Hey, welcome back. We are so excited to have you here because today we have Charlie. And Charlie, will you please tell us who you are and what do you do?

00:31 I'm Jose Carlos, Charlie Sarmiento. I'm an athlete and a sports entrepreneur. And I'm building my fifth startup, my first one in the United States after being a corporate executive for more than 14 years as well. 

00:50 love it. Professional athlete, corporate worker, and five-time entrepreneur. Tell us how that works. That's a lot of stuff to juggle. And you got a family.

00:58 Yeah, well, as I told you before, I have four children. And for me, it's about priorities and allocating the time and resources very smart. So that is for me what it's all about and having the discipline to commit to my valuable resource, which is time.

01:24 I love it. Time is our most valuable resource. And when you're juggling four kids, a family, and being a professional athlete, I mean, that is a lot to throw on anybody. But you look great. You're in Austin right now, but where are you from? And tell us about how your first four businesses kind of led you into where you're at right now.

01:46 So I'm originally born and raised in Guatemala, back in Central America. I'm also Italian for my mother's side. And so yeah, these startups, three of them before this new one that I'm creating are in the sports space as well. And one of them is not. I exit the four of them besides this one, this new one. Two of them I partially exited and I scaled it. I created from scratch. I'm a creator and a visionary. I love to, I'm a big problem solver. I love to solve the problems that I have faced in my life. And I'm good at creating from scratch and executing from scratch. And then the scaling up, I always said that I have a scale, but in a certain level, but I think for me, scaling is not only the amount of revenue that you have because growing something from zero to it requires a lot of energy as well.

03:02 It takes a lot of energy and clearly you're a high energy guy. You came from very high levels of baseball into soccer, into ultra marathon running. I mean, you're kind of a junkie.

03:15 Yeah, well, I always said that I love to compete with myself and always try to overcome every obstacle and embrace it and learn from those experience. For me, sports has been very, I am very grateful. I have reinvented through sports. I was very, I hit the black hole a long time ago. My dad passed away, as I mentioned you when I was 14, I just recovered from that years after. And that is what sports for me is this, you know, it's all this energy that helps me to grow spiritually connected and always, you know, having these mindsets to adapt to the situations that some of them we can control, some of them we cannot. So that is what sports also bring to me.

04:17 I love it. Yeah, you know, sports and exerting your energy and really utilizing your body, it does tap us into the more powerful resources within us, which is, as you mentioned, our spirits, tying and connecting our spirits to other activities. It gives us that strength, especially in the family forefront. But tell us about your ability to transition your energy into not only these ventures, but coming to America. You're in an accelerator program with your business. What is this business all about? What are you doing with this business right now?

04:53 So yeah, so basically, all my career and specifically one event when I was a soccer player, I was hired by a D1 college in the United States. By that time, I didn't have the resources to pay for the gap of the partial scholarship that I received. And I always got very curious about how to solve that problem. So the last nine years as an ultra-trail runner, I have been sponsored by 14 brands that have helped me to form my sports career. So I said, okay, that's a big challenge, it's not easy. I am very grateful with God and the universe to have those contacts and to receive those blessings. So I said, you know, I have to give it back and to put that in a way that is easier for future generations and all these young athletes. And that's exactly what I'm doing. So what I did is I created a platform for young youth athletes to accelerate their career, their sports career based on performance data. So it's a VTX score is integrated by four indexes, education, social media, but more focus on social impact through social media, training and athletic performance, like competition performance. So, so that is what I created. And, uh, with that, we'll be able to promote these athletes and rank them. So, so sponsors, brands, recruiters can, uh, choose them based on a meritocratic system, because that's also something that it has been, um, that I have been learning all my life. Like, uh, for me is or always about meritocratic, right? So you can be, right now with all the NIL, I always say this, that you can be a sex symbol in social media and a terrible athlete or a great athlete and not necessarily impacting your community positively. So we incorporate some AI to also measure the sentiment of if it's positive or not. And not just only likes and followers, like you can have one follower or one million

07:26 Yeah, right. So basically what you're doing, the problem you're trying to solve, and this is really interesting for me to kind of listen to because you're coming from two team sports into an individual sport, into ultra running, which is again, for those of you who don't know, these guys are the wacky guys that go into the mountains and run 50 to 100 miles. It's amazing, like your stamina just is so admirable, but for you to jump out of a team into an individual sport and then pick up 14 sponsors, that's a pretty cool game. That's a really cool thing that you just did. Because a lot of times sponsors will sponsor a team all together, and what you've learned is the skill to go ahead and say, hey look, here's me, I will represent you, I will make you look good every time I cross that finish line, and you've been able to get those sponsors. I would imagine as a sponsor, it's hard to find those athletes. And so what you're doing is connecting the dots. Is that right? Between the athletes and the sponsors.

08:33 That's totally correct. And that's something that I want exactly to give back. And that is how I started this. And you asked it also, how does that bring me here? Like for me, I always go with the flow, with the energy, and with all these opportunities that God has been putting me. And I always try to just you know, be open to those. So for me, this is a dream coming true because when I was very young, I always want to live in the US, even before this D1 college opportunity at Jacksonville University. And I always have that dream, you know, and just, you know, I will say like I'm 41 years old, so you can do the math. So basically when I was 10, so 31 years before, I have been dreaming but never stopped chasing that dream. And I didn't know how that was going to happen. So for me, it's being open about all of these aspects.

11:13 Awesome. So this, congratulations by the way. And as we look at this experience though in getting into the accelerator program, what exactly is this doing for your ability to grow and scale the business as opposed to, having been in Guatemala still? Talk to me about like your growth potential difference here in Austin in that environment versus there.

11:40 So that's an amazing question, Todd, because you know that one of the startups, its name is Vertical Sports Performance. It's a training performance facility that I founded in 2020. So this new startup, its name is Vertical X. So actually, we are a consequence of a growing business. Just that I decided strategically to transform my business into a sports tech company and not I was for originally was all the concept of the training facilities I created myself and I was going out with a franchise model strategy to go out and sell internationally and I was very focused on US I created in Guatemala because it was cheaper to do a startup there for these purposes because a lot of equipment and investment so I said you know with COVID, that's not the way I need to, you know, tune up the boat and the wind is going that way, not this way. So I said, oh my God. So this is a growing business. So I already had in Guatemala from 2020 to 2022, we had accumulated revenue of almost 300,000. $350,000 for our markets is very interesting. And I said, okay, we are collecting this data, how I can go to another market without going to a franchise model. So I create the concept of the NASDAQ for athletes. And I won a full scholarship at Silicon Valley. And that is how the VTX score board as the NASDAQ. So even though that is a, this is an startup, it's a new startup. This is a consequence of a growing start growing company, which by the way, the training facilities I, I exit last year, I keep, I keep owning 20% because we are going to still doing the franchise eventually. And now I'm focusing on this on all on the vertical X platform. So why the It's an 8.5 million student athletes, high school and college and only 2% of them receive a full ride sports scholarship and they need $60,000 per year in average. And typically a partial scholarship is 15,000 per year. So that gap is the one that we would like to fill it up. So that's when I saw the potential to impact not 50 athletes, but millions of athletes. That's my intention. And now the best way to describe our platform is we are building the LinkedIn for athletes based on performance data.

15:13 I love it. This is interesting because you're not only gonna get sponsors, but you're also gonna get people who are interested in the social media aspect, how many followers do you have, hey, can you go wear my shirt, can you go try my energy drink, can you go do this, go do that. This is a really, really awesome connection platform. I love what you're talking about. How far along is it and where is it in the launch sequence? Like where are you at in the incubator and through this whole program.

15:44 So now that we are a portfolio company of the International Accelerator in Austin, we already did the MVP. We are onboarding athletes from Latin America right now, specifically because we still have the training facilities in Guatemala. And then for the go-to-market here, we are doing two verticals, we are doing soccer. And also we are doing endurance sports. For the soccer, we will have a very, I will say, a slower scalability progress, because we have the networking scalability there because we have to partner with different parties, training facilities, sports academies, sports retailers. we have to, et cetera. And then for endurance sports, what we are doing is we are developing for the Strava athletes. So that's the way that we will go to the market. They have a hundred million users, so hopefully we'll partner with them as well. And yeah, so that's basically the way that we, that I'm visualizing this and the scaling. We have to be prepared with the MVP. We have a very robust MVP with coding. Everything is backed up. And right now we are in that phase. We are fundraising and doing the live launching soon. We did a pre-launch of the brand and the concept, et cetera. Now that I'm gonna be in Utah, as I mentioned you doing the extreme triathlon. I will promote VTX as well with these athletes because to form a race like a triathlon is expensive. And there is a lot of people with talent, discipline that they don't do it because

17:54 They can't afford to just do it part-time, right?

17:58 So yeah, so that's what we're doing. And in parallel, I created a 5013C for non-for-profit in order to also have, even though that Vertical X is a C Corp, but also for these big brands and companies or people that wants to donate to these athletes to have a tax credit there as well to give back so everybody would. Yeah.

18:30 Almost like a scholarship program of sorts. Very cool. This is a, what a fun model. I'm really impressed with how you came up with a concept. Who you're trying to help is very clear. And there's a huge need for it out there. I know for a fact that athletes are, you know, I just was talking to a young woman the other day who was an amazing soccer player here in Utah. And, you know, when you don't get the scholarship in college, you're kind of done. Like, well, I guess I'm done, you know? And it's a hard, sad truth. And there's just not enough scholarship out there for so many great athletes. So that's really a fun thing you're doing. I love the business model.

19:18 Thank you, thank you, thank you Todd.

19:20 So what are the challenges you face? I mean, it sounds like things are going well, but I know it doesn't come easy. What are some of the things that have kind of surprised you as you, even after joining the accelerator program, that you're trying to face as you deal with the launch?

19:36 Well, yeah, it's every day you have a new challenge and that's what is amazing about it. So I never get bored. But but the biggest challenges I will tell you that first of all is coming to the US bringing my family was a big challenge. I'm very grateful to with the United States of America to give me the O1A visa that was amazing. For me it's like an award, to be honest. So I think that was a great experience.

20:14 Well, thank you for coming the right way.

20:17 Yeah, exactly. That's also, it's hard. But it's a good point because I want always to lead by example. And that's the way, you know. And when you do it properly, it will remain forever and we'll do good. So yeah, I like that. And then the second challenge, I will say, it is. I have been bootstrapping. I think I am kind of magician with money now, but it has been tough to be honest with you. But we have always food on the table and a roof to live. So I'm valuing more what I really need to live and besides going materialistic. I used to do like that when I was corporate. So, it's...

21:23 Right, right, right. Everybody does. When cash flow is there, it's easy to get materialistic, but when you're really trying to hunker down a bootstrap of business, you start to understand what things really matter.

21:34 No. Yeah, I agree with you. So that has been the second challenge because Bootstrapping since 2021 due to the sale, did the exit, selling some toxic assets in Guatemala, selling and other stuff. So it has been a journey to be honest with you, but valuing every day from a different perspective. And third challenge, I will say finding the right people. That has been a challenge and I am a very energetic guy. So I feel a lot. I'm a very hard guy. People think people always will tag me as a stubborn and arrogant, but because I try to go my way and that's how I am. But for me, that connection is very important. So right now that we are cashless and I created this equity incentive plan for key roles, not for everybody. So I allocated 15% of dry powder in that equity and the plan. And I brought some people that when you see that they are not paying, but they are really into the mission committed. I love that. Like that's for me, like when I said, and that's for me. So that was a big challenge, but I solve it. So we have a good advisory board as well here in the States with good people senior people and then some also key roles. I'm not a technical guy, so I always say this joke that I'm not technical, I'm a physical guy.

23:12 Well, you need that, you know, to lead a sports entrepreneurship type of business, you need to be an athlete and you need to be focused on your people, which are other athletes. And so I don't think that's a hinderman at all. I think that's a big compliment to your business. Now, who in your circle though, has been that special influence that you could say, man, if it weren't for this guy, I don't think I would have made it to this point. Is there somebody who you want to give a shout out to?

23:40 Yeah, I have a lot of people, to be honest with you, but I will say two, one is alive and one is not. So I will start with the one who's in the sky, is my dad. I think he's passed away, just, you know, I receive all this divine energy and I cannot imagine. So, He's my strength and it fulfilled me a lot. And I know that I'm connected with him and just after he passed away, it gave me the courage that I need to become the man that I am today.

24:29 I totally acknowledge that, yep, I believe with you.

24:34 Thank you. And then secondly, my wife, I say that, I think she married with this guy, it's not easy.

24:44 Yes, every entrepreneur's wife is an amazing woman, in my opinion.

24:51 So I will say that it's not easy. I am a very, I like to take risks. And I know that for her it has not been easy. And so I will say that two persons are, yeah. So, yeah.

25:12 That's great shout out. I love it. I love it. Well, this has been a fantastic conversation and I appreciate you being here today to share it with us. I know that for those listening, there's a lot of challenges that go into building and executing not only launch, but the growth of your business. And Cal, Charlie, thank you so much for taking the time to share this story with us. Glad you're with us and I cannot wait to hear where you're at in six months and in a year and in three years because I have a feeling that this is a very high demand product you're launching into and we're gonna be tracking it. So thanks so much for taking the time to be here.

25:53 Yeah. Thank you, Todd. I appreciate your time. I just want to leave you with this last sentence, if you allow me, but I resonate a lot with the growth and the scaling. And also because when you, it's not only the business, as I mentioned you at the beginning. So for everybody that is listening to us and because of your leadership, it's also scaling as a human being, you know? So when you are able to scale and learn from others and be open and vulnerable to give back what you have learned, you will receive a lot of satisfaction that you can never expect to receive. So that is something that I just want to share and I want to say thank you to you and also the person who recruited Casey. She did an amazing job. I didn't want to leave her out of this because she, just for you to know, she has a star. She has a star. So very well for you, amazing, amazing the team that you have built. So I will be there, Todd, for anything that I can serve to you and yours.

27:15 Wonderful. Thank you so much. I appreciate that and I appreciate everyone listening. And of course, Casey, thanks for all that you do to help us facilitate this podcast. So Charlie, thanks again and the rest of you will catch you on the next episode of the Growth and Scaling Podcast. We'll see you then.

27:32 See you, Todd. Thank you so much.