Co-Founder & CEO @ Ruley, the E-Referee | Start Up Business Expert | Entrepreneur

After 25 years building successful companies I found myself at a crossroads. I had built companies that helped people and families. I was proud of that legacy, I knew it was time for a new chapter.

In my early 50s, I sold my third company just a year behind schedule from a personal goal I set at 34. 

During COVID, I had the space to explore ideas that truly energized me. I enrolled in a six-month coding bootcamp to learn Python and deepen my understanding of the technologies shaping our future.

Now I’m the Co-Founder of Ruley, an AI powered smart sports E-Referee API  designed to help federations, sports media and consumer brands gain fans, players and spectators by being the go to venues for sports rules and insights.

My personal mission is to fuse decades of my experience and strategic thinking with modern tech to bring people together through playing sports and watching sports.  By working with these existing sports entities we can grow sports and all the good that comes with them.

At the heart of my work is this belief: we all deserve unbiased, instant information, and we all deserve to enjoy life like we did as kids. 

These ideas aren’t mutually exclusive. With the right tools, we can help provide knowledge in unique ways and inject more joy into everyday life.

Explore Ruley and our API rollout (and more) for sports:
🌐 ruley.ai

📸 Instagram: @ruley_ereferee
🎥 YouTube: @ruleythee-referee
📘 Facebook: @ruleytheereferee

🎾 Just Ruley it!

Cassandra Toroian

First time at the #PGAShow, and yes—I'm sure Tracy Thomas and I will be in the small minority of women attendees as is standard practice at most conferences we attend.

As an introverted entrepreneur, I’m embracing the challenge and bringing my best extrovert game face.

I'm excited because it will be an opportunity to interact with many other #golftech entrepreneurs and golf consumer brands and network for #ruley.

For the Volleybird Athletic Lifestyle team it will be an opportunity to meet and network with racquet sports brands and #hospitality companies that focus on #tennis and #padel who care about being eco-friendly and more #sustainable. 

So...it would really help me out if some of these folks would hit me up before we get there - because I am eager to meet up in person! Assuming you will be attending Teemu Ruuska Kira Peterson Jolyn de Boer Evan Roosevelt Tyler Trout or any other folks that are part of the #profluence community involved in the golf industry!

Please reach out via DM so we can plan a couple of minutes! 😊

Most tennis clubs underestimate how expensive “cheap” tennis balls really are.


The cost isn’t just on the invoice. 

It’s in their reputational cost by not being a leader in the tennis business.

It’s in the the cost to the air their players breathe when out on the court.

It’s the cost of the chemical waste from all those balls going into the landfills.

I’ve spent years as part of sports
organizations, and one business element is
clear. Unfortunately.

Sustainability conversations
stall the moment the cost shows up.

Everyone assumes the environmentally
responsible option must be more expensive.

After all, if all else is equal, we are trained to think sustainable products are always more expensive.

Renewaball | B Corp certified  saw this.

And the decided to make the BEST #tennis and #padel balls available.

That meant the ball had to meet a list of criteria - including wears better, lasts longer, and approved by international federations like International Tennis Federation and International Padel Federation. 

And, by the way,  that also meant making the ball a circular 100% recycled ball.

Now we’re their exclusive U.S. partner!
 
The organizations that win long-term
are the ones willing to question
what “cost” really means.

What “best” really means.

The rest keep throwing balls
away and calling it normal.

If your #tennis or #padel club
or academy, or #luxuryresort wants to be one of the first in the U.S. to be part of the next phase of tennis and padel sustainability, you need to get in touch with Volleybird Athletic Lifestyle the exclusive U.S. distributors for Renewaball.

Supplies are limited.

You’ll need to show your organization is truly concerned with sustainability.

I’ll point you to the right people.


#sports #sustainability #countryclubs #racquetsports #environment #tennis #padel #recycling

Continuing my outbound networking for the #pgashow next week.

I’m excited to be there with Todd Grasley helping us with outreach and networking- not just for #golf and #golftech but with #tennis #padel and #pickleball

We hear this is the biggest B2B event for those sports too! 

I’m excited to hopefully finally meet some folks from racquet clubs and facilities who may be there? Like Marcos Del Pilar - 𝗣𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗨𝗦𝗔  Padel Haus PadelBizNetwork Val Goncalves Jr, MBA, RSPA, CDORS, DCA Philippe Azar Carlos Beltran Carlos R. Gonzalez just to name a few.

If any of you are going to be there please DM me I’d love to meet you in person.

And if you’re going for #racquetclub sports and looking to meet new people please DM me as well!

Want to get a different perspective on life in the 21st century and how much technology has changed society?

Inadvertently Tracy Thomas  and I stumbled upon a way to do this and it was easy and truly eye opening.

As GenX we lived before cell phones, apps, wifi, internet, and heck, even before the microwave.

But we forgot what life was like.

So now it’s easy to go back in time.

We chose to travel back through re-watching all 8 years of the series called Melrose Place. A drama/soap opera type show in the mid 1990s.

Here’s what watching it made me realize:
▶️ Life was less complicated without all the technology 
▶️ People interacted in more human ways face to face much more often as a result 
▶️ Clothing styles really have not changed much 
▶️ People used answer machines and called people back when convenient 
▶️ Nights and weekends were actually enjoyed and considered downtime 

Bottom line - life was simpler with less technology.  

Life was lived with more life.

We can’t go back to that, it will never happen.

Particularly now with AI.

But, watching these sorts of tv programs is a good reminder the sacrifices in society we have made by embracing technology.

My hope, and what I strive for, is to harness the good part of AI and technology into a true instrument to bring back more humanity.

More human to human interaction. 

More human joy and happiness.

Not use technology as a means to create a more sterile world. 

There are ways to do this. 

We are doing it with Ruley. That’s our small part.  

Harness sports and technology to create more meaningful human interactions again.

What are you working on that tries to do that? I’m curious.

Share below if you’re willing 💥💥

This is a good little list of “red flags” that can help make the decision to pull the trigger.

My hiring litmus test is easy. 

I ask myself one question.

▶️Does this person clearly know more than I do on the subject matter of the core function of why they are being hired.

So on the backend of that, little things may start to show that are on this list.

But the thing is before pulling the trigger on a disengagement with an employee there’s a second question to answer AFTER observing what’s on this list.

That question is also a simple one:

▶️Is it a fixable behavior? 

After all, shouldn’t they be given the opportunity to step up?

I think really then it becomes a much clearer ending conversation if there’s no improvement.

These functions of being a manager are never easy.

Never pleasant.

But extremely vital to maintain a culture of excellence, respect for the company, and of course, each other.

#SaaS #startups #management #decisionmaking

Open article: Dear SaaStr: What Are Signs It's Finally Time to Move on From An Employee? by SaaStr.ai • 2 min read

Dear SaaStr: What Are Signs It's Finally Time to Move on From An Employee?

PetSmart

Senior Manager, Media Operations

A81Z, LLC

A81Z, LLC, is a minority-owned enterprise founded in 2023 in Arizona, that is dedicated to pioneering business and design solutions by leveraging cutting-edge technology. Our focus lies in fostering the fusion of technology and sustainability while offering an array of business and consumer products and services. At A81Z, our core philosophy revolves around making a positive difference that enriches the lives of all.

Owner

Hivewyre

A Senior Programmatic Media Buyer is responsible for day-to-day setup, monitoring, and optimization of mobile performance campaigns across multiple programmatic buying platforms. The buyer collaborates with all members of the programmatic team and sales organization to reach campaign CPA and KPI goals while managing the company's margin and ROI.

Deliverables:

Work with campaign stakeholders to develop a buying strategy for each campaign, including ad formats, user targeting, SSP’s, bid strategy, etc. Set-up and launch programmatic campaign buys, calculate and manage bids, win rates, and CPM goals Monitor live campaigns and adjust delivery to meet pacing goals, optimize toward CPI/CPA goals, and iterate on strategy as needed. Communicate with Third-Party Vendors to create custom audience segments and Private Marketplace Deals across Display, Mobile, Video, Audio & OTT ecosystem. Works with Ad Operations Manager to monitor and adjust campaign inventory as needed to meet client goals, as well as monitor and troubleshoot win-rates across various DSPs & exchanges.

DSP Experience:
Xandr (formerly known as AppNexus), The TradeDesk, StackAdapt, MediaMath & Amobee (TURN)

Brand/Client List Includes:
Hello Fresh, Peloton, Skims, Brooks Running, Ooni, Boll & Branch, The Real Real, JustCBD, Saatchi Art, Propper, Mitchell & Ness, Nic + Zoe, Spoonful of Comfort, Nest New York, Jelly Belly, Michael Kohrs, Design Within Reach, Special Olympics of Arizona & more....

Senior Campaign Manager

eBay

Scrum Master of a Software Development Team. Managing Sprints & Sprint Planning. Troubleshooting Real -Time Production Issues via JIRA Ticketing System. 3rd Party Creative & Ad Tag Implementation & Troubleshooting Within an Ad Serving Platform (TruEffect, MediaMind, FlashTalking, Microsoft Atlas, AdJuggler, Doubleclick & MediaPlex). Analytical Data Science. Online Advertising Platform Integration Across Multiple Ad Networks (Rubicon Project, Simplifi, AppNexus, Google Doubleclick & MediaMath).

Production Engineer

FetchBack Inc., a GSI Commerce Company

Implementation & technology specialist supporting online retargeting efforts for businesses online with budgets of $5,000/month to $100,000,000+

Implementation Manager

Foundation Account Manager

Google

Marketing Campaign Specialist Accomplishments:

Participation in a direct outsourcing contract with Google, generating over $5 million in revenue for the search engine company over the first 6 months of the contract. Manage and develop design, creation, measurement, and evaluation of Google AdWords marketing campaigns on behalf of Google and their advertisers. Responsible for the assimilation and communication of program results and facilitation of management and clients. Accountable for the continued growth and success of the Google Combustion Program. 

Also supported the Google Marketing Campaign Professionals in creating program structures, ensuring efficient operations, training, and mentoring on effective use of AdWords and Google best practices, while helping to cultivate strong client relations and program culture. 


● Created and managed Google AdWords accounts ranging in size of daily budget from $11/day - $5000/day implementing Google best practices for Search, Display, Rich Media, YouTube, Google TV, etc.

● Analyzed account data, conversion data, and Google Analytics data and implemented Google best practices for optimization in accordance with advertiser goals including ROI, CTR, etc.

● Handled all emergency and escalated campaign builds.

● Reached metrics consistently after completion of training, 3 account builds and 3 optimizations daily.

● Handled overflow of accounts from colleagues.

● Graduated Google review process at 2.5 weeks.

● Received Google AdWords Professional certification 

● Received Google AdWords Qualified Individual certification

● Platinum Award Club member

Marketing Campaign Specialist

Area 81, Inc.

Founder

Guardian Property Management

Information Technology Manager

FanGrabber Sportswear

Junior Graphic Designer

Cass Shields, Sr Manager, Media Operations at PetSmart, brings over 25 years of experience in technology, graphic & web design, and digital marketing. His vast knowledge in various digital disciplines and innovation has led to impactful roles at Tier 1 tech companies like Google and eBay, as well as start-ups.

Over the last 15 years, Cass has been an active contributor in the AdTech space, unlocking revenue opportunities in Programmatic, SEO, SEM, and most recently, Retail Media Networks. He holds an MS in Technology, a BA in Multimedia, and an AA in Graphic Design from the University of Advancing Technology, along with various certifications.

In addition to his professional achievements, Cass is a published children’s book author and a digital enthusiast whose works span many web and AI applications.

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