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

Luxury fashion solved resale a long time ago.

Platforms like Vinted proved that worn items can still hold value,
as long as there’s trust, authentication, and a clear marketplace.

What’s odd is how little of that exists in sport.

Sports gear is expensive. Often lightly used.
Sometimes used at elite level. And often tied to real performance history.

And yet once it’s outgrown or replaced, it usually
disappears into general resale platforms
or gets written off entirely.

There are places to sell second-hand gear,
but none that treat it as a category in its own right.

That includes high-value items. Match-worn kits.
Celebrity-used equipment. Limited runs with real demand behind them.

And it also includes everyday players too.
People upgrading clubs. Parents replacing boots.
Athletes moving on.

Fashion resale works because it’s specialised.
Sport resale hasn’t done the same.

Which is strange, given how much value is sitting
unused in garages, lockers, and kit bags.

That looks less like a behaviour problem
and more like an unbuilt market.

Does anyone out there know of a sport-gear focused resale upsale platform?

A conference company offered me the opportunity to meet with potential partners they viewed as very important to the racket sport industry.

But here's the catch:
And they wanted me to pay them a $10,000 fee.
For arranging those 20-minute meeting.

This isn't just bad form. It's bad business.

Alex Hormozi puts it best: "Give information away for free. Sell the implementation."

Business requires graciousness to be highly successful.
A willingness to help others succeed.
Because a rising tide raises all ships.

Short-sighted greed closes doors, whereas graciousness and generosity opens them.

Talking sustainability helps everyone.
How can you demand a price tag on that?
The company requesting that fee has lost my respect forever.

What do you think?

#BusinessStrategy #Leadership #Networking #Graciousness #Entrepreneurship

With the FIFA World Cup 2026™ - Canada, Mexico and the United States coming to the U.S., soccer is entering a very different phase here.

Interest is rising.
International ticket sales are strong.
The reception has been broadly positive.

But amongst many Americans there's a whisper under their breaths…

Only around 12% of Americans say they know the rules of soccer well,
despite the scale of the audience now being built around it.

Soccer is already one of the most nuanced sports to officiate and interpret.
Add a newer audience, unfamiliar terminology, and high-stakes moments,
and confusion scales quickly.

You see it reflected in viewing habits too.
Globally, women’s World Cup viewership exceeds 60%.
In the U.S., it’s closer to 16%.

That gap isn’t about accessibility. It’s about interest.
How can you be interested in something you don’t know much about?

If soccer is to grow in the U.S., rule of the sport
must become part of the infrastructure,
not an afterthought.

Ruley’s API is trained on soccer rules and edge cases with that in mind.
Not as a front-facing product, but as something leagues,
platforms, and media can rely on behind the scenes.

When interest grows faster than understanding,
That gap is where friction appears.

If you work in U.S. soccer leagues or soccer media
and want to explore how Ruley could fit into that
ecosystem, message me.

#FIFA #soccer #USSoccerLeague #USSoccerTeam

Trying a new sport usually doesn’t fail because of interest.
It fails because of uncertainty.

What equipment do you actually need?
Is it worth buying everything upfront?
Will you even use it long enough to justify the spend?

Subscription models can remove that hesitation.

They let people explore new sports without committing to full sets of gear immediately.

That’s the thinking behind Volleybird Athletic Lifestyle’s “mystery box” concept.

Not a novelty purchase, but as a structured introduction.
A way to discover equipment, apparel, and smaller essentials
without overcommitting on day one.

Alongside that, the products themselves are being designed with responsibility in mind.

Materials, fabrics, and suppliers are being chosen with longevity and
environmental impact considered from the start.

The goal is that every item included moves toward
sustainable production as the range grows.

When people can try something new without a large financial
or material commitment, participation becomes easier
and decisions become more intentional.

Discovery works best when responsibility is built into the box.

We went to the PGA Golf Shows expecting to cover a lot of turf. 
And we sure did.

But we also found a massive surprise.

There’s a new wave of golf tech.

My Co-Founder Tracy Thomas and I made incredible contacts with young companies iterating on this historic game.

The "established" sport of gold is actually the very hungry for innovation.

The entrepreneurs understand that to modernize the playing experience, you need modern infrastructure.

Players want real integration between the player, the club, and the rules of the game.

So how do you manage that? How do you merge the tradition of Golf with the speed of innovation?

You need new foundations.
And that includes the Ruley proprietary API.

Ruley is now a new layer of the golf tech stack.

Imagine a golfer getting clarity right there on the course!
About penalty strokes or options to move their ball legally.
No searching through your golf bag for a handbook.
Just playing.

The "old" sports are moving faster than we thought.

The industry is ready.

Whether it's a tech training aid, golf course reservation app, or on course tech, there's something more you can do to help your customer shave points off their game.

DM me if your golf product is interested in learning more. 


#PGAShow2026 #SportsTech #GolfInnovation #RuleyAPI #FutureOfSport #golf

Volleybird Athletic Lifestyle was featured in the New York Post last week.
 
The piece focuses on something tennis rarely questions:
how often balls are replaced,
and how little attention is paid
to their full lifecycle.
 
Renewaball approaches that problem differently.
 
Used balls are collected, broken down, and remade into balls that meet performance standards again.
 
Same role in the game. A more responsible production loop.
 
This approach was built to work within the sport, not around it.
It fits into the sport as it already operates.
The experience stays familiar.
Performance stays consistent.
 
Progress in sport often comes from revisiting everyday equipment,
rather than launching something entirely new.
 
If you’re curious how this works in practice
and why it’s gaining attention now,
The full piece is worth a read here:
 
👉 https://lnkd.in/gT39qKX5

A broken tooth shined a light on what sports (and life) is all about.

Think about it. 

The U.S. Olympic ice hockey team showed unbelievable grit and determination….and sportsmanship.

The young player who had his tooth broken wasn’t upset.

He didn’t blame anyone. 

He was not upset.

It was part of the game. It is just a battle scar.

That’s the different between champions and everyone else.

Broken ribs, torn ligaments. It’s all part of the game. 

Scars show you are battle tested. You are fearless. You can’t be scared into submission.

The Olympians’ scars are a lesson for us all.

Get up everyday. Put on your big girl pants. And fight with no fear for your win.🥇

It's official! Ruley.ai is heading to PEAK 2026 in Las Vegas. 🎉 If you’re working in SportsTech, innovation, or sport operations, this is where the industry comes together. Let’s connect. April 20–22, 2026 | Fontainebleau Las Vegas. See you there. 🏔️

Conviva

The Conviva Operational Data Platform is the first and only real-time stateful monitoring and analytics platform on the market empowering companies to perform real-time optimization of anything that impacts user experience across applications, networks, platforms, devices, access points, and more – connecting backend infrastructure performance to front-end revenue generation and everything in between.   

Unlike current observability solutions that limit their focus primarily to infrastructure performance metrics, user-centric operational analytics gives you the capability to get a true real-time lens into everything impacting your users’ experience, enabling you to monitor, manage, and optimize their interactions like never before.

More than 250 industry leaders – including CBS, CNN, DAZN, HBO Max, Hulu, Red Bull, RTL, Sky, Sling TV, TED, Turner, and Univision – rely on Conviva to drive time-critical decisions at every level of their organization, reducing customer churn, increasing viewer engagement, driving new monetization models, and growing ROI.

In 2006, Conviva’s founders sparked a revolution that defined measurement, analytics, and user experience in streaming entertainment. Today, the company continues to push the industry forward and provide the insights and context companies need to thrive in the digital world.

Director, Strategic Accounts

TOKKISPORTS LLC

Love the game on and off the court. Check us out at: https://tokkitennis.com/ or on Instagram @tokkitennis

OUR STORY

As the saying goes, “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” The result of hard work, creative collaboration and unrelenting dedication, TokkiTennis is a brand and global community we take deep pride in. 

Who says you have to be high-class or well-connected to have the heart of a champion? We here at TokkiTennis believe the sport of tennis should be for everybody, for everyone, forever and for always. So, we’re taking tennis back. Back to its origins. Back to the streets. Back to the public courts where so many greats have emerged despite (and against) all odds. 

A celebration of individuality, the uplifting support of local communities and the personal willpower to succeed no matter what, TokkiTennis is a brand reimagined. We’ve reconceptualized our offerings so that they are affordable, all-embracing, and most importantly, always FUN. Our gear is never stuffy, pretentious, or expensive. 

Embodiments of the relaxed company culture here at TokkiTennis, Emma, Henri, Ken and Stefan are tennis-loving friends you can’t help but love. These chill cuties do their duty to demonstrate our profound love for the game in a unique and playful way. They’re adventurous, inquisitive, charismatic, and adorably kawaii as can be.

Co-Founder

Tokki Catalyst

Founder, Board Member

Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association

Board Member

Founded by multi-Grand Slam Champion - Vania King. Our vision is to create opportunities, impact lives, build community, inspire innovation, organize and unite AAPI groups with one voice/direction through supporting a leadership pipeline, celebrating AAPI achievements, and through education and advocacy.

Marketing & Brand Committee

Serving Up Hope

We’re changing the lives of children around the world through tennis and education. Serving Up Hope is a 501(c)3 non profit organization on a mission to provide tennis programs for underprivileged children and support communities in sustaining and leading those programs into the future.

UC Irvine

Advisory Board Member - Customer Experience Program

ThinkAnalytics

ThinkAnalytics' flagship product is the Emmy® Award Winning and most widely deployed personalized video content discovery engine.

Recent additions to the core technology platform include a real-time analytics engine built specifically to enable OTT and pay-TV providers to more proactively manage end viewers' experiences. Viewers’ interests and behaviors are analyzed using AI and machine learning techniques empowering service providers to A/B test video content discovery, curation, search and recommendations strategies for increasing engagement via more personalized experiences.

Conviva is a venture-backed technology company addressing the challenge of real-time/mass scale video QoE analytics enabling OTT and pay-TV video service providers to make data-driven decisions for improving the quality of end users' viewing experiences.
 
Conviva's SaaS based platform currently processes billions of video streams per month and is leveraged by leading brands such as AT&T, ESPN, DISH, HBO, NBC, Sky, and Sony to proactively monitor, measure, and enhance viewer engagement across all screens and devices.

Manager, Client Services

Sr. Solutions Consultant

Solutions Consultant

Accedo.tv

Sr. Account Manager

Program Manager

Senior Project Manager

Symantec

Senior Program Manager - Consumer Online Services

Senior Account Management, Customer Success and Program Management professional with experience in Technology, Media/Entertainment (Video Streaming) and Big Data.

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Cassandra Toroian

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