About Us

Walk-On Ventures is a capital connector built around a simple belief: the best investors bring far more than capital.

We work primarily with professional athletes and a select group of accredited investors who want access to high-quality private investment opportunities, and with founders who want investors that can offer more than just a check.

We sit at the intersection of both.

It might sound odd, but professional athletes often lack direct access to the best early-stage and private-market deals, despite being uniquely positioned to add value once they are involved. At the same time, founders are looking for strategic investors who can help drive growth beyond capital alone.

Athletes bring marketing power, distribution, credibility, and cultural influence, making them uniquely valuable partners on a cap table. The right athlete-investor can accelerate growth in ways traditional capital often cannot.

Meanwhile, many of the athletes we work with also value having a trusted circle of smart investors, operators, and experienced accredited individuals to evaluate opportunities alongside. Private investing can be difficult to navigate, and the ability to learn, compare perspectives, and invest with high-quality people matters.

That is why our broader network includes accredited investors, operators, and strategic partners who bring deep expertise, relationships, and operating leverage.

While our roots are in professional sports, we believe the strongest cap tables and the best investment decisions are built through aligned investors from multiple worlds.

We operate on a deal-by-deal model. There is no fund and no lock-up. Investors choose opportunities based on their own risk appetite, preferred check size, and areas of interest.

This gives both athletes and accredited investors the flexibility to build diversified private portfolios over time.

Our team typically sources at least one early-stage opportunity each month across venture-backed startups and select private-market investments.

Modern athletes deserve more than traditional portfolios. As Saquon Barkley has shown, early-stage and alternative investments can offer diversification, remarkable returns, and real ownership in the brands shaping the future.

And because athletes can authentically amplify the products and companies they believe in, they often create an advantage that traditional investors cannot.

Walk-On Ventures was founded by Brooks Dyroff, who understands both sides of the athlete-investor relationship and brings deep experience across private markets, having worked closely with accredited investors, qualified purchasers, founders, and operators across venture, real estate, and alternative investments.

Brooks played hockey at Boston College from 2009 to 2013, surrounded by teammates and friends who went on to long careers in the NHL. After graduating, he took a different path and moved to New York, beginning his career at J.P. Morgan and later joining Blackstone. He left Blackstone to launch Walk-On Holdings. Walk-On Holdings owns:

• The Street Sheet, a financial publication with over 120,000 subscribers

• The Street Sheet Studio, a finance-focused growth marketing agency working with legacy financial institutions like J.P. Morgan, publicly traded fintech companies like SoFi, and early-stage companies such as Augment Markets and Hadrius

• OptinIQ, a data-solutions software company that powers marketing across content, email, and paid channels

Brooks has also been an active real estate investor with a focus on workforce housing, giving him firsthand experience evaluating private-market opportunities across multiple asset classes. Brooks’ combined background in Wall Street finance, financial publishing, real estate, and growth marketing gives Walk-On Ventures a unique vantage point to:

• Identify trends early, especially in fintech, data, sports, and digital media

• Support portfolio companies with distribution, marketing, and audience growth

• Connect founders with a differentiated investor base of current and former professional athletes

Brooks was also a seed investor in Beehiiv, reflecting his ability to identify breakout companies at the earliest stages.

Walk-On Ventures invests in Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A startups, with some exposure to later-stage private companies.

Our core focus areas include fintech, proptech, sports, media, and data, but we evaluate any opportunity with strong founders, meaningful traction, and an attractive return profile.

Brooks was a recruited Walk-On at Boston College who ultimately earned a scholarship. This experience shapes the culture of the firm. You can read more below.