Rally Ventures, a leading venture capital firm focused on early-stage business technology, has announced the addition of Luke Zaientz as Operating Partner. Zaientz will work closely with the firm’s portfolio companies, offering his expertise in various critical business areas including go-to-market strategies, customer success, product prioritization, new market entry, mergers and acquisitions, and pricing/product marketing.
Luke Zaientz brings a wealth of experience to Rally Ventures, having founded, served as COO, and CEO of Reigning Champs, a student-athlete recruiting platform. Under his leadership, Reigning Champs grew to over $200 million in annual revenue and executed a highly successful inorganic growth strategy, completing and integrating 10 mergers and acquisitions. The company was eventually sold to Endeavor/IMG Academy and later to EQT for $1.2 billion.
Zaientz’s impressive resume includes co-founding and scaling RMG Networks, a developer and aggregator of place-based video networks, to its IPO with growth capital from Kleiner Perkins. He also held leadership roles at Match.com, BriteVision, i2 Technology, Ryder, and UPS. Notably, at Match.com, he launched and scaled Match.com Events, achieving 6,000 events and 500,000 attendees across major US and European metro areas within the first two years. Zaientz is an alumnus of Northeastern University and MIT.
Justin Kaufenberg, Managing Director of Rally Ventures and founder and former CEO of SportsEngine, expressed enthusiasm about Zaientz joining the team. “Luke and I have known each other for over a decade. While at SportsEngine, Reigning Champs was our closest integrated partner and our teams spent a lot of time together. Luke’s extensive experience and strategic vision will be invaluable to our portfolio companies as they navigate critical growth phases,” said Kaufenberg.
Zaientz also shared his excitement about the new role. “I’m excited to join the Rally Ventures team and contribute to the success of our portfolio companies. Rally has a stellar reputation for actively supporting entrepreneurs in the growth of their businesses, and I look forward to leveraging my experience to help these companies achieve their full potential,” he stated.
Luke Zaientz will join Rally’s team of three managing directors, four venture partners, and seven professionals. The firm also boasts a network of over 100 technology partners — executives, technologists, and luminaries — who act as an extension to the Rally Ventures team. The firm is currently investing out of Rally Fund V.
Rally Ventures continues to focus on early-stage business technology companies, investing in entrepreneurs who are either creating major new markets or transforming existing ones. With Zaientz's addition, the firm is poised to enhance its support for portfolio companies, aiming to deliver superior returns regardless of market conditions.
