Sports-wellness tech cohort adds two more Kansas City companies in time for tip off

An intensive week of programming opened Monday at ShotTracker’s headquarters in Overland Park as a small cohort of founders — including two just-added Kansas City area innovators — began an immersive new experience led by Endeavor Heartland an Keystone Innovation District.

Jabari Washington, owner of TUF Axiom in Kansas City, and Michael J. Kirwan, founder and CEO of Leawood-based DSheet, join a roster of five previously announced companies taking part in the inaugural Sports & Wellness Tech Scale Up pilot. The group includes founders working across sports technology, athlete performance, wellness, fan engagement and venue innovation.

Kansas City members of the Sports & Wellness Tech Scale Up pilot cohort: Jonathan Ruiz, EB Systems; Craig Mason, Myndset; and Tony Caudill, Duesy; not pictured: Michael J. Kirwan, DSheet; and Jabari Washington, TUF Axiom

Other participating Kansas City startups include EB Systems, Myndset, and Duesy,

The cohort — which has no equity requirement or program fees — opened Monday at ShotTracker, the AI-drivens sports analytics company led by veteran founder Davyeon Ross, with Keystone leading programming coordination and execution.

Throughout the week, participating companies are expected to tour a slew of regional sports and wellness facilities — including KU Athletics, Panasonic Connect, the KC Diamonds, and Bluhawk — as well as attend Thursday’s MidxMidwest summit.

A demo day for the cohort is planned for 5 p.m. Thursday at the College Basketball Experience near T-Mobile Center, where participating founders will showcase their companies, share their visions for growth and connect with investors, industry leaders and members of the regional entrepreneurial community.

“Kansas City has a strong entrepreneurial community and a growing sports ecosystem, and we’re excited to help these companies build meaningful relationships, explore new partnerships and create opportunities for long-term growth,” said Craig Moore, senior manager of entrepreneur experience at Endeavor Heartland.

The full list of companies participant in the new cohort include:

• TUF Axiom (Jabari Washington), Kansas City, Missouri — An athlete readiness platform that turns wearable and coach data into real-time training decisions, so coaches, athletes, and parents know exactly when to push for peak performance and when to recover to stay injury-free.
• DSheet (Michael J. Kirwan), Leawood, Kansas — Helps users of DSheet’s Thoughtful Intelligence platform, DTi, turn goals into small, deliberate actions, with context-aware prompts designed to support follow-through in daily life, training, and wellness.
• EB Systems (Jonathan Ruiz, Brendan Waters), Kansas City, Missouri — Develops Bluetooth-based technology that measures crowd movement, attendance and engagement at major events and public spaces. Its technology has been used at marathons, sporting events and brand activations, helping organizers better understand visitor behavior, improve operations and measure event performance.
• Myndset (Craig Mason), Kansas City, Missouri — An AI-powered mental performance coaching platform that helps athletes and other high performers build confidence, resilience and focus under pressure. Through short, daily training exercises and personalized coaching, the app helps users strengthen their mental skills and respond more effectively in high-stakes situations.
• Duesy (Tony Caudill), Kansas City, Missouri — An AI-powered platform designed to simplify the business of youth sports tournaments. By combining digital ticketing, attendance data and operational tools, Duesy helps tournament organizers manage events more efficiently, identify new revenue opportunities and create a better experience for participating teams and families.
• Ballin AI (Nyla Pollard), Tulsa, Oklahoma — Uses artificial intelligence and basketball performance data to improve how athletes are evaluated, recruited and developed. Built by former Division I basketball players, the platform provides coaches with scouting reports, recruiting insights and player evaluations while helping athletes better understand their strengths and identify opportunities to advance their careers.
• WVN (James Chester), Nashville, Tennessee — Uses artificial intelligence and real-time data to measure how people interact with live experiences, from sporting events and brand activations to entertainment venues. Its platform helps organizations understand audience engagement, evaluate sponsorship performance and make more informed decisions about their events.

The partnership between Endeavor Heartland and Keystone Community Corporation gives participating founders a chance to build relationships with Kansas City’s sports and business leaders, explore new opportunities and gain a foothold in the region’s growing sports and wellness industry, organizers said.

Following the cohort, a special, on-the-road version of Keystone Sessions is planned for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18 in the Muehlebach Suite at Boulevard Brewing Company.

The centerpiece of the three-hour event is a panel discussion moderated by Kevin McGinnis, CEO of Keystone, featuring voices from across the region’s sports, tech, and innovation landscape, with organizations like Panasonic Connect, KU Athletics, KC Diamonds, and Endeavor Heartland in the room, organizers said.

Endeavor Heartland is part of Bentonville, Arkansas-based Endeavor, a global organization that supports high-impact entrepreneurs in scaling their businesses and driving economic growth. The local office — headquartered from within Keystone CoLab in Kansas City — serves founders across Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, providing mentorship, strategic connections, and access to capital.