Founder Spotlight: Martin, Darragh and Julian – Output Sports

First up is the founding team from Output Sports, whose groundbreaking work is transforming the future of sports performance. The trio behind Output Sports, Martin O’Reilly, Darragh Whelan and Julian Eberle first connected during their PhD research at the Insight Centre for Data Analytics, University College Dublin, and through playing sports together at the university. Their shared passion for innovation and athletics led them to develop a groundbreaking solution that simplifies performance analysis for athletes, coaches, and teams. Today, Output Sports is trusted by elite organisations worldwide, delivering actionable insights through compact, cutting-edge technology. This talented team is shaping the future of sports performance, one data point at a time.

Can you tell us the motivations behind starting Output Sports and how the founders came together?

The motivation behind Output Sports was simple: to make elite-level sports science accessible to all.

The idea was born out of a desire to democratize access to the tools traditionally reserved for elite athletes, enabling anyone—from professionals to recreational exercisers—to train smarter, recover better, and achieve their goals efficiently.

The founding team met during our PhD research at the Insight Centre for Data Analytics at University College Dublin and through playing sport together at the university.

Each of us brought complementary expertise in engineering, data science, and sports performance, bound by a shared passion for sport and innovation.

What have been the key milestones you’ve achieved since launching the product?

Launching our V1 product in February 2020, just after spinning out of UCD, and validating it with early adopters in the elite sports space.

Introducing our V2 product in Q4 2022, a major step forward with added features like athlete-specific logins and customizable workout builders, tailored to the needs of high-performance teams but also with an eye on future growth in the wellness market.

Achieving global traction: our platform is now used in over 40 countries across various sports and rehabilitation settings.

Securing partnerships with industry leaders and expanding into adjacent markets, such as physiotherapy and fitness racing, to diversify revenue streams and enhance long-term growth potential.

In 2024, our technology captured 30 million exercise repetitions globally, demonstrating widespread adoption and the immense potential of our growing dataset for future insights.

You quickly had to look beyond Ireland to grow into the elite sports space. What were the key challenges in acquiring customers internationally?

Gaining credibility in a field dominated by traditional methods required rigorous validation of our technology.

We invested heavily technology development to ensure Output met—and exceeded—the standards of established systems.

Building a global sales strategy and presence while maintaining strong customer support. Our focus on relationships allowed us to convert early clients into advocates, driving word-of-mouth growth in key regions.

Today, our paying clients include over half of the Premier League, elite U.S. teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, and NWSL, as well as Olympic medallists and internationally renowned athletes.

Elkstone backed the company at seed and subsequent stages, and you have gone on to receive recent investment from international VC investors. How will this investment now fuel you for international scaling?

The investment will fuel several key initiatives:

Expanding our U.S. operations, with a new office and dedicated team on the ground to serve the world’s largest sports market.

Accelerating R&D to keep us at the forefront of innovation in performance technology. This includes leveraging our unique dataset—such as the 30 million exercise repetitions captured in 2024—to enhance machine learning models and deliver actionable insights at scale.

Expanding into new verticals like fitness racing and general wellness, leveraging our core technology for use cases in these environments.

Building strategic partnerships with sports organizations and industry influencers to amplify our brand and secure long-term growth.

Building a world-class team to support the scaling phase is key. What have been the challenges of scaling the team?

Balancing rapid hiring with maintaining our core company culture of innovation.

Expanding internationally brought logistical and cultural challenges, but our CEO Martin O’Reilly’s move to the U.S. has been instrumental in building our presence there while maintaining alignment with our global team.

Attracting top talent in a competitive market has been eased by our strong employer brand, underpinned by our mission and commitment to impactful work in the sports tech space.

What does the future look like for Output Sports? How far can you go?

Output Sports is the future of performance tracking and optimization for anyone with an athletic or fitness goal.

Our vision is to create a seamless ecosystem where Output integrates with other platforms, providing a centralized hub for performance data and insights.

The scalability of our technology allows us to target adjacent markets, such as fitness racing & general wellness.

By continuing to innovate and adapt, we aim to not only serve elite athletes but also empower everyday individuals to achieve their full potential.

Our technology will become the go-to solution for anyone with an exercise goal, whether it’s competing at the highest levels like the Premier League, Six Nations, or the LA 2028 Olympics, or simply beating a personal best on a weekend ride.

With the insights Output provides, users will reach their goals more safely and efficiently than ever before.

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