White Sox Tech Startup Silver Chalice Emerges From Stealth Mode
Paul Newman took out ads apologizing for being in The Silver Chalice. Hockey teams spend millions hoping to lift one. But the Chicago White Sox are taking the term in a new direction: Silver Chalice Ventures, a new unit created earlier this year to expand revenue possibilities beyond baseball. With offices in Chicago and Silver Chalice stayed under the radar from its January start until this week and the launch of BullsTV, a digital network Silver Chalice New Media helped develop for the Chicago Bulls. White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf also owns the Bulls but the NBA team isn’t the company’s only client. Silver Chalice also developed a mobile suite for XOS Technologies and the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and works with mSpot and video startup Mycontent.com. The unit also plans to invest in other business, according to the Sports Business Journal. CEO Brooks Boyer told SBJ: “Consulting work is great, and it’s part of the strategy, but we’re definitely about building successful long-term businesses and, where appropriate, taking part in that on an equity level.”
Boyer, also the White Sox chief marketing officer, is the only employee who works for both; Jason Coyle, former president of Intersport’s digital media division, is COO, with former Sprint (NYSE: S) wireless exec John Burris as president. The seven-person operation has offices in Chicago, and in Denver, where Burris is based. And the name? As SBJ explains, that comes from a Rick Telander column in the Chicago Sun-Times describing the qualities a new White Sox marketing exec would need: “full of pep, inspired and ready to turn 10 pounds of steel wool into a silver chalice.” That’s when Boyer took the job. More from Reuters, Sun-Times.
Posted In: Entertainment, Sports, Mobile, silver chalice ventures, white sox
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