Founders and Leaders Series Hosts Co-Founder of On the Radar Sports Ryan Caplan

Ryan Caplan P’26, P’31, Co-Founder of On the Radar Sports, spoke to Center for Entrepreneurship Leadership (CEL) students as part of its Founders and Leaders Series on Thursday, March 5. 

Caplan was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014, recognized for building and scaling high-growth data companies, including ColdLight Solutions, and was inducted into the Philly 100 Hall of Fame. His talk, “Recruitment Reimagined: The Intersection of Sports, Data, and Entrepreneurship,” pulled back the curtain on what life is really like as an entrepreneur, offering advice on what mindset it takes, the art of an authentic pitch, and how to navigate the market. 

Caplan explained to students that we are often taught to fear failure, but he says that, in reality, there are no losers. 

Reinforcing this narrative, Caplan told the story of a colleague who recently sold a company for $50 million. On the surface, it’s the ultimate "win." But that same founder had to shut down two companies in a row just prior. "If he had seen those first two as 'failures' and quit, he never would have reached the $50 million. They weren't losses; they were the tuition he paid to learn how to succeed," said Caplan. 

Caplan explained that every successful business boils down to three words: Make life better. "It doesn’t matter if you’re building a widget or a logistics empire," he said. "One thing sits on the dividing line of success: Does this make someone’s life easier, less stressful, and happy?"

For Caplan, the genesis of On the Radar Sports is deeply personal. When his son Dax decided he wanted to pursue collegiate athletics, Caplan found himself thrust into a process that was “confusing and filled with anxiety.” 

Sitting at many of SCH baseball games, he found a cohort of parents facing the same challenges and feeling the same stress with their own children. When looking at industry data, he saw a lack of what parents were looking for. 

Parents could spend upwards of thousands of dollars each year on club sports and recruiting experts, but have no data to show whether it is working. Designed to be easy to use for coaches, advisors, consultants, students, and parents, the platform aims to bring clarity to the student-athlete college application process. 

A key takeaway for students? Stop trying to achieve perfection. It is more important that people know their company or product and how it will affect consumers. And no matter where you are, he said, talk to those around you and learn from them. No matter the profession, ask them what the most frustrating part of their job is, and see how you can help to solve it. 

"Success isn't about having all the answers," he said. "It’s about being the person who is willing to listen to the problems and then—step by step—trying to make life just a little bit better."