Office Hours w/ Roger Bernardino (Venture Partner & Head of Platform at 51Ventures)
How Smart Money Moves in Sports: Investing at the Intersection of Performance, Health, and Technology
A live conversation on venture investing, the future of sports tech, and what it takes to back the next generation of performance brands.
The best investments in sports aren't just financial bets. They're bets on how people will train, recover, and live.
That line is blurring fast. Performance tech, wearables, recovery, functional nutrition - the categories that once lived on the fringes of sports are now embedded in the daily routines of elite athletes and everyday consumers alike.
For investors who understand that space, the opportunity is enormous. But navigating it takes more than capital. It takes operator experience, athlete networks, and the ability to spot which products actually change behavior versus which ones just look good on a pitch deck.
This session is a behind-the-scenes look at how that happens in practice.
What we'll cover:
How to identify breakout opportunities at the intersection of sports, health, and human performance
What separates the brands that stick from the ones that don't
How athlete and distribution networks unlock investment advantages traditional VCs miss
The rise of performance tech, wearables, and better-for-you CPG - and where the market is heading
Q&A with an investor who's backed everything from F1 to sleep tech to functional nutrition
In conversation with Arena Member:
Roger Bernardino, Partner at 51Ventures.
51Ventures invests at the intersection of sports, health, and human performance - backing technology and better-for-you CPG brands that improve how people train, recover, and live. Portfolio includes Eight Sleep, Rythm Health, Avelo Running, the F1 Aston Martin Racing Team, and It's That Simple.
Roger brings a rare combination of operator experience, deep sports relationships, and investor conviction to every bet he makes.
This session is most relevant for:
Executives and investors active or curious about sports, health, and performance markets
Founders building in sports tech, wearables, recovery, or functional consumer goods
Leaders looking to understand how smart capital is moving in this space right now
Why Arena hosts these conversations
The most valuable perspectives on where markets are heading rarely make it into a public forum.
Arena Office Hours brings those conversations into a smaller, curated setting - led by Arena Members - so you can hear how leaders are actually thinking and ask the questions you don't get to ask elsewhere.
→ Register to attend - limited capacity.
About Arena
Arena is a curated member network for leaders across sports, media, and entertainment. Through weekly curated introductions and intimate industry gatherings, Arena helps members build the relationships that lead to new partnerships, investments, and career opportunities. Led by industry insiders from the NFL, NBA, and LinkedIn, Arena is the network where the industry meets. Apply to join at arenatalent.com.