Digital Fuel Capital Announces Strategic Investment in Baseball Lifestyle 101, the Leading Content and Apparel Brand in Baseball
Digital Fuel Capital ("Digital Fuel"), an investment firm focused on leaders in e-commerce, today announced a strategic investment in Baseball Lifestyle 101, a leading brand at the intersection of baseball content, apparel, and experiences.
Built on a deep heritage in the game, Baseball Lifestyle 101 has become a destination for fans who live and breathe baseball. The Company sits at the center of content and apparel, pairing an engaged community built through authentic baseball storytelling with apparel and products designed for the way fans live the game, on and off the field. Baseball Lifestyle serves customers of all ages, from youth players and their families to lifelong fans, who are seeking to live the baseball lifestyle.
“We’ve always believed Baseball Lifestyle 101 can become much bigger than an apparel brand, and our vision is to build the defining cultural brand of baseball,” said Josh Shapiro, Founder and CEO of Baseball Lifestyle 101. “As we thought about the right partner for our next chapter, Digital Fuel stood out because they understand what makes BL101 special and share our ambition for where we can take it. Their experience scaling high growth consumer businesses will be incredibly valuable as we expand our products, content, experiences, and reach while staying true to the community that got us here.”
“We are incredibly excited to partner with Josh, Bill, and the rest of the Baseball Lifestyle 101 team to support the company’s continued growth,” said Steve Owen, Partner at Digital Fuel.“Josh and Bill have built a truly authentic brand focused on customers who seek to live the baseball lifestyle.Their singular focus on building an engaged community of fans through original content, experiences and commerce positions the businesses extraordinary well for continued growth.”
Baseball Lifestyle 101 was recently ranked #42 on the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies, placing it among the top tier of high-growth businesses nationwide.
Beyond supporting Baseball Lifestyle 101's continued growth, the partnership establishes a platform for expansion into additional sports. Baseball Lifestyle intends to pursue acquisitions of fandom-focused companies that, like Baseball Lifestyle, build deep connections with passionate fan communities through content and products.
Baseball Lifestyle 101 was advised by The Sage Group, LLC and K&L Gates.Davis Malm served as legal advisors to Digital Fuel.
About Baseball Lifestyle 101
Baseball Lifestyle 101 (“BL101”) is a baseball apparel and lifestyle brand founded in 2013 in Farmingdale, New York. What began as an Instagram account has grown into one of the largest content and apparel companies in the baseball industry, with more than 100 employees and products carried in major sporting goods retailers nationwide. BL101 designs apparel and accessories for youth and adult players and fans, built around the community that made the brand. Learn more at www.bl101.com.
About Digital Fuel Capital
Digital Fuel Capital is one of the most active private equity investors in e-commerce businesses. Digital Fuel’s investment strategy is to acquire leaders in defensible e-commerce segments and to support its portfolio companies in optimizing their businesses through a combination of internal resources in performance marketing, e-commerce and analytics, collaboration amongst portfolio companies and strategic relationships with best-in-class partners. Additional information can be found at www.digitalfuelcapital.com.