HSM

What HSM does

HSM (Hochberg Sports Marketing), operated as Hashtag Business LLC, is a FIFA-licensed and NWSLPA-registered women's soccer agency founded by Matt Hochberg in late 2019. The firm represents professional women's soccer players across North American and European leagues—NWSL, USL Super League, Canada's Northern Super League, France's Première Ligue, and Norway's Toppserien—offering contract negotiation, free agency management, international league placement, and career guidance. It is a pure service-based business with no proprietary technology platform; the operational stack consists of a marketing website (hochbergsm.com), Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, an email newsletter platform, and unspecified CRM tools.

The business operates two intertwined revenue streams. First, athlete representation services earn commissions and fees from negotiating player contracts with clubs and leagues globally. Second, the "Off the Pitch" brand partnership facilitation business connects athletes with brand partners for endorsements, sponsored content, and social impact campaigns, with the firm reporting it has generated more than seven figures in off-field earnings for athletes across partnerships with brands including Bombas, Huggies, NOW Foods, Penny Finance, Youtech, Splash Beverage Group, Birdman Protein, Veggie Grill, Wedderspoon, and the Ocean Sewage Alliance. Commerce runs through direct outreach, referrals, website contact forms, and email, with a content marketing footprint (blog and newsletter) supporting inbound athlete and brand inquiries.

Customer segments are split between athlete clients (college players transitioning to professional, professionals playing abroad, and existing professionals seeking full-service representation) and brand-side corporate clients seeking women's sports marketing exposure. The firm is a New Jersey LLC registered as a foreign LLC in New York, founder-owned with no external investors identified, and was named by Rise of Women's Football as one of the Top 10 Women's Soccer Agencies in the US.

Name

HSM

Legal name

Hashtag Business LLC

Website

https://hochbergsm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HSM (Hochberg Sports Marketing) is a FIFA-licensed, NWSLPA-registered women's soccer agency founded by Matt Hochberg in 2019 that represents professional female athletes across NWSL, USL Super League, and European leagues through contract negotiation, free agency management, and brand partnership facilitation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Athlete Representation Services

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Athlete Talent Agencies (Contract Negotiation & Career Management) (MPAKAMAA)

Keywords

• Women's soccer agency
• Athlete representation services
• Contract negotiation agency
• Brand partnership facilitation
• Professional sports marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Athlete Representation Services: HSM earns commissions and fees from representing professional women's soccer athletes in contract negotiations with clubs and leagues globally. Services include league placement, free agency negotiation, and career management.
2. Brand Partnership Facilitation: HSM generates revenue by connecting their athlete clients with brands for endorsement deals, sponsored content, and brand campaigns. The agency has generated more than seven figures directly for athletes from off-field partnership opportunities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HSM is a FIFA-licensed women's soccer agency that represents professional women's soccer athletes on and off the pitch. On-field services include contract negotiation, free agency management, league placement across the NWSL, USL Super League, Northern Super League (Canada), Première Ligue (France), Toppserien (Norway), and Mexican leagues, plus career guidance from college-to-pro through international transfers. Off-field services secure brand partnerships, endorsement deals, social media campaigns, and social responsibility initiatives for athletes, having generated more than seven figures in off-field earnings for clients.

Product overview

HSM (Hochberg Sports Marketing) operates as a single unified service offering—FIFA-licensed and NWSLPA-registered women's soccer agency representation. The core offering consists of Soccer Representation (contract negotiation, free agency, league placement across NWSL, USL Super League, and international leagues) paired with Off the Pitch Brand Partnerships (personal brand development, brand campaign management, social media campaigns, and social responsibility initiatives). Supporting these core services are the HSM Blog (educational content and career guidance resources) and a Newsletter (industry updates and marketing communications). The company does not operate a modular software platform; instead, it delivers integrated agency services where athlete representation and brand partnership development are interconnected offerings for the same client base.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Soccer Representation Full-service athlete representation for professional women's soccer players, including contract negotiation, free agency management, league placement across the NWSL, USL Super League, Northern Super League (Canada), Première Ligue (France), Toppserien (Norway), and Mexican leagues, plus career guidance. Services span college players turning pro through established professionals seeking international transfers.
• Off the Pitch Brand Partnerships Personal brand development and brand partnership facilitation for HSM-represented athletes, including securing endorsement deals, creating social media campaigns, executing targeted brand campaigns, photoshoots, and social responsibility initiatives. Builds long-term earning power beyond playing careers.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than seven figures generated directly for athletes from off-field partnership opportunities

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• BombascoreGTM or Marketing PartnerBombas partnered with HSM athlete Paige Almendariz for a months-long social media campaign that included charitable giving - for each pair of socks sold, donations were made to sports & wellness programs.
• HuggiescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHuggies partnered with HSM athlete Arin Wright as event spokesperson, highlighting the company's initiative of donating diapers to families in need in the Chicago area.
• Veggie GrillsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerVeggie Grill partnered with HSM athlete and four-time Olympian Ali Riley for photoshoots.
• WedderspoonsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerWedderspoon partnered with HSM athlete Ali Riley for photoshoots.
• Ocean Sewage AlliancecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHSM facilitated a partnership between the Ocean Sewage Alliance and athlete Ali Riley to drive awareness about ocean pollution through the Dirty Protest campaign.
• NOW FoodscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNOW Foods has partnered with multiple HSM athletes for brand partnerships. Testimonial from Alana Horinko, Public Relations Manager, confirms ongoing collaboration.
• Penny FinancesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPenny Finance worked with HSM to build a campaign around financial wellness featuring HSM athletes, targeting women and underserved communities.
• YoutechsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerYoutech partnered with HSM for athlete influencer campaigns in the athlete influencer space.
• Splash Beverage GroupsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSplash Beverage Group partnered with HSM athletes for brand partnerships, connecting with athletes who aligned with their brand values and audience.
• Birdman ProteinsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBirdman Protein partnered with HSM athlete Erika Tymrak for brand partnership.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Excel Sports Management: Sports agency focused on athlete representation with involvement in women's soccer. Comparable as a directly competing agency negotiating contracts and brand deals, though with a broader sport mix.
• Rep 1 Sports: Sports management and athlete representation firm that works with soccer talent including women's professional players. Comparable as a direct peer in soccer-specific athlete representation.
• GSE Worldwide: Sports management and marketing agency representing athletes across multiple sports. Comparable in offering contract negotiation and endorsement sourcing to professional athletes.
• Priority Sports & Entertainment: Mid-sized sports agency representing professional athletes including soccer players. Comparable as a directly competing agency in contract negotiation and endorsement sourcing, with similar operational scale profile.

Broad incumbents

• Roc Nation Sports: Sports division of Roc Nation providing athlete representation, including women's soccer clients. Comparable as a competitor combining contract negotiation with celebrity-tier brand-partnership access.
• Wasserman: Global sports marketing and talent agency representing athletes across multiple sports, including a growing women's soccer practice. Directly comparable as an athlete-representation competitor with broader infrastructure and brand-partnership scale.
• Klutch Sports Group: Athlete representation agency owned by Rich Paul that represents high-profile clients across sports. Comparable in contract-negotiation and brand-deal facilitation, with broader sport focus than HSM.
• Creative Artists Agency (CAA): Major full-service talent and sports agency that represents elite athletes globally, including women's soccer players. Comparable as a competitor in athlete contract negotiation and brand-partnership facilitation, though operating at much larger scale across multiple sports.

Others

• Youtech (Influencer/Athlete Marketing): Influencer and athlete marketing agency that partnered with HSM on athlete influencer campaigns. Comparable as an adjacent player in athlete-brand partnership facilitation, though operating primarily on the brand-side rather than as athlete agent.

Emerging players

• Total Sports Management (TSM): Smaller athlete management firm with soccer clients. Comparable as a peer in athlete representation services and brand-deal facilitation, typically at smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Hochberg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hochbergsportsmarketing
• Instagraminstagram.com/hochbergsm
• Facebookfacebook.com/HochbergSM

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HSM