Athletes to Careers

What Athletes to Careers does

Athletes to Careers (A2C) is a privately held U.S. career coaching and talent placement firm founded in 2005 by Howie Jacobson in San Clemente, California, originally launched as Athletes to Business and rebranded in 2015. The company operates a three-sided service model connecting former and current student-athletes with corporate employers and educational institutions. Its core products include student-athlete career coaching (resume development, interview training, job placement), a school partnership program providing transition support free of charge to universities, and corporate hiring solutions that screen, source, and place athlete candidates with enterprise employers. The underlying technology stack is not disclosed; the public-facing platform is a basic WordPress website, and service delivery is described as coach-led (live coaching, mentoring, and direct employer introductions) rather than software-mediated.

A2C generates revenue from corporate employers who pay for access to a curated pool of disciplined, work-ethic-driven athlete candidates, while providing its coaching, counseling, and placement services at no cost to athletes and schools. Its go-to-market is sales-led, with direct outreach to enterprise hiring managers and HR departments, supplemented by channel partnerships with at least eight universities (UCLA, UC San Diego, University of Arizona, Butler, Long Beach State, University of Denver, Loyola Chicago, Azusa Pacific). Named enterprise customers include Paycom Software, Avis Budget Group, and UniFirst Corporation. The company has 28 employees and a leadership team led by Founder/President Howie Jacobson, Executive Vice President Randy Blood (a former Colorado Rockies professional athlete), and Vice President of Midwest Operations John Doyle.

No external institutional funding, M&A activity, or disclosed revenue figures appear in the available data. The website has not been visibly refreshed since 2016, and the most recent dated content is from that era, indicating limited recent digital investment. A2C has reported placing over 400 athletes into careers via its senior coaching staff, but operational momentum signals beyond the 2015 rebrand are sparse.

Name

Athletes to Careers

Legal name

Athletes to Careers

Website

https://athletestocareers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Athletes to Careers is a privately held U.S. career coaching and talent placement firm that coaches student-athletes and connects them with corporate employers, monetizing enterprise hiring fees while providing services free to athletes and partner universities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Athlete Career Placement & Talent Recruitment Services

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (71141), Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Athlete Post-Career Transition & Career Placement (Broadcast, Coaching, Business) (MPAKAMAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

College Recruiting & Scholarship Advisory / Athlete Placement (HSADAEAL)

Keywords

• Athlete career placement
• Talent recruitment services
• Career coaching services
• Campus recruiting
• Corporate hiring solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

San Clemente , California

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Employer/Corporate Partner Fees: The company provides coaching, counseling, and placement services to student-athletes and schools at no cost, indicating that revenue is generated from corporate employers who pay for access to this curated talent pool of athletes in transition.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Athletes to Careers is an organization dedicated to coaching, counseling, and placing highly talented student-athletes into the corporate world. The company works in harmony with educational institutions and corporate employers to help athletes transition from the playing field to professional careers, providing resume development, interview training, mentoring, and direct employer matching. Services are delivered free of charge to athletes and schools, with revenue generated from corporate employer partners who gain access to the curated, screened athlete talent pool.

Product overview

Athletes to Careers is a career coaching and placement organization that operates as a single integrated service model connecting three constituencies: student-athletes seeking career transitions, educational institutions looking to support their athletes, and corporate employers seeking to hire athletic talent. The company provides coaching, counseling, resume development, interview training, and job placement services to athletes at no cost. Services are delivered through career coaches who screen, educate, prepare, and match athletes with corporate partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Student-Athlete Career Coaching & Placement Services Core coaching, counseling, and placement service for student-athletes transitioning from collegiate sports to professional careers. Includes resume development, interview training, mentoring, and direct matching with corporate employer partners. Provided at no cost to the athlete.
• School Partnership Program Collaborative program with colleges and universities (UCLA, UC San Diego, University of Arizona, Butler, Long Beach State, University of Denver, Loyola Chicago, Azusa Pacific) that delivers athlete career transition support through university athletic departments.
• Corporate Hiring Solutions Screening, sourcing, and placement service for corporate employers that connects companies with pre-screened, coached former student-athletes. Includes live candidate coaching, interview preparation, and talent-to-need matching. Primary revenue-generating offering, monetized through employer-paid service fees.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 400 athletes placed into careers

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• UCLAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university shown in Selected Partners section. A2C works with athletic departments to help student-athletes transition to careers.
• UC San DiegominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university shown in Selected Partners section. A2C works with athletic departments to help student-athletes transition to careers.
• University of ArizonaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university shown in Selected Partners section. A2C works with athletic departments to help student-athletes transition to careers.
• Butler UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university shown in Selected Partners section. A2C works with athletic departments to help student-athletes transition to careers.
• Long Beach State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university shown in Selected Partners section. A2C works with athletic departments to help student-athletes transition to careers.
• University of DenverminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university shown in Selected Partners section. A2C works with athletic departments to help student-athletes transition to careers.
• Loyola University ChicagominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university shown in Selected Partners section. A2C works with athletic departments to help student-athletes transition to careers.
• Azusa Pacific UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university shown in Selected Partners section. A2C works with athletic departments to help student-athletes transition to careers.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Excel Sports Management: An athlete representation agency that negotiates playing contracts and marketing deals, with adjacent services in athlete brand and career management that overlap with A2C's career transition mission.
• RiseSmart: A career transition and outplacement provider (now part of Randstad) that serves enterprise customers with broader talent mobility solutions, competing for the same corporate HR budget as A2C.
• Right Management (ManpowerGroup): A global career transition and talent development firm within ManpowerGroup, providing outplacement and coaching services to enterprise customers — a much larger, established competitor in career transition services.
• Wasserman: A major sports marketing and talent representation agency that, beyond athlete contract negotiation, increasingly provides career and brand management services to athletes, making it a broad incumbent adjacent to A2C's niche.

Others

• Vault.com: A career information and employer research platform used by job seekers (including graduates) to research employers and industries — a complementary, rather than directly competing, service to A2C's athlete placement offering.

Direct peers

• TeamWork Online: Sports-industry-specific online job board and recruiting platform, providing employers access to sports-experienced candidates — a parallel service to A2C's athlete sourcing.
• FieldLevel: An athlete-focused networking and recruiting platform that connects current and former student-athletes with career opportunities, directly competing with A2C's athlete-to-corporate placement value proposition.
• WorkInSports: A job board and career platform specifically serving the sports industry, competing for the same employer recruiting budget that A2C targets with its athlete-talent placement service.

Emerging players

• NCSA (Next College Student Athlete): The largest college athletic recruiting network, NCSA connects high school athletes with college programs and increasingly with post-collegiate opportunities, overlapping with A2C's transition-focused mission.
• Parker Dewey: A micro-internship and early-career experience platform that helps employers evaluate candidates through project-based work, partially overlapping with A2C's mission of helping athletes demonstrate skills to corporate employers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/athletes-to-careers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Athletes to Careers