Start your Athlete Founder Discovery
Athlete founders game
Founder-venture fit
Athletes bring unique experiences that can be translated into a business, but knowing where to start is hard. This training camp gives you a hands-on toolkit, backed by real lessons from the successes and failures of other athlete founders, to find a business idea that fits you and that you can win at
Networking & mentorship
A unique opportunity for retired and active athletes from different sports curious about entrepreneurship to connect with each other. On top of that, you will learn from our four athlete founder mentors (Basketball, Tennis, Football, Hockey) who will share their entrepreneurial journey, each with a very different blueprint.
VIBRANT startup city
The game takes place in Ghent's Wintercircus, a hub for entrepreneurs in one of Europe's top startup cities. The perfect setting to get inspired. During the day you compete in the startup arena, and in the evening you enjoy time with founders and athletes in a vibrant medieval city.
Start your discovery here
curious about an exciting career as a founder
You've been thinking about it for months. Maybe years. That business idea, that passion project, that "what if" that keeps coming back. You push it aside because your schedule is full, because you don't know where to start, because it feels less certain than the obvious next step.
Many athletes have taken the risk and experience exciting founder careers:
- Former Pro rugby player, tired of measuring calories, invented a smart bowl that measures automatically
- An elite dancer, struggling with many shows & hot lightning in 1 day, created a deodorant to handle this
- A former pro cyclist who was really into coffee and the social side of cycling opened his own Cycling Coffee Bar
This game is where you finally start
Checklist to get started with an idea
As a participant, you will be guided through clear tasks and tools to discover a business idea and analyze its commercial potential:
Before the game
- We will guide you in finding business ideas based on your background through our unique database
During the game:
- You will assess your fit with a business idea (founder-venture fit)
- You will assess why this business idea might fail by learning from similar businesses
- You will adjust your business idea based on the previous learnings
- You will assess which co-founders would further strengthen you
- You will assess the financials of your idea (don't worry, we have tons of experience to guide you in this)
- You will build your website (we teach you the latest AI skills to make such things)
- You will define a list of customers to test with
Crucial skills for discovering business ideas you can win at
Your discovery process is not linear. Even after the game, the road will not be straight. Our aim is to give you the right toolkit to discover business ideas you can win at:
- Learn how to know if a business idea fits with your profile to know if you will be competitive
- Learn which co-founder profile will further strengthen you
- Learn how to stress test your business idea through market research
- Learn how to financially assess an idea that makes sense in such an early stage
- Learn practical skills on how to build a website with the latest AI tools
500+ athlete founders. All of them started exactly where you are now
You get access to our exclusive database on more than 500+ athletes who turned into entrepreneurs. Discover stories from other athletes out of your own sport or from completely different sports. We have analysed why they were successful but also why not. This database significantly accelerates your learning process to more quickly decide in which business idea you can be competitive.
You already use AI on a daily basis, we will show you best practices to take it to the next level
Building financial plans, doing market research, the founder Andres has been working for 10 years in this field and has translated his experience into easy to use applications you will get access to during the game.
launch and compete in a startup arena
Build together in the ultimate startup arena at Wintercircus, one of Europe's most iconic startup hubs in Ghent, where startups, investors, education all come together. Ghent is ranked by Dealroom in global top 20 for innovation density. This is the perfect place to bring together the worlds of athletes and startups.
MENTORSHIP FROM experienced athlete founders
Ann Wauters
Elite Basketball Career
Ann Wauters was the first Belgian female basketball player in the WNBA, as well as the number one pick by the New York Liberty. She had a phenomenal career in women's basketball across both Europe and the USA. After retiring following the 2021 Olympics, Ann transitioned into coaching, serving as assistant coach for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA from 2022–2023.
Athlete Founder Career
Ann Wauters is also a pioneer in Belgium when it comes to her Athlete Founder story. She began her Athlete Founder career through keynotes and workshops, has written multiple books drawing on her own experience and how it can inspire people in business, and launched Assist, a mentor matchmaking platform connecting young athletes with experienced mentors. She is now also launching an e-learning solution called Teamship, designed to help companies improve how their teams work together.
Athlete Founders Game
Ann Wauters will be our first guest athlete founder mentor on the first day of the game event. She will offer clear insights on how former elite athletes can get started on the business ventures she has pursued.
Felix Denayer
Elite Field Hockey Player
Felix Denayer is a legendary Belgian field hockey midfielder who was the captain of the Belgian Red Lions, leading the team to Olympic Silver in 2016 and Gold in 2020. Denayer retired from international hockey after the Paris 2024 Olympics, his fifth Games, capping a 17-year senior career. He still plays at Belgian club level.
Athlete Founder Career
The reason why we invited Felix to become a mentor at our event is to show a less traditional blueprint on how you can be an entrepreneur. Instead of launching a company himself, he joined as a late co-founder in an existing startup called Naked Hockey, where he was involved in the strategy, business and product development, and where there was a strong fit between Felix's profile and this venture. Next to this, he has also worked as a Chief of Staff within a thriving scale-up, which gave him a more intrapreneurial role.
Felix is a clear and inspiring example of how you can find your founder-venture fit by joining existing startup founders that match well with your profile. This will be especially interesting for athletes who are curious to become an athlete founder by joining existing founders instead of launching their own venture.
Athlete Founders Game
Felix will be our guest mentor on the second day in the morning. Felix Denayer is perhaps one of the biggest names in field hockey on a global scale. Yet, Felix also has a very inspiring story to tell on his athlete founder journey so far.
Brent Luyckx
Elite Cycling Career
Brent Luyckx was a promising road cyclist who showed early talent in the junior and U23 ranks. He competed actively from 2012 to 2015, racing primarily in Belgian and international events. As a young pro, Luyckx dealt with severe health challenges: he collapsed twice from heat exhaustion/stroke during races, and around 2015, he was diagnosed with debilitating Crohn's disease after years of misdiagnoses. It eventually led him to quit his elite career after a few years, yet this was also the start of his journey towards becoming an entrepreneur.
Athlete Founder Career
Through his own experience, he was able to manage his condition better through trial and error and to work much more effectively with data, including historical health records. He first launched 4Gold, a supplement startup together with 2 other founders, one of whom is Mathieu Van der Poel, one of the biggest names in cycling. He eventually exited 4Gold and decided to focus on Superhlth, a digital health startup that incorporates his own experience in dealing with personal health challenges.
Athlete Founders Game
Brent will be our guest athlete founder mentor on the first day of the game event. The reason we invited Brent is that his founder-venture story is extremely inspirational, to say the least.
Brent is an excellent example of an athlete founder who turned a key problem he experienced as an athlete into a business opportunity. He learned how to solve it and decided to launch a company around it. His founder-venture fit is obvious — almost every element of his story makes sense, which explains why he has been able to build such an inspiring company.
Anthony Swolfs
Elite Football Career
Anthony Swolfs is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Belgian and Dutch clubs. At 23, he decided to retire from football despite being part of the first team with a promising transfer on the horizon. He saw greater possibilities in trading and investments and chose to focus entirely on this new chapter.
Athlete Founder Career
He found myself in a world nobody had prepared him for. He left football and started a business, but he knew little about money, not taught in school, and certainly not in the locker room. He blindly trusted the wrong people. A bad accountant costed him between €50,000 and €100,000. Then he lost money in crypto, not because the system failed, but because he followed his emotions instead of my plan. From those mistakes, he founded Archer Academy. He saw that almost nobody had access to honest, complete knowledge about trading and investing. Today he manages over €20 million with Archer and has a very successful academy helping people based on what he could have used himself at 20.
Athlete Founders Game
We decided to go with Anthony as he is a clear and inspiring example of how you can also find a founder-venture fit outside of the usual domains that athletes launch companies in, which are sport, nutrition & well-being.
Anthony Swolfs will be our guest athlete founder mentor on the second day in the afternoon of the game event.
Where athletes can inspire each other from different sports
The first Athlete Founders Game unites 20 international active & retired athletes from many different sports. They will be supported by 4 mentors who are athlete founders themselves. As individuals or in team you will compete in a pitch competition for the best fit with a business idea
Get a head start on your discovery journey
Starting out as an entrepreneur or self-employed is hard, that's why many athletes don't get further than thinking about it and keep postponing it. This game is where you finally start. Three days alongside people who are on the same mission, with mentors who have done it and a database of athlete founders we have analyzed for you to learn at a much faster pace. You will be able to take your first real step with hands-on experience and the right checklist to know in which business idea you can be competitive.
bonding in a vibrant medieval city
Bonding is central to this event, together with other athletes who are on the same journey as you. Ghent is a hidden gem in Europe with many bars, restaurants, beautiful streets, and boat trips to enjoy during or after the game. This is an ideal reunion for former teammates, classmates, and rivals, or a great chance to meet new people.
Timeline Athlete founders game
Breakfast at the Wintercircus & introduction Athlete Founders Game
Interactive discussion with Ann Wauters
Challenge 1: Find Your Team based on similar interests + breaks
Lunch Break at Wintercircus
Interactive discussion with Brent Luyckx
Challenge 2: Assess your founder-venture fit with idea + breaks
Restaurant in the center & evening walk
Breakfast at Wintercircus
Interactive discussion with Felix Denayer
Challenge 3: Stress test your business ideal + breaks
Lunch & Tour in Wintercircus
Interactive Discussion with Anthony Swolfs
Challenge 4: Define strategy & co-founders + breaks
Restaurant & evening walk
Breakfast at Wintercircus
Challenge 5: Build your website + breaks
Lunch at Wintercircus
Extra time for building your website
Pitch Event with experienced founders + Winner
Closing reception with Food & Drinks in Wintercircus
APPLICATION STEPS
In case of any questions, contact us at info@athletefounders.eu
call to discuss fit
Admission Results & payment
founder profile
become an athlete founder
Apply before 30/04 and get an early bird discount.
Want to bring a teammate or refer someone? You can earn 25% of each ticket price (excl. VAT) for every person you refer, with no limit on referrals.
Early bird
This is included:
- Access 3 day business game in Wintercircus
- Access to mentors during game
- Access to database of 500+ Athlete Founders
- Breakfast, lunch, drinks during the business game
- Closing celebration with food & drinks on 05/07
- Discount link for hotel
Not included:
- Accommodation 02/07 - 05/07
- Dinner on 03/07 and 04/07
This is included:
- Access 3 day business game in Wintercircus
- Access to mentors during game
- Access to database of 100+ Athlete Founders
- Breakfast, lunch, drinks during the business game
- Closing celebration with food & drinks on 05/07
- Accommodation 02/07 - 05/07
Not included:
- Dinner on 03/07 and 04/07
Regular Price
This is included:
- Access 3 day business game in Wintercircus
- Access to mentors during game
- Access to database of 500+ Athlete Founders
- Breakfast, lunch, drinks during the business game
- Closing celebration with food & drinks on 05/07
- Discount link for hotel
Not included:
- Accommodation 02/07 - 05/07
- Dinner on 03/07 and 04/07
This is included:
- Access 3 day business game in Wintercircus
- Access to mentors during game
- Access to database of 100+ Athlete Founders
- Breakfast, lunch, drinks during the business game
- Closing celebration with food & drinks on 05/07
- Accommodation 02/07 - 05/07
Not included:
- Dinner on 03/07 and 04/07
The organisers
andres vanryckeghem
Andres has a decade of experience in top-tier consulting and startups. Startup games helped him step away from his routine and discover new business ideas. This experience and his curiosity about athlete founders motivated him to create a startup game for elite athletes. He partnered with Niklas to design an experience that resonates fully with elite athletes and would have the same benefits he experienced.
Contact: andres@athletefounders.eu
Niklas Wimberg
Niklas has been playing professional basketball for 12 years at the highest level in Germany and Europe, representing the national team. While still active, he gained entrepreneurial experience in venture capital and became managing shareholder of a basketball club. This convinced him athletes need early business exposure, which is why he joined Andres to create the first athlete business game.
Contact: niklas@athletefounders.eu
Built by people who experienced both worlds
I studied 500+ athlete founder stories to discover what athletes launch and when they are most likely to succeed. I wanted to transform these insights into something that could help elite athletes. That's where Niklas came in. He complements my profile with a deep understanding of athlete needs, network, and credibility. What united us was simple: we both believe elite athletes can be great entrepreneurs.
Frequently asked questions
Belgium, Ghent in The Wintercircus -July 03 - July 05, 2026
Fill out the form: share your background, motivation and key questions to determine your athlete founder profile.
Get a response & short call: receive an invite for a short call within 3 days, after which we determine if there is a good fit with the game event.
Confirm your spot: pay the participation fee upon acceptance. You'll pay early bird or regular price based on when you submitted the form. Payments are handled through a 3rd party event platform where you can easily request refunds or invoices.
- Athletes who signed a professional contract at the highest level in their sport
- Sport has/had a major role in your life and you dedicated a significant amount of time to it
- From any sport with a professional competition
- Athletes who already launched an idea but are still curious to discover more
- Athletes with no idea but curious to get started
- From any country — the game will be in English
Basically, every elite athlete with a strong entrepreneurial curiosity who wants to discover more.
No business experience or idea needed. This game is built to get your discovery journey started as a future founder. Through our database of 500+ athlete founder stories, hands-on guidance on our founder-venture fit framework and practical skills like building a website in Framer, you'll learn as a team how to assess and test business ideas.
Payments can be made by credit card or bank transfer. Installment options are not available. The price includes the program fee at early bird or regular price, depending on when your application was sent. You can choose with or without accommodation. Ticket prices with accommodation may change based on real-time hotel rates. All payments are processed safely through our third-party service HI Events.
We work with Yalo Hotels, a 5-minute walk from the Wintercircus. We can offer you a 10% discount, depending on room availability. Other good options nearby:
- Hotel NH Collection Ghent (12 mins walk)
- Jam Hotel (15 mins walk)
- Ghent Marriott Hotel (15 mins walk)
By train: The nearest train station (2.1-kilometer walk) is Ghent-Sint-Pieters. From the station, you can either take a taxi or public transportation such as tram 1 toward Evergem and get off at Plateaustraat to reach the Wintercircus.
By plane: The closest airport is Brussels Airport (BRU) - 56.3 kilometers from Ghent. Trains are available from the airport to Sint-Pieters station (about 1 hour and 41 minutes).
The Athlete Founder Game includes a 30-day money-back guarantee, starting from the transaction date (the day of purchase, not the day of application). Refunds will be processed within 14 days after a valid request and will be sent back to your bank account.
We have 2 types of mentors:
- former elite athletes turned entrepreneurs
- founders who worked with elite athletes as co-founders
We selectively chose 3 athlete entrepreneurs, each with a very different path, and 2 co-founders who closely worked with athletes. Together they give you the full spectrum to understand how to find your fit. This game is about surprising your mind on what is possible.
Earn a 25% referral fee (excluding VAT) on every ticket sold through your referral, based on the early bird or regular price at the time of their application. The referred person must mention your name in their application form. Referral fees are paid 30 days after we receive their payment, provided no cancellation occurs within those 30 days according to our refund policy.
You can apply alone or together with a partner. Each person needs a separate application. During the first challenge, you'll team up with other athletes around similar ideas, so don't worry if you come alone. You'll find the right partners during the game.
You'll get lifetime access to learning content on how to find your founder-venture fit, sent directly to your email. You'll also join a WhatsApp group with all participants that stays active after the game. Plus, 3 months of access to the athlete founder database for further discovery.
In partnership with
