Episode 533: Cale Johnston, Founder & CEO of Roy

Sports Business Secrets

Today’s guest is Cale Johnston, Founder & CEO of Roy!

Cale grew up in Iowa, a state deeply embedded in Big Ten culture, which ignited his passion for college sports. He carried this enthusiasm into his own athletic career, eventually earning a scholarship to play football at the collegiate level. After graduation he transitioned seamlessly into the business world and hasn’t looked back.

During his early years in banking, Cale identified a significant market gap and launched a fintech firm that delivered innovative solutions to financial institutions. His company was acquired in 2021, and after a few years of transitioning out and contemplating his next move, Cale rediscovered his passion for college sports, which sparked the vision for his latest venture, Roy, Inc.

Today we talked about:

• Growing up playing sports in Big 10 country
• His journey of playing football at the collegiate level
• Falling into the fintech industry right out of school
• Starting, scaling and selling his own fintech firm
• The search to find fulfillment after the acquisition
• The current landscape of college sports & collectives
• All about Roy and the problems we’re solving
• How Roy changes the recruiting landscape
• NIL projected value vs true market value
• Why the current collective system is not sustainable
• Go-To-Market strategy & working with collectives
• What fans can expect from the exclusive content
• The three different workflows in Roy
• And much more!

https://www.kevintarca.com/blog

https://joinroy.com/