# Do you make your own clothes, too? | Plus.Fan

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/feed/285920
- Entity ID: wefunder:feed_item:285920
- Published at: 2026-03-23 18:59:44 UTC
- Updated at: 2026-03-23 19:05:36 UTC

## Author
Steve Paris

## Subject
Plus.Fan

## Content
As you know, last week Plus.Fan was one of ten featured startups at the JumpStart Ventures Trailblazer showcase. We met with multiple venture companies, angel investors and others focused on the startup ecosystem, but one interaction stood out. After waiting politely in line for several minutes, a young man stepped up with a comment that immediately caught my attention: “here’s why I would never invest in Plus.Fan.” Ted (let’s call him that) was a smart guy with deeper business acumen than I expected for someone in his mid-twenties. He liked our business model but thought that teams and leagues would choose to do this themselves (even though they have not and are not). Every business faces the classic “build, buy, or partner” decision. I saw this quite a bit in my prior life selling Enterprise SaaS analytics to large retailers. These were multi-billion-dollar businesses, but very few chose to ramp up internal capability to build their own platform. Most realized that partnering or hiring an outside specialist is often a faster, cheaper path that yields better results and allows them to focus their resources on their core business. Most sports teams (apologies to certain fan bases - you know who you are) are focused on putting the best product they can on the field. They tend to have a small front office staff, and outsource a lot – facility management, food services, even ticketing and sales. I have not encountered many (okay, any) sports teams planning to become a tech company.According to Ted, his family real estate business built their own Airbnb. They did not want anyone else to take a cut in their business. Some large teams may choose to vertically integrate. But given the choice, I think most would rather buy better players than a bigger IT team. Me? I cut my own grass but bring my car in for oil changes. We cook, but we do not raise our own chickens or grow our own vegetables. When I want a good sandwich, I am more likely to head down the street to Jimmy John's or, lately, Firehouse Subs. It is cheaper, faster, better than doing it myself. Just like Plus.Fan for most (but not all) teams.