Women Who Lead: Caroline Fitzgerald, GOALS Sports Founder
This is an extra special edition of Women Who Lead. At the 2021 Lead Summit in Denver, intern Ellie Friedlander sat down *in person* with Caroline Fitzgerald, founder and CEO of GOALS Sports. Caroline’s mission with GOALS is to show the world that it’s good business to be in the business of women’s sports. And we couldn’t agree more! Let’s dive in.
Ellie (EF): Let's get started! When did you found GOALS, and what inspired you to start it?
Caroline (CF): I started GOALS about a year ago (September 2020). It was in the summer during the pandemic, and I was really activated by a couple of things. First of all, I was so inspired by the WNBA season in the bubble. I was just really moved by everything that the players in the W did both on the court and off the court. They had such an activist season fighting for racial justice and social change, and I noticed that in the same year that they were being such activists, we also saw record growth in WNBA viewership and investment. So that really piqued my interest.
Also during the pandemic, I became really interested in the business of women’s sports. My background is in sports sponsorships and partnerships. I was going on walks a lot and I really wanted to listen to a podcast about the business of women’s sports since I was listening to podcasts more. I looked and I couldn't find one so I was like “OK, maybe I'll start a podcast.”
GOALS started with the idea of the podcast “The Business Case for Women’s Sports.” And the marketer in me was like “Caroline, you can't just start a podcast, like who's gonna listen to this podcast?” I started GOALS as an Instagram and Twitter account to build up a bit of a base and then start podcasting. So, it was really the genesis of GOALS. I wanted to just create this content that could be useful to leaders in the women’s sports industry who are looking to create a more equitable sports world. I really wanted to show but it's a good business decision to invest in women’s sports because women athletes are amazing!
So that was the genesis, and GOALS has really evolved since then. GOALS is putting out the data, the facts, the stats, the arguments, and trying to be a thought leader in the women’s sports business space. But now GOALS is also a consulting firm for sponsorships for women’s sports. A lot of women’s sports organizations, as you can imagine, are underfunded and don’t have a full staff. GOALS is working with women’s sports organization teams, leagues, just any company that is looking to bring any sponsors. I'm starting by working with a couple of teams in the National Women’s Hockey League. I'm working with the Pittsburgh Passion which is the women's tackle football team in Pittsburgh, and I have a couple of other things going on as well. I’m really trying to actually bring more investment into women’s sports. GOALS not only talks about it and tries to tell everybody that it's good business to invest in women’s sports, now we’re actually doing that work to bring in dollars for women’s sports.
EF: That’s so cool! I actually was listening to your podcast earlier this week and I listened to the first one you did with the WNBA, and I was like “I think I have to go buy myself an orange sweatshirt now.” It was so cool to listen to.
CF: It was wild. It's such an amazing story. Eb Jones, the guest who told the story, she's the woman behind the orange hoodie. I'm just so grateful to her in so many ways. One, for everything that she's done for the advancement of women’s sports, especially in the WNBA. She also really took a chance on me and was like, “yeah I'm gonna let you tell the story of the WNBA orange hoodie.” She hadn't told the story before and it's so crazy. It's such an important story so the fact that she took a chance on me, a new podcaster, and was like let's do this with GOALS. It's something I will never forget. A lesson that I learned early in GOALS is that we need to continue to support every woman in this space that's trying to make a difference, and I'll be forever grateful to EB for taking a chance on me.
EF: That's amazing. What sports did you play when you were younger, and how did those sports impact you as now a business owner of a women’s sports company?
CF: I grew up playing all sports - well, all sports except for swimming. I swam a little bit, but I was not very good. I’ve dabbled in everything. I'm one of eight kids, and both of my parents played sports. That's just like the thing we did, we always were outside playing different sports. I played a lot of baseball and softball.
I had a very defining moment playing baseball, where my sister and I were the only girls on an all-boys baseball team. My dad loves baseball and my brother was on the team and he wanted us to play baseball. There wasn't a baseball team for girls so he's like you're just gonna play with the boys. I remember this clear as day, we showed up to our first game, and we were playing a team that was all-boys because we were the only girls in the league. They were making fun of us, and they're like we're gonna crush this team because they've girls on their team. My sister and I were so mad about that, we couldn't believe it. When we took the field, I was playing pitcher’s helper. The first three people up to bat hit grounders to me, and I got all three of the boys out. That was the whole inning. And I walked off the field with such a swagger, and I was like “look at us, like we're beating you, and we've got girls on our team.” I think it was the first moment when I encountered sexism if you will. Also having that empowering feminist moment so that moving forward from there like I was like all about being a feminist from a young age. That was a defining moment.
I did go on, though my main sport was always basketball. I played basketball, l loved it. I'm very short, I was a little point guard, but continued to play through college. I had the choice of playing Division III basketball in college or playing club at a bigger school. I wanted to go to Penn State and played club basketball at Penn State. Then I went on to coach after school so I coached in high school, coached in elementary school. I played a lot of sports, but basketball’s really like the core one, which is why I am such a fan of the WNBA today.
EF: My mom always jokes around that we have one piece of equipment from every sport in our garage because we tried everything.
CF: Yeah, and how fun that you could grow up doing all these things!
EF: Ok, how do you think that running a business within women's sports has changed your perspective at all in them, or has it just grown the perspective that you've always had?
CF: Great question, so one thing that it's definitely done is made me a bigger fan of women’s sports. I came into this space because I obviously had an appreciation for women sports and women athletes. Now that I'm fully working in it and watching it and consuming it and learning about it all the time, my appreciation has grown tenfold, it's off the charts! Every day I'm just blown away by the power of women athletes to perform at the highest level in their respective sports. And that they're doing that as they overcome all of the barriers.
There's this great quote by Sue Bird, a great player in the WNBA, and I'm gonna mess up the quote, but it's something along the lines of: “Every time a woman shows up to play or work in sports, she's fighting for a place in a world that wasn't built for her.” It's so true, like the act of being a woman in sports is activism, and women in sports are like again fighting all of these battles before they can even jump in a pool or dribble a basketball. Imagine what women athletes could accomplish if those barriers weren’t there. It would be off the charts! They are already remarkable, like imagine what it would be if they didn't have those barriers and they had the same investment that men’s sports do. Just being a woman, working in this space, I just, again, have such an appreciation and that appreciation has only grown the more I work in this space.
EF: I feel the same way. Working at LEAD, I've always been into women’s sports, but now I'm like a superfan!
CF: I mean I played basketball, I love basketball, I've said four times how I love the WNBA. Being at the Summit, I have this whole new appreciation for women swimmers. I've now learned of all of the new amazing things about women swimmers but also a lot of the barriers that females who swim face. I love being in this space because I feel like I'm constantly learning. And that's a really fun place to be in because you’re never bored, you're constantly challenged. I think as athletes we love that we love the constant challenge. It's a very comfortable space for me.
EF: Yeah, was there one thing, if anything, that surprised you when you started to work in women’s sports this past year?
CF: I think I always knew about and I always could feel the gender disparities and the vast gender pay gaps that were in women’s sports. But, I am constantly shocked by how wide they are. I get wowed. Women’s sports have made so much progress over the years, and we still have a really, really long way to go until gender equality is reached in the sports world. I'm incredibly optimistic about the future. But I guess I didn't realize how vast the differences were until I started digging into the data and learning about it more, so that surprised me. That's one thing.
The other thing that shouldn't have surprised me, but I am just blown away by, the talent that we have in the women’s sports industry who are pushing the boundaries and pushing women's sports forward. They are the smartest, the most talented, the most forward-thinking, innovative leaders. The talent in this space is off the charts, like [Lead Founder] Kara Lynn Joyce. It's remarkable. I knew how talented people were, women were, especially in the women's sports space and I am just in awe. Every single day, every single time I bring a guest on the podcast I learn something new. I am inspired by a new individual. Even talking to you I'm so inspired by you right now, like you're 16 years old you're doing all this amazing work! It's just so impressive.
EF: Thank you so much!
CF: Yeah, it's amazing! I think that's really the big thing. I don't know if “surprise” is the right word but I'm just blown away by the talent in this space.
EF: That makes complete sense, and seeing female athletes - every time I see them compete or I see Kara put together a summit that’s somehow better than the last one, which I didn’t even think was possible. It’s so incredible.
CF: It's incredible.
EF: How can women and young girls jump-start their careers in sports?
CF: We talked about this a little bit before we started recording but I think just being really proactive and not waiting for opportunities to come to you. If you know you want to work in sports, start talking to women, men, other people that work in the spaces that you want to work in and build your network up because they’ll tell you the women sports community, as you've experienced, it is so welcoming and everyone is just here to help everybody else succeed and bring other people up in this space. Don't ever be afraid to reach out to somebody. Everybody is here to support.
I feel like there's this sentiment across the women’s sports industry that's like we rise by lifting others. Women supporting women. That is like felt so profoundly through this full industry. Just go for it, don't ever feel like you can't reach out to somebody. I'll give you an example, I reached out to Billie Jean King yesterday. I sent her a DM on Instagram - like Billie Jean King, who's literally a legend in women’s sports. She is the woman that pioneered the idea of equal pay for equal sports. And old me would have been like “I can't reach out to Billie Jean King,” but I was like you know what, why not. Worst case scenario she doesn’t get back to me. And she did! So who knows what’s going to come of it, but don’t ever be afraid to take that shot or reach out because we are all here to support each other.
EF: One hundred percent. You can just feel the support of the women’s sports community. Where do you hope to see women’s sports in five to ten years?
CF: The goal of GOALS is to create a more equitable sports world so I would honestly love for GOALS to not need to really exist anymore. It would be amazing to just have a people’s sports world for everybody. I think what we really want to do is close the sponsorship gaps. Currently, women's sports receive less than one percent of global sponsorship dollars. So men's sports are receiving 99% of sponsorship dollars. Women are half or should be fifty percent of all athletes. It's very frustrating. That's really the number that in five to ten years if we can see that increase at all, but hopefully significantly. That would be a really proud moment for me, for GOALS, for everyone in women’s sports. Women athletes deserve that investment, and it's just good business to invest in women’s sports.
EF: Now I have some rapid-fire questions. Just some more questions to get to know you. Who is your favorite female athlete?
CF: I have so many, that is such a hard question.
EF: You can pick a top three if you need to.
CF: Sue Bird, a point guard in the WNBA, just won an Olympic gold medal. She’s the GOAT! As a young point guard basketball player, Sue Bird is who I idolized. I would have to say Sue Bird. Yeah, Sue Bird, done!
EF: Favorite sport to watch?
CF: You know what, it might be women’s swimming. I love to watch basketball, I watch basketball a lot. But every four years when the Summer Olympics come around, I do not miss the women’s swimming events. It’s amazing. It’s so good, there is such a huge demand for it every four years. I always watch WNBA games, but women’s swimming might take the top spot, especially after these Olympics.
EF: What is your coffee order? Like your go-to?
CF: In the summer, it's just a black iced coffee or cold brew. In the winter, it's just a black hot coffee. Keeping it simple.
EF: Mantra or motto to get motivated?
CF: Good question! Something I think about really all the time, the big goal of GOALS is to create a more equitable sports world. But I love the quote, “Girls who play sports become women who lead.” I really want to help create a more equitable sports world. But, why I think that’s so important, is because I really believe in the transformative power of sports. Sports, like everybody here has experienced this, you learn the most important lessons in life.
There is a really good study a couple of years ago done by Ernst and Young that surveyed C-Suite executives, so women that hold the highest seats in businesses across the US, in what percentage of those women played sports growing up, 94% of those women played sports. There is data that proves that girls who play sports become women who lead. And I think about that all the time, like creating a more equal sports world is about so much more than the sports, it's really creating a more equitable world overall. That's something that I think about, again, like every single day and it's kind of the thing that I always come back to and why it's truly such an honor to be a part of the women’s sports community. Because that's what it is about and it's very cool.
EF: And then finally, what is your dream vacation destination?
CF: Great question, I haven’t really thought about this. You know, I've always wanted to go to Alaska. I've just always wanted to go, so maybe Alaska. I'm definitely more of a go on vacation and go hike or do activities. I'm not a beach person, I don't love being hot. I'll say Alaska.
EF: That was so much fun, thank you Caroline! We can’t wait to see where you take GOALS next.