Meet the former Markell staffer who helped Whistle Sports raise $28M

Brian Selander’s teenage years were unreal.

At 15, he was given the opportunity to write for a Gannett newspaper in New Jersey. A year later, a story he wrote made the cover. At 21, Democrat Bill Bradley asked Selander to help launch his presidential campaign.
Selander said he remembers the impossible hours he spent working for Bradley, the third-hand furniture in the office, and how much time the campaign team spent begging for money and eating leftover donuts. It prepared him for his future, he said. And he loved every minute of it.
Now, Selander, 39, is the executive vice president of the Whistle Sports Network, an online platform aimed at 14-to-24-year-olds. The digital curating platform — which is partnered with professional leagues and athletes of all stripes — announced last week that it raised $28 million in Series B funding. Emil Capital Partners, the U.K.’s Sky Sports and Liberty Global were among the largest investors.

A start in politics

Selander said he’s been lucky to have had such a varied life — from journalism to civil service to private sector consulting, radio hosting, grad school and now being a startup VP. He remembers a few chance encounters along the way that positioned him for his current role.
After working on Bradley’s campaign, he moved to Delaware and worked as Tom Carper’s spokesperson during his Senate race. Shortly after he began to work for Carper, the two traveled to a Democratic convention in Los Angeles, a day Selander will never forget.
“Tom Carper is a very good person. He left the convention early to be with his mother on her birthday, so he missed the final night of the convention,” Selander said. “I thought I could party or I could work. I decided to start meeting with people and I met this guy randomly. It was Jack Markell.”

Selander admittedly didn’t know who Markell was (he was then the state treasurer). Both alone at the conference, Selander decided to pal around with Markell. The two, he said, became fast friends and continued to stay in touch.
After the Carper campaign finished and he took office in 2001, Selander toyed with the idea of going to law school. (Side note: Selander was one of at least 26 Senate staffers potentially exposed to that infamous anthrax envelope in 2001, according to this Washington Post story.)
“This conversation changed my life,” Selander said. “He said, ‘Don’t go to law school, you are an entrepreneur and business person. You haven’t done it directly, but you’ve worked campaign startups with a definitive ending. You raised everything from scratch, you were selling every minute. Those are businesses.’”
Soon after his conversation with Markell in 2003, Selander became managing director of Silver Oak Solutions, a supply chain and strategic sourcing firm. In 2005, he became national director of Spend Management Solutions Practice, a global IT and business processes services provider. During his time in the private sector, he met John West, the founder and CEO of Whistle Sports.
In 2007, Selander returned to the University of Pennsylvania to pursue a master’s degree in applied psychology. During his time in school, he also co-hosted an afternoon radio program on WDEL.
When he graduated in 2008, Markell came knocking for Selander.
“I never wanted to work for him since we were friends,” Selander recalled. “He got elected and I thought I was going to move to California. He said, ‘Be my chief strategy officer.’ I said, ‘You told me I should be in the private sector.’ Things were so broken in 2008 with the budget crisis, he told me there would never be a more meaningful time to be a civil servant.”
From 2009 to 2012, Selander worked for Markell. During this time, his friend West was envisioning a plan for what would become Whistle Sports.

What is Whistle Sports?

At first, the thought was to reach young children, delivering sports news without the drama of sports-related crime, alcohol, drugs and so on. It made more sense to Selander and West to preach the gospel of positivity in sports to 14-to-24-year-olds since consumers will never age down into a category, but they will age up. Their content, Selander said, is appropriate for children of all ages.

You don’t need to be in a stadium to have millions of fans. You can do something incredible in your backyard or gym and be seen by hundreds of thousands of people.

Plus, their business became more appealing to advertisers who wanted to market and connect their brand to teens who were on the verge of making lifelong decisions about which brands to use. Advertisers, Selander said, also appreciate being part of a platform where there is no competition with alcohol or cigarette ads.
The site hosts a myriad of sports-related videos. Professional partners include Derek Jeter, Jeremy Lin, Peyton Manning and more, who all host videos on the site. Eight leagues are investors and partners, as well. More than 200 content creators all over the world are featured on the site. These happen to be athletes that can dunk a basketball like nobody’s business, juggle a soccer ball for hours on end, hit a bullseye with a target from 300 yards away and more. There are also how-to videos and videos to get viewers in shape.
“It’s a great mix of pro athletes and star talent,” Selander said. “You don’t need to be in a stadium to have millions of fans. You can do something incredible in your backyard or gym and be seen by hundreds of thousands of people.”
One of Selander’s personal favorites: Dude Perfect’s video channel.
The videos are made by a group of five guys (and a panda mascot) who make incredible shots. Here’s a recent video they shot with the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwpD-daFx8U]
Whistle Sports currently has 45 employees and offices in Manhattan, Los Angeles, Dallas and London. Selander said this year’s goal is to ramp up coverage abroad. Currently, he said, 35 percent of site views are from international users. Selander hopes to keep that trend on the up-and-up.
Selander still regularly boards the Amtrak train from Wilmington to New York City. Even though his family recently relocated out of Delaware to be closer to his wife’s psychology practice in West Chester, Pa., Delaware is still a big part of who he is. The family continues to attend school and church in Delaware.
Selander said he hopes to see more startups get off the ground in Delaware, and anticipates a stronger technology ecosystem in the years to come.
“When I think of Delaware, I think of how much potential it has to be a thriving startup community,” Selander said. “Jack Markell actually understands it. There’s not another governor out there that has lived that kind of startup life. I think we’ve got a lot of potential here.”