Rocket Youth—one of the fast-growing youth enrichment platforms that partners with local educators, coaches, and child development professionals to scale their businesses—announced that it had raised over $100 million in backing, led by sports industry veterans Maverick Carter and Daniel Sillman and partner and build-focused investment vehicle ZBS Partners.
Rocket Youth, which amassed a portfolio of over 20 businesses across 10 states and is operational nationwide, has differentiated itself by enabling business owners to run and grow their businesses more efficiently while maintaining operational independence. Due to its operator-friendly partnership model, Rocket Youth has brought on over 750 employees and expanded into five sports — basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, swimming, and gymnastics since launching in March 2024.
Carter has been LeBron James’ longtime business manager and serves as the CEO of his personal management company, LRMR Ventures. He also co-founded production company SpringHill Entertainment and multimedia platform Uninterrupted with James, which recently merged with British production company Fulwell 73. Carter will be serving as co-CEO of the combined company, Fulwell Entertainment.
Carter grew up playing football and basketball and went on to play Division I basketball. And Carter credits many of the skills and traits that have catalyzed his entrepreneurial success to what he learned on the field and court during his youth, prompting his investment in Rocket Youth.
Sillman led the round of funding along with Carter, who is the CEO of Relevent Sports, a live soccer events and media company known for marketing the media rights for global football’s top leagues and competitions across the Western Hemisphere. Known as one of the best-connected executives in the sports industry, Sillman has led media rights sales for the top European football leagues — including LaLiga, UEFA, EFL, and Bundesliga and secured about $5 billion in collective commercial value. He is credited with helping catalyze the increased interest in European football in the US.
As a student at the University of Michigan, Sillman founded the multi-family office Compass Management Group – which provided financial services and support to high-profile athletes like NBA champion Draymond Green and NFL star Brandon Graham. Later, as the Director of Business Development at private investment firm RSE Ventures, Sillman initiated the acquisition of Student Sports, a network of camps and events for elite high school athletes. He spearheaded efforts to build the business, including Area Code Baseball, a training organization for the nation’s top high school baseball players, and Elite 11 (the nation’s leading quarterback competition) into a sophisticated media property. Subsequently, he led Student Sports’ sale to Stack Sports.
Eric Rapps, Jake Sloane, and Frank Zhang launched Rocket Youth as a resource to empower partners to prioritize their passion without compromising their growth prospects or relinquishing day-to-day control of their business.
Rocket Youth specializes in providing strategic growth support in areas such as marketing, analytics, pricing optimization, and expansion through new location openings and acquisitions, all while also alleviating administrative burdens like HR, payroll, insurance, accounting, legal, tax, and compliance that often hinder small businesses. And Rocket Youth has created a unique ecosystem among its partners, enabling businesses to share learnings, best practices, and data with one another, all while maintaining their brand identity and independence.
KEY QUOTES:
“We founded Rocket Youth with a clear vision: to empower small businesses in youth sports and enrichment to achieve extraordinary growth while preserving their independence and entrepreneurial spirit. By equipping our partners with the tools, resources, and insights they need to scale, we enable them to focus on what truly matters—positively impacting the lives of children and shaping the next generation of leaders. Mav and Danny bring a wealth of industry knowledge and relationships that will immediately benefit us and our partners and we’re excited to continue this journey together.”
- Rocket Youth Co-Founder and CEO Eric Rapps
“It’s difficult to understate just how profound an impact youth sports have had on my life; so much of who I am today stems from what I learned playing basketball and football growing up. It’s incredibly exciting for me to invest in and be a partner to Rocket Youth, a platform providing similar opportunities for kids nationwide by enabling coaches and educators to focus their energy on mentoring the leaders of tomorrow.”
- Maverick Carter
