I'm Parul, CEO and co-founder of Arena.
I wanted to write to you directly because one of the questions we hear most is: Who's actually in Arena's network?
It’s a fair question, especially when you're considering joining something you can't fully see from the outside.
So let me pull back the curtain a little...
Arena's membership spans the full landscape of sports, media, and entertainment at industry-leading brands, leagues, teams, studios, networks, agencies, publishers, venues, and platforms.
And the people inside aren't just in the industry, they're driving it.
Here's what the room looks like:
→ 20% are VPs to C-Suite executives
→ 35% are Directors, Leads, and Heads of department
→ 70% have direct influence over revenue, partnerships, or growth
→ 90% are based in major markets — New York, LA, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Toronto and more
But numbers only tell you so much. What I'm most proud of is the kinds of introductions happening every week.
A C-suite level PR executive has gotten at least 3 quality leads from referrals made through her Arena matches. An event organizer found a business development partner to help land sponsorship deals for an upcoming festival. An Olympic athlete made over 10 new connections in her first two weeks on the platform - each leading to an additional 2-3 introductions to relevant industry folks. Arena put these people in front of each other and they turned them into career catalysts.
That's what this network was built for. Not collecting contacts or attending another generic happy hour. But building relationships with people who are actually doing the work you care about and at the level you operate at.
Every member is vetted. Every introduction is curated. And the network is intentionally built so that the quality of your connections stays high.
If you want to see what this looks like before you apply, we're hosting a live Info Session on April 30th. Our founding team will walk through how introductions work, who's in the network, and what the Spring cohort experience looks like from day one.
Or if you've already seen enough:
Applications close May 8.
— Parul Khosla, CEO & Co-Founder | Arena