Stratigo partners with the Stockholm School of Economics to develop and validate new business models for sport

Stratigo works every day with strategy, implementation and analysis for its clients.

"By bringing research and evidence into the equation, we add another dimension for the elite sports organizations we work with." - Kaveh Sarvari, Partner & Strategic Consultant, Stratigo Sports Business

Commercial development of Swedish elite sport

Stratigo has a long background in the business of elite sport and today helps clubs, leagues and federations with their commercial development and digitalization. One of its strengths lies in understanding the different interests and priorities of stakeholders, which the company translates into insights, rights, sales, partnerships and business-driving communication.

"Swedish elite sport is built on democratic principles. That's what makes us unique, and it's one of our strengths. Elite sport in Sweden isn't commercial in the sense of being profit-driven, but it does depend on commercial revenue to keep pace with the competition. That's a fundamental difference. Swedish elite sport needs to develop its own funding models." - Kaveh Sarvari, Partner & Strategic Consultant, Stratigo Sports Business

With the help of the Stockholm School of Economics and its MSc in Business Innovation program, Stratigo will initially explore how rights holders can leverage the interest, the data and the strong brands that already exist to increase funding for Swedish elite sport.

For the Stockholm School of Economics, the partnership is an important way of connecting academia with the business world.

"Swedish elite sport carries enormous value and a level of engagement few other industries can match. Connecting research and business development to that reality is exactly the kind of collaboration we want to see, where students test academic frameworks against real-world questions and sport gains new knowledge in return." - Martin Carlsson Wall, Professor/Center Director, Center for Sports and Business, Stockholm School of Economics

Data-driven development for well-founded decisions

Stratigo places great emphasis on well-founded decisions in its day-to-day work. Organizations and their data are analyzed every day, followed by recommendations based on what is judged to be best for each client. So it's only natural to take the same approach when the company explores new concepts of its own.

"We advise our clients to invest in the analysis before they invest in the solution. We think the same way ourselves, which is why this partnership is a priority for us." - Johan Sonesson, Partner & Solutions Consultant, Stratigo Sports Business

How it works

The partnership takes place within the school's Live Project, part of the Business Creation and Development course in the MSc in Business Innovation program. The format is well proven and requires a real, ongoing challenge from the client.

A team of master's students takes on the role of external consultants, with the work running alongside their lectures and seminars. The deliverable is a report and a final presentation with strategic recommendations.

The course centers on value creation, and students use established academic frameworks to analyze how an organization delivers value and how a business model can be developed. In this case, Stratigo has set the direction and defined the questions. The team then takes over and works on the solutions.

"The strongest learning happens when students get to put theory into practice and work on real challenges. They gain a deeper understanding of what organizations are facing, while the client gets new perspectives and ideas. It's a valuable exchange for both sides." - Andreas Dahlberg, Program Manager, MSc in Business Innovation

What the first project should deliver

Stratigo hasn't asked for its concepts or models to be approved, but rather for them to be validated, developed further and made concrete.

"The most valuable deliverable we could get is one that forces us to do something differently. If the team comes back and shows us where our reasoning falls short, the partnership will have done exactly what we hoped for." - Johan Sonesson, Partner & Solutions Consultant, Stratigo Sports Business

What Stratigo brings to the table

Beyond its own material, Stratigo shares what is hardest for a student team to get hold of: grounding in reality. The company will walk the team through the industry and show what data and performance tracking look like in practice. The team will also get access to commercial leaders in Swedish elite sport, so that the analysis can be tested against people who live with these questions every day.

"We welcome academia and sport coming closer together and collaborating to develop Swedish sport. It will be interesting to follow the project, and we hope it can lead to more collaborations like this in the future." - Anna Laurell Nash OLY, Executive Director, Center for Sports and Business, Stockholm School of Economics

About the partnership

In autumn 2026, Stratigo Sports Business is taking part as a client in the Stockholm School of Economics' Live Project within the Business Creation and Development course, part of the MSc in Business Innovation program. A team of master's students is analyzing and testing development projects at Stratigo.

About Stratigo Sports Business

Stratigo is a consultancy that helps sports organizations with Digital strategy & development, Commercial growth, Data-driven marketing and Analytics, data & AI.