Meet Ryan Patterson, product manager at Premier Data, a fast-growing sports technology startup that's closing the gap between elite-level analytics and grassroots sport.
Ryan's path into sport is anything but linear. From scanning groceries at Woolworths at age 15, to progressively building his university qualifications across three degrees, a Bachelor of Business that evolved into Sport Management, and then a double degree adding Sport Science once he realised data analytics was where his future lay, Ryan has consistently leaned into what excited him rather than following a predetermined plan. Alongside his studies, he represented Deakin University on study tours in India and Chicago, always looking to make the most out of every opportunity in front of him.
Over six years, he's worked his way through four distinct roles at Premier Data from casual coder to Product Manager, while simultaneously spending seven Australian Opens in the Ball Kids Ops team at Tennis Australia. Ryan has sat courtside for Grand Slam finals, worked inside Collingwood's coaches’ box, been featured in a Netflix documentary at the AO, and helped build a startup from 20 games to 250 games a week.
But his real superpower? Saying yes before he knew the answer, starting small, and staying long enough to grow into something bigger than he imagined.
Tune in to this week's episode to hear exactly how he did it!
We cover:
(3:18) - Interview starts
(5:18) - Quick-fire questions
(11:02) - How the study trip to India and Chicago added to Ryan's university experience
(15:13) - Ryan's internship with Collingwood FC
(18:22) - How Ryan landed his role in the Ball Kid Operations team at the Australian Open
(26:31) - Coolest moments from Ryan's time at the Australian Open
(28:59) - How Ryan manages his roles across the AO and Premier Data
(30:14) - What is Premier Data
(37:18) - How Ryan progressed to his current role as Product Manager
(41:47) - What does Ryan's look like on a day-to-day basis
(45:41) - How Premier Data builds partnerships with new sports
(48:50) - Challenges Ryan faced breaking into sport
(51:14) - Advice Ryan would give his younger self
(52:50) - Impact of mentors on Ryan's journey
(56:20) - How to land a job as a Sport Product Manager in the next 30 days
(59:06) - Biggest 'Pinch Me' moment in Ryan's career
(01:00:00) - What would Ryan's life look like if he didn't work in sport
(01:00:42) - What's something we might lose from sport in the next 10 years
(01:02:21) - Ryan's question for the next guest
If you liked this ep, give these a go next:
#227: How to be a Performance Analyst for Pro Tennis Players with Shane Linayage
#257: How the AFL analyse their data with Dat Visualisation Lead, Penny Privett
#288: How to be a champion data competitions coordinator with Ashleigh Newton-Spence
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Thanks for listening, much love!
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