AI compliance platform for youth sports: market expansion - ON-1251

Project type: Innovation
Desired discipline(s): Computer science, Mathematical Sciences, Business, Social Sciences & Humanities, Law
Company: Next Play AI Inc.
Project Length: Flexible
Preferred start date: As soon as possible.
Language requirement: English
Location(s): Oakville, ON, Canada
No. of positions: 2
Desired education level: Undergraduate/BachelorMaster's
Open to applicants registered at an institution outside of Canada: No

About the company: 

Next Play AI Inc. (SportsX), an Ontario startup, provides an AI-native compliance system for youth sports organizations. It automates jurisdiction-specific obligations—such as Rowan’s Law, abuse screening, privacy, and insurer rules—replacing error-prone paper and spreadsheets with auditable workflows: counsel-reviewed templates, e-signatures, portable verification records, injury tracking, and minor data protection. Partners include Road Tennis Canada and TDSB; pilots involve provincial and national sport organizations. A member of Innovation Factory and TechPlace, SportsX is pursuing SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 while scaling across Canada and the U.S.

Describe the project.: 

Youth sports organizations must comply with complex, overlapping obligations (Rowan's Law concussion protocols, UCCMS safe-sport requirements, privacy and consent law, insurer rules) that differ by province, state and sport. Most administrators are volunteers without legal expertise who still rely on paper forms and spreadsheets. SportsX is an AI-native compliance evidence system of record that turns these obligations into automated, auditable workflows.
This project has two parallel workstreams (4 interns):
Market Expansion & Go-to-Market (2 interns)
• Conduct customer discovery with PSOs/NSOs, school boards, clubs and insurers in Canada and the U.S.
• Refine segmentation, pricing and channel models (association partnerships, regional coach/trainer partners).
• Build and test go-to-market playbooks, sales materials and digital campaigns; track conversion metrics.
Methodology: interviews and surveys, competitive analysis, pricing experiments, A/B testing, CRM funnel analytics.
Expected outcomes: a validated AI workflow-generation feature integrated into the SportsX platform, and a data-driven North American go-to-market strategy. Interns work directly with the CEO in a fast-growing safe-sport technology startup.

Required expertise/skills: 

Market Expansion (2 interns – Business / Marketing / Communications):
• Market research, customer discovery and competitive analysis
• B2B SaaS marketing, go-to-market strategy, pricing and channel partnerships
• Content creation and digital marketing (LinkedIn, email campaigns, SEO); CRM tools such as HubSpot
• Data analysis (Excel/Google Sheets, dashboards) and strong presentation skills
• Excellent written and verbal English; French is an asset
Assets for all roles: interest in sports, youth safety or legal/regulatory technology; startup experience; self-directed and comfortable in a fast-paced small team.