Featured Founder: American Bocce

At Founder’s CPA, we are privileged to work with a wide spectrum of highly impressive clients. Welcome to our first generation of Featured Founder, where we are highlighting a diverse set of “Founders” who may not fit the stereotypical “Founder” mold set by Silicon Valley, but they all bring a unique solution to their respective markets.

In this week’s Featured Founder, we will be showcasing American Bocce, a sports and entertainment company dedicated to making sport leagues more portable and inclusive around the world.

If you are interested in having your company featured, please contact us to get started.

Q) What does your company do?

American Bocce Company (ABC) is a social sports and entertainment company dedicated to growing participation in the sport of bocce ball through social leagues, events, community activations, partnerships, and modern technology. By applying a passionate, start-up mentality and some modern touches, we are making the sport more portable, approachable, and inclusive across the globe. We operate dozens of leagues and events per week and are dedicated to growing communities with anywhere we can.

Q) What is your mission?

We believe in the significance of the relationship between community and sport. Our mission is to build communities and grow the sport in a symbiotic fashion.

Q) What inspired you to start the company? What is your “why”?

After building a bocce ball park on a vacant city lot in Chicago in 2014, we instantly became motivated by the community that came out to support us. We realized that the sport could have a profound positive effect on people and that it had not yet experienced the degree of mainstream success that it deserved. We got to work on correcting the issues that we thought were holding it back.

Q) What differentiates your company from your competitors?

At first glance, we are a social sports company. But our ambitions and commitment to our community really put us in a different league than our industry competitors. We are dedicated to a long term goal of bringing bocce ball to the mainstream, and in order to achieve that, we are beyond thoughtful in every decision that we make. And so the balance of our loyalty to our community and our dedication to our goals create a special atmosphere that sets us apart.

Q) What are some challenges your consumers are facing right now and how does your company help?

Companies, brands, and communities are always looking for new ways to bring people together. Whether it’s a networking event, a team builder, or just a group of friends looking for an excuse to get together once a week, we provide a social and engaging centerpiece that achieves that goal.

Q) What’s your favorite part about being an entrepreneur?

Getting to experience firsthand the positive impact that we’ve had on so many people’s lives has to take the cake.

Follow American Bocce on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Post by Curt Mastio
Jul 25, 2019 9:23:00 AM

Curt Mastio started Founder’s CPA in 2017 and currently serves as the Managing Partner of the firm. After obtaining both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in accounting from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign Curt started his career in Big Four public accounting. Shortly thereafter Curt served as the Chief Financial Officer of Storage Squad began his stint as an Adjunct Instructor at Northwestern University’s Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and has been teaching Accounting & Finance to undergraduate students for 6+ years. In his current role Curt oversees strategy, operations, and business development at Founder’s CPA. Further, Curt has experience working directly with 200+ startups and small businesses providing accounting, tax, and outsourced CFO services. His industry expertise lies in the SaaS, Blockchain, Marketplace, and Fintech industries. He has served as a key advisor working directly with startups that range from pre-revenue to companies generating over $30 million dollars a year in revenue. Lastly, he serves a key role working directly with the firm’s clients that have collectively raised over $200 million in venture capital funding to date. Curt is also an active advisor, mentor, and investor in the startup ecosystem. He has facilitated numerous workshops, webinars, and presentations to incubators and other startup-centric organizations. He is also an active mentor for Techstars in both Chicago and Iowa. Outside of his daily professional duties Curt is actively involved with Beat the Streets Chicago and was a founding member of its Young Professionals Board. His efforts in both leadership and community involvement were recognized when he was awarded the Illinois CPA Society’s Outstanding Young Professional Leadership Award in 2020. He was also a panelist at their annual conference in 2022 where he spoke about his experiences starting and operating a public accounting firm. He maintains an active Certified Public Accountant designation that he obtained in 2014. Outside of work, Curt can be found spending time with his friends & family including his dog Rufus. His hobbies include golf, boating, cooking, reading, and attending sporting events & concerts.