We had the good fortune of connecting with Sener Korkusuz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sener, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
Failure is not an option – this simple saying elegantly encapsulates the mentality it takes to be successful. As an entrepreneur, you must be dead-set on achieving success to the point of obsession, so much so that it hurts to even imagine failure. When it pains you to even think about giving up, you’re incentivized to find the possible ways to keep going (aka pivoting). To me, this is the secret to success, that you have to want it as bad as you’ve ever wanted anything in your life and then pivot around each obstacle along the way. – Sener Korkusuz CEO American 7s Football League (A7FL)

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am the co-founder and CEO of the American 7s Football League (A7FL), founded in 2014. The A7FL is a new style of tackle football played without helmets and pads that is not only extremely entertaining but safer for athletes too. The A7FL has grown to 20 teams and over 500K social media followers with 21 live games distributed via national cable TV (ELEVEN SPORTS: DirecTV, Fios, Uverse) and online (Twitch and Facebook Watch). I am also a graduate of the Leigh Steinberg Sports Agent Program and a certified contract advisor for the Canadian Football League (CFL). I graduated cum-laude from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2001 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering. Recently, my proudest accomplishment is raising investment for the A7FL through equity crowdfunding. One of the most difficult challenges in a startup is fundraising because it is difficult to locate and connect with investors who believe in your product. I am grateful we’ve now successfully raised investment from over one-hundred investors across the country who believe in our product and want to help expand the A7FL nationally for an exciting and safer game of football.

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach Mizner Park, Boca Raton Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to David Isaacs who helped co-found the UFC and is also our A7FL Advisory Board Chairman. David helped start and popularize the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) just like my partner Ryan DePaul and I created the new sport of no helmets, no pads, full contact American 7s Football. His support and belief in our mission has been vital to our success over the last year and I want to thank him for believing in the A7FL!

Website: https://www.a7fl.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/senerkorkusuz
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sener-korkusuz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/senerkorkusuz
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sener.korkusuz
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/theA7FL

Image Credits
A7FL INC