About us
Our mission is to drive innovation in sport and health
We connect the UK's best sports and health tech startups with the clubs, brands and investors who need them, from a base in Cambridge, UK
Meet the team
Elliot Johnston
Founder & CEO
Elliot founded Leadout Innovation to connect sports startups with the clubs, brands and investors who need them. He played football professionally for Salford City before pivoting to triathlon, where he finished 21st in the world (AG) at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. Elliot worked for Nike, as part of the communications and marketing team, focused on how the brand reached and grew audiences across the UK market. He is completing a Masters in Entrepreneurship at Cambridge University, giving him a rare set of skills and perspectives across the sports industry.
Nika Maglaperidze
Startups Lead
Nika is a former technology executive currently studying for an MBA at Cambridge. As CFO and Deputy CEO of a technology group, he led acquisitions, transformation and growth across marketplaces, ticketing and software businesses. An amateur athlete, Nika leads Leadout’s startup pipeline, identifying startups with applications in sport, health and performance and connecting founders with partners for validation, development and growth.
Alice Sharpe
Head of Events & Athlete-in-Residence
Alice is an experienced event manager and elite cyclist, bringing together expertise in event delivery with a career competing at the highest level of international sport. She represented Ireland at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, won European and World Cup medals, and is a 2x Irish National Road Race Champion, now training toward LA 2028. Alice holds a degree in Sports Management and has delivered events from major sporting fixtures to bespoke corporate cycling events, covering the full lifecycle from bid development to on-the-ground delivery.
Our network's backgrounds span