Bryant University’s student-athletes earn higher GPAs than the student body as a whole, and it’s that mix of smarts and competitiveness that Cole Braun ’25 hopes will drive his new social-networking app, AthLink, to success.

Designed specifically for student-athletes, the app links students from schools across the U.S. and internationally with alumni and employers. More akin to LinkedIn than Facebook, AthLink allows users to create profiles that highlight both their academic and athletic achievements — and showcase their talents for potential employers. 

“Our goal is to help every student-athlete out there find an internship and a job and to make it as easy as possible."

“Our goal is to help every student-athlete out there find an internship and a job and to make it as easy as possible,” says Braun. “We serve as a peer-to-peer social networking app for current and former collegiate student athletes, but we also offer networking with recruiters and future employers.

A free, basic version of AthLink is available for iPhone, offering social, networking, and messaging pages as well as user profiles. Paid features, which will be rolled out beginning in mid-2025, include an AI-enabled recruiting and networking tool called ORiON, advertising and job listings, and other premium features.

Open to NCAA and club athletes, the app already has thousands of subscribers and big expansion plans, says Braun, a Bryant varsity lacrosse player and Finance major who co-founded AthLink with Haverford College and University of Pennsylvania lacrosse player and computer science major Jonathan Moon, who also serves as the company’s chief technology officer.

Amelia Piercy '25, another Bryant lacrosse player, is among the early adopters of AthLink. 

“I’ve been using it for a few months now and it’s honestly been awesome,” the Finance major says. “It’s still new, but you can already feel the sense of community on there. I’ve connected with other athletes and some alums who’ve shared their career advice with me."I feel like I’m building a strong network that could definitely help me down the line,” Piercy notes. “It’s been helpful just knowing there are people out there who ‘get it’ when it comes to balancing sports and school.”

AthLink was an outgrowth of Braun’s own search for professional internships, where he had the best success connecting with recruiters who had been student-athletes themselves.

“It’s definitely a good thing to focus on student-athletes, who have to display an extreme level of discipline and focus that other athletes in the professional world will value,” says Nirbhay Kumar ‘97, who serves as a consultant for AthLink. Kumar, an independent advisor to startups and venture capital funds and the recipient of Bryant’s Nelson Gulski Service Award in 2023, draws upon his experience helping other startups structure their businesses, make connections, and raise funds in his role with AthLink. 

“AthLink gives us a space to connect with others who’ve been in our shoes, and it can help us figure out what’s next after sports."

“I do think there’s a market for this app,” he says. “I think the value will be derived when there’s enough of a community on the platform. At that point, it will be a sustainable business.”

Braun — who replies with an emphatic “yes” when asked if he wants to be the next Mark Zuckerberg — nonetheless sees LinkedIn, not Meta, as AthLink’s prime competitor. 

“This is a social networking app, not just another social app,” he stresses. 

But while LinkedIn can be a powerful networking tool, “nobody else has a social networking app specifically for athletes,” Braun points out.

Piercy agrees that the value of AthLink lies in understanding the unique challenges student-athletes face, like balancing practice, games, and academics. 

“AthLink gives us a space to connect with others who’ve been in our shoes, and it can help us figure out what’s next after sports,” she says. “It’s a place where we can share opportunities, support each other, and make that transition a little easier.”