Key facts
- NTangible's Clutch Factor assessment aims to quantify athletes' performance under pressure.
- The assessment is inspired by the Thematic Apperception Test.
- Scores range from 0 to 1000, with over 750 indicating a higher likelihood of committing to a Division I school.
- The company plans to expand the assessment to corporate settings.
- NTangible is competing at TechCrunch Disrupt's Startup Battlefield.
NTangible, a sports-tech startup, has developed a psychological assessment called the Clutch Factor designed to predict how athletes will perform under pressure. Co-founder and CEO Dan Connerty believes this tool addresses a long-standing gap in sports recruitment by quantifying mental aspects of performance, which traditional metrics like speed and strength cannot capture.
The Clutch Factor assessment is inspired by the Thematic Apperception Test, where individuals describe ambiguous images. NTangible's method analyzes the keywords, phrasing, and semantic structure of these descriptions against a neurolinguistic scoring guide created by psychologists. The resulting score, ranging from 0 to 1000, purportedly indicates an athlete's likelihood of executing in critical moments. Connerty claims an athlete scoring over 750 is twice as likely to commit to a Division I school, suggesting its utility in rankings, recruiting, NIL deals, and scholarship discussions.
However, the assessment's validity could be challenged if athletes intentionally provide answers to achieve a higher score. The reporter noted scoring 584 honestly and 802 when attempting to answer as a top recruit might. Connerty suggests that "clutch" performance is a trainable skill and that NTangible could potentially help athletes improve in weaker areas, though it is not positioned as a training platform itself. The company has also developed the NTerpret assessment for corporate use, evaluating employee responses to coaching and feedback.
NTangible currently supports testing for nine sports and aims to expand its reach to corporate settings. The company's primary business model appears to be direct sales to sports organizations and companies. NTangible is set to present its strategy at TechCrunch Disrupt's Startup Battlefield.