Accelerate - Andy McDonald: Building Tech as a Practitioner Founder
Mon Feb 02 2026
Episode 209: In this first episode of Accelerate, host Nicola Graham is joined by our very own Andy McDonald — CEO & Co-Founder of Gameplan Performance and the voice behind Inform Performance.
Nicola’s work sits at the intersection of preventative health, human performance, and business strategy. With a background spanning advanced clinical practice, leadership roles across growth and M&A, and an Executive MBA, she now supports founders, funds, and performance-led organisations to translate scientific credibility into scalable strategy, measurable outcomes, and commercial growth.
Andy brings 15+ years of frontline experience across elite sport — from collegiate programmes to the NBA, UFC, and Indy500 — and shares the realities of building technology as a practitioner, not just an idea.
Together, they explore why Accelerate exists, and what it really takes to build products, platforms, and companies that sport will actually adopt.
Topics discussed:
• Why we started Accelerate
• Building tech as a practitioner-founder
• Managing multiple stakeholders in rehab environments
• Turning evidence into products teams will trust and use
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Sponsors
Gameplan is a rehab Project Management & Data Analytics Platform that improves operational & communication efficiency during rehab. Gameplan provides a centralised tool for MDT’s to work collaboratively inside a data rich environment
VALD Performance, makers of the ForceDecks, ForceFrame, HumanTrak, Dynamo, SmartSpeed, NordBoard. VALD Performance systems are built with the high-performance practitioner in mind, translating traditionally lab-based technologies into engaging, quick, easy-to-use tools for daily testing, monitoring and training
Hytro: The world’s leading Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) wearable, designed to accelerate recovery and maximise athletic potential using Hytro BFR for Professional Sport.
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Where to Find Us
Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:
Instagram
Twitter
Our Website
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Our Team
Andy McDonald
Ben Ashworth
Steve Barrett
Pete McKnight
More
Episode 209: In this first episode of Accelerate, host Nicola Graham is joined by our very own Andy McDonald — CEO & Co-Founder of Gameplan Performance and the voice behind Inform Performance. Nicola’s work sits at the intersection of preventative health, human performance, and business strategy. With a background spanning advanced clinical practice, leadership roles across growth and M&A, and an Executive MBA, she now supports founders, funds, and performance-led organisations to translate scientific credibility into scalable strategy, measurable outcomes, and commercial growth. Andy brings 15+ years of frontline experience across elite sport — from collegiate programmes to the NBA, UFC, and Indy500 — and shares the realities of building technology as a practitioner, not just an idea. Together, they explore why Accelerate exists, and what it really takes to build products, platforms, and companies that sport will actually adopt. Topics discussed: • Why we started Accelerate • Building tech as a practitioner-founder • Managing multiple stakeholders in rehab environments • Turning evidence into products teams will trust and use - Sponsors Gameplan is a rehab Project Management & Data Analytics Platform that improves operational & communication efficiency during rehab. Gameplan provides a centralised tool for MDT’s to work collaboratively inside a data rich environment VALD Performance, makers of the ForceDecks, ForceFrame, HumanTrak, Dynamo, SmartSpeed, NordBoard. VALD Performance systems are built with the high-performance practitioner in mind, translating traditionally lab-based technologies into engaging, quick, easy-to-use tools for daily testing, monitoring and training Hytro: The world’s leading Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) wearable, designed to accelerate recovery and maximise athletic potential using Hytro BFR for Professional Sport. - Where to Find Us Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on: Instagram Twitter Our Website - Our Team Andy McDonald Ben Ashworth Steve Barrett Pete McKnight