Thayer Lavielle, an executive at the Wasserman agency/marketing company, spent some of her free time the past year or so serving as an adviser to SOS, a startup that manufactures vending machines for sports arenas and other venues. SOS’s machines offer health and wellness products, many of which are aimed at women.

After getting to know the founders, Susanna Twarog and Robina Verbeek, and their business plan, Lavielle thought it would make sense for Wasserman to invest in SOS. She approached Darren Ross, managing director of Wasserman Ventures, the company’s recently launched affiliate, and he was sold on the idea.

Wasserman Ventures participated in SOS’s $7.6 million funding round, which was announced last month. It was the second investment for Wasserman Ventures, following its April investment in the Circuit Racing International Tour, a cycling series that professional racer and Wasserman client Justin Williams founded.

“I thought, ‘Here are two incredible women founders who are creating a product that is accessible and convenient that ensures everyone in a venue feels served and welcomed and valued and catered to,’” said Lavielle, who was named to SOS’s board of directors. “That’s never been done before, particularly for women, but also for male consumers that are in this venue. It felt like a bit of a no-brainer for me at least to serve that up to the Wass Ventures team.”

Lavielle, a former lacrosse and ice hockey player at Colgate University, has worked at Wasserman since 2011. She is currently executive vice president of The Collective, a Wasserman subsidiary that launched in 2019 to push for gender equity in sports and entertainment. The Collective has a consulting practice that works with companies on gender equity issues, the importance of having women in leadership positions and how having a more equitable work force can drive better business performance.

The Collective also has a think tank in collaboration with 22 colleges, where it works with researchers and publishes reports and data and insights on women’s roles in sports and entertainment.

“It's been really critical for us to understand who She is, capital S, as a consumer, as a fan, as a buyer of all things because ultimately she is driving the economy going forward,” Lavielle said. “Understanding her not only through a sports lens or a music lens, but understanding her through a human lens and her consumption habits, is mission critical. That's really why SOS is such an important investment for us.”

SOS has more than 100 vending machines in venues such as Fenway Park in Boston, FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla. and TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. as well as Rockefeller Center in New York and Boston Children’s Hospital. The machines offer items such as hair ties and clips, deodorant, dental floss and dry shampoos for a fee, plus free period care products for women.

Wasserman has a consultancy and marketing arm that works with sports arenas and other venues, so the idea is that SOS can use those connections to get their vending machines more widely distributed.

“(SOS) is a natural investment for us because it sits adjacent to so much of our business in terms of not only The Collective in terms of mission-focused and really helping to serve consumers and particularly women out in their daily life,” Lavielle said. “But it also sits adjacent because we can help scale their business through so many of the venues in which we get to collaborate with and work with on a daily basis.”