Digital Fuel Capital has made a strategic investment in Baseball Lifestyle 101 (BL101), a baseball content and apparel brand. The deal was announced on October 20, 2026. No financial terms were disclosed. BL101 started as an Instagram account in 2013 in Farmingdale, New York. It now has more than 100 employees, and its products are sold in major sporting goods retailers across the US. It recently ranked #42 on the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies. The partnership gives BL101 a platform to expand into other sports. It plans to acquire fandom-focused companies that build fan communities through content and products. "Their experience scaling high growth consumer businesses will be incredibly valuable," said Josh Shapiro, founder and chief executive officer of BL101.

Baseball Lifestyle 101 ranks No. 42 on the 2026 Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies. August 14, 2026 Long Island-based baseball apparel and lifestyle brand posts 5,966% three-year revenue growth, ranking No. 5 in New York State, No. 6 in the New York metro area and No. 6 nationally among consumer products companies FARMINGDALE, N.Y. - Baseball Lifestyle 101 (BL101), the baseball apparel and lifestyle brand that began as an Instagram account in 2013, today announced it has been named No. 42 on the 2026 Inc. 5000, Inc.'s annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The placement puts BL101 in the top 1 percent of the list on the strength of 5,966 percent revenue growth from 2022 to 2025. BL101 also earned four separate rankings on this year's list: * No. 42 nationally, out of 5,000 honorees * No. 5 among all companies in New York State * No. 6 in the New York metropolitan area * No. 6 nationally in the Consumer Products industry The Inc. 5000 is ranked by percentage revenue growth from 2022 to 2025. This year's honorees collectively generated more than $385 billion in 2025 revenue and created 627,208 jobs over the past three years. The median growth rate across the full list was 130 percent; among the top 500 companies, where BL101 ranks, the median was 1,338 percent. As a top 500 company, BL101 will be featured in the Fall issue of Inc. magazine. Founded on March 13, 2013, by then-16-year-old Josh Shapiro, Baseball Lifestyle 101 started as a social media account built around a shared love of the game. Shapiro built the following alongside his strength and conditioning coach and now co-owner, Bill Rom, and turned it into a product business with a single logo hat. Today BL101 employs more than 100 people, operates warehouses on both coasts, and sells through major sporting goods retailers including DICK'S Sporting Goods, SCHEELS and Academy Sports + Outdoors, in addition to its direct-to-consumer channels. "The Inc. 5000 has always celebrated entrepreneurs who see opportunity where others see obstacles," said Mike Hofman, editor-in-chief of Inc. "Their success in today's constantly evolving economic landscape is a powerful reminder that entrepreneurs are the driving force behind the American economy, creating jobs, fueling innovation, and shaping the future of business." BL101 and its fellow honorees will be recognized at the 2026 Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala, taking place October 14-16 in Dallas. Complete results, including an interactive database sortable by industry and location, are available at www.inc.com/inc5000. About Baseball Lifestyle 101 Baseball Lifestyle 101 (BL101) is a baseball apparel and lifestyle brand founded in 2013 in Farmingdale, New York. What began as an Instagram account has grown into one of the largest social media and apparel companies in the baseball industry, with more than 100 employees and products carried in major sporting goods retailers nationwide. BL101 designs apparel and accessories for youth and adult players and fans, built around the community that made the brand. Learn more at www.bl101.com. About Inc. Inc. is the premier media brand and playbook for entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping its future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit www.inc.com. Inc. 5000 Methodology Companies on the 2026 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2022 to 2025. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2022. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent - not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies - as of December 31, 2025. The minimum revenue required for 2022 is $100,000; the minimum for 2025 is $2 million.