Marco Dewey thrives at the intersection of two seemingly incompatible worlds, balancing the intense discipline of professional athletics with the fast-paced innovation of artificial intelligence. He's not only the captain of the Detroit Mechanix, a professional ultimate frisbee team, but also a startup founder currently navigating the prestigious Y Combinator program with his AI venture, Jazzberry. His story is one of profound passion, unwavering dedication, and the surprising synergy between the discipline honed on the field and the deep technical expertise required to build the future of AI.
On the field, Marco Dewey is a competitor. “Sports have always been a part of my life,” Dewey told us, “I love to win, I hate losing, I just always want to be competing”. His frisbee resume speaks for itself. He has won accolades at South African Nationals, the All-Africa tournament, the US-Opens, and the World Ultimate Club Championships. In just 10 games with the Mechanix in 2024, Dewey made his mark in the UFA, logging 173 points played, 7 assists, 5 goals, 4 blocks, and a career plus/minus of +9.
Off the field, Marco Dewey is a researcher. “A professor in college turned me on to research,” Dewey said, “It is fun to be on the cutting edge of technology and to form opinions about new ideas.”. His academic resume is also strong; he has two bachelor's degrees (Mathematics and Computer Science) and has his MSc in software testing, specializing in leveraging LLMs for automated test suite generation.
This dual life has instilled in him a unique blend of discipline, strategic thinking, and the ability to foster high-performing teams, qualities he seamlessly applies to both his athletic career and his academic endeavors.
In February of this year, Dewey recognized that he was uniquely positioned to fill a gap in the software testing market. “New technology allowed me to bring some of the theoretical things I was working on to the real world, to solve real problems,” Dewey told us. He embarked on the challenging journey of building Jazzberry. This led him to apply to Y Combinator, a renowned accelerator known for launching successful companies. However, getting into the program forced him to make a difficult decision: temporarily stepping away from the Mechanix.
Dewey's passion for the Mechanix is undeniable. He describes his Mechanix teammates as "family" and the sport itself as the "purest form of joy." This deep connection fuels his commitment to the team, even in the face of their historically long losing streak. As he explains, "There are only about 40 people on this planet who are equal parts talented enough to be professional ultimate frisbee players and crazy enough to play for the Mechanix. There is no money in professional ultimate. We play simply because we love the sport and we love each other."
"Getting into Y Combinator was one of the best moments of my life, but stepping away from my brothers on the Mechanix was easily the hardest thing that I have ever done," Dewey admits. It’s a raw admission that captures the emotional toll of chasing two dreams at once, each demanding everything he’s got.
Despite the separation, Dewey remains deeply connected to his team. He maintains weekly calls with Coach Brent and Captain Terry Gaither, staying up to date on the playbook and his physical condition. “I talk a lot of things over with Coach Brent. He is also an entrepreneur, so he really understands what I have been going through. It has meant the world to me to have him in my corner.” Dewey said.
One of the most compelling aspects of Dewey’s journey is how naturally the mindset of an elite athlete maps onto the challenges of entrepreneurship. From building a resilient culture to handling high-stakes decisions under pressure, Dewey has found that many of the lessons forged on the ultimate field translate directly to startup life. “In both arenas,” he says, “you need to believe in your team, have a clear strategy, and be ready to adapt fast when things break.”
As a captain on the Mechanix, Dewey has been learning how to lead people, how to build confidence, set direction, and make sure every person on the team feels like they belong. Those same leadership skills now guide him through the chaos of early-stage startup life.
But perhaps the most powerful lesson he brings from the field is how to fail. It was no secret that when Dewey joined the Mechanix in 2024, the team was in the middle of the longest losing streak in all of professional sports. Dewey became intimately familiar with failure on the Mechanixs. And yet, he kept showing up. “There’s no hiding from a losing streak,” he says. “You just learn to separate the result from the work, and to keep grinding. You always have to learn from your losses.” That same resilience powers him through the brutal uncertainty of building a startup from scratch.
Dewey helped the Mechanix finally break their historic 81-game losing streak. That win, hard-earned, was more than just a number in the win column for Dewey; it was proof that even the most improbable goals can be reached with persistence, belief, and teamwork. “That experience changed my sense of what’s possible. It taught me how to keep pushing when everything says you shouldn’t,” Dewey said, “that lesson has fueled every part of my journey with Jazzberry, that lesson has changed who I am today”.
Now, Dewey hopes his journey can inspire other UFA athletes thinking about what comes next. Professional ultimate isn’t a lucrative career, and many UFA players face hard choices about how to balance their passion with long-term goals. Dewey wants to show that it's possible to chase your dreams outside of ultimate as well. “Athletes have everything it takes to be great founders,” he says. “We know how to compete, how to commit, and how to bounce back. I want more players to see what’s possible off the field.”
From the turf to the computer terminal, Marco Dewey continues to chase greatness, leading by example and proving that with the right mindset, discipline, and team, the transition from pro athlete to tech founder isn’t just possible, it’s powerful.
