Didier Occident speaks to some of the most significant football programs in the world about financial literacy, wealth building, and maximizing earnings off the field. Didier created Secure The Bag to present this to collegiate teams like Alabama, Washington, and Florida State. He also founded Occident Wealth Management (under Northwestern Mutual) where he signed on more clients in 6 months than in the history of the division. Chapters: (01:20) Didier’s rollercoaster journey (09:10) Financial li...
Aug 10, 2023•26 min•Ep. 63
Ferran is the CEO and Managing Director of Gasol16 Ventures, Pau Gasol's business and strategic investing vehicle. Prieto also co-founded Everest Talent Management to help a variety of athletes to maximize their "off-the-field" impact and economic opportunities. Working with athletes is a long-term, strategic approach to their non-playing activities that not only make a mark on their sport but also "stand out from the crowd" and prioritize their broader impact on their fan base and the world. Ch...
Aug 08, 2023•30 min•Ep. 62
(01:20): Business of Athletes - KD invests in cycling, Zion Williamson is in trouble, and more (06:00): NIL/College Sports - Pac12 is dying, Arch Manning deal, and interesting $5M collective agreement (10:50): Sports Business - $70M VC fund, $1B Adidas x soccer team deal, and other important stories
Aug 06, 2023•17 min
Combat IQ is the world's first AI-powered data analytics company dedicated to combat sports using machine learning and computer vision. Prior to founding Combat IQ, Tim Malik worked as a professional football scout in the Canadian Football League. They raised a pre-seed round in late 2022 and completed Techstars in London. Combat IQ plans to expand outside of just combat sports in 2024. Chapters: (01:15) From scouting to machine learning (03:10) Building out team (5 PhDs) (06:00) Researching mar...
Aug 03, 2023•22 min•Ep. 61
Betr recently completed a $35M Series A2 ($300M valuation) led by tech entrepreneur Joey Levy and influencer Jake Paul. Betr is labeled as the world’s first microbetting app with a heavy focus on sports out of the gate. Joey Levy has been building in the fantasy and sports betting space since 2014 while at Columbia University. Chapters: (01:20) Journey to Betr (05:50) 19-year-old founder (09:00) High-level overview (13:00) Future of creator-led businesses (16:15) Mixing media w/ microbetting (23...
Aug 01, 2023•29 min•Ep. 60
In July 2023, Better Collective acquired Playmaker HQ for up to $54M with $15M upfront. Playmaker is a sports media platform, content machine, and emerging talent agency. Brandon Harris is a long-time entrepreneur who has spent over a decade building in sports. Chapters: (01:20) Entrepreneurial path (03:45) Overview of Playmaker (05:20) Scaling to 70 employees (08:00) Business lessons learned (12:00) Better Collective acquisition (17:00) Future plans post-buy (19:00) Sports media trends to watch...
Jul 27, 2023•25 min•Ep. 59
(00:10) Business of Athletes (03:25) College Sports/NIL (07:15) Sports Business
Jul 23, 2023•11 min
Brian Woods is building another sports property, after previously selling The Spring League to Fox and creating the USFL. Prep Super League is an elite, 11-on-11, spring football league for aspiring college football prospects seeking supplemental instruction, enhanced competition, and a less restrictive environment to pursue NIL deals. Prep Super League is attempting to revolutionize the gap between high school and college football. Chapters : (01:25) Prep Super League opportunity (05:15) Busine...
Jul 20, 2023•29 min•Ep. 58
Led by Antonio Cacorino, APEX Capital, is bringing the athlete investment movement into Europe. APEX focuses on investments in the sports, media, and entertainment industries. Prior to bringing together athletes for a syndicate and fund, Antonio spent time in the finance industry at Welz, Leonteq, and BNP Paribas. Chapters : (01:30) Saudi money in sports (05:30) APEX Capital origin story (09:45) Athlete investing at scale (11:40) European vs U.S. athletes (13:50) Value add of player investors (1...
Jul 18, 2023•26 min•Ep. 57
(01:30) - Business of Athletes : Dwyane Wade, London Basketball Team, and athletes following passion investments (10:40) - NIL : Senators making a statement, $15M Texas, and Livvy Dunne (14:00) - Sports Business : Jay-Z, soccer, and acquisitions
Jul 16, 2023•19 min
Soccer is growing at a rapid pace in the United States, and the USL is in a prime position prior to the 2026 World Cup on North American soil. Orange County SC won the 2021 USL Championship Cup, which is the second tier of US soccer behind the MLS. Before becoming president of OCSC, Dan Rutstein was a sports reporter, British Diplomat, AR entrepreneur, soccer referee, and whisky podcast host. Chapters : (01:50) Overview of the USL (03:30) Impact of Lionel Messi on US Soccer (05:50) Relegation di...
Jul 13, 2023•31 min•Ep. 56
Bruce Buffer is the legendary UFC announcer and Matt Whitteker is an exited unicorn founder at SaaS company Assent. They came together to co-found the sports company MILLIONS, which raised a $10M Series A in 2021. MILLIONS unites the sports world through a single social commerce platform allowing athletes, gyms, fans, and brands to connect and be brought together. Chapters : (01:20) Rise of sport-entertainment fights (03:00) Growth of the UFC (05:35) Brand-building 101 (07:30) Overview of MILLIO...
Jul 11, 2023•25 min•Ep. 55
(02:00) Business of Athletes - Chris Paul, Aaron Rodgers, and Victor Wemby make moves (06:10) NIL/College Sports - NCAA releases weird report and a partnership (07:50) Sports Business - Ryan Reynolds buys F1 team, MLB goes to youth sports, and over $50M in fundraising for sports companies Thanks for listening! Make sure to hit the "follow" button to never miss another podcast....
Jul 02, 2023•15 min
Before jumping into the founder seat, Courtney Jeffries worked for the Oakland Raiders, MSG, and was the Chief Operating Officer of Satisfi Labs. VRTL, Virtual, was previously known as Virtual Tables and participated in Techstars, Minnesota Twins program. They are the first virtual fan engagement platform that delivers a live autograph experience combining both streaming and video chat functionality. VRTL also have segmentation capabilities to scale the event to different tiers of fans, and full...
Jun 27, 2023•33 min•Ep. 54
17 Sport is the world's first sports impact company, working at the intersection of sport, business, and purpose. As a Certified B-Corp, 17 Sport’s mission is to educate, inspire and enable all stakeholders including athletes, brands, and properties to activate their purpose through sport and deliver positive financial, social, and environmental outcomes. Before founding 17 Sport, Fabien ran his own sports talent agency working with elite athletes on impact initiatives including the legendary Se...
Jun 22, 2023•27 min•Ep. 53
OLIVER has raised over $1M and recently entered into a partnership agreement with FC Barcelona that also included an investment from the soccer conglomerate. Agustin Rozadas started his professional career as a financial analyst at Accenture before building up Fligoo and then jumping into the sports technology founder seat. OLIVER is a wearable tracking device that uploads deep insights onto their platform through a smart GPS providing key information to optimize performance, evolve talents, and...
Jun 20, 2023•31 min•Ep. 52
(01:05) Business of Athletes (05:50) College Sports/NIL (08:40) Sports Business Thanks for listening today! I hope these weekly roundups keep you up to date & informed on the most important events taking place in the sports industry.
Jun 18, 2023•15 min
OnCore Golf is innovating unique products including their Genius golf ball that has a GPS tracking device inside its hollow-core construction. The tracking device pairs with a phone app to help find the golf ball, plus provide data such as ball velocity, spin rate, spin direction, carry, and more. Keith Blakely is the CEO and Chairman of the InVentures Group, a hybrid consulting firm, virtual incubator, and investment firm that is located in Buffalo, NY but services companies around the world. B...
Jun 13, 2023•28 min•Ep. 51
(00:30) Business of Athletes - tons of athlete investments to catch up on (05:30) NIL/College Sports - interesting news coming out of the NCAA (10:15) Sports Business - all the stories that didn't get covered because of the LIV/PGA merger taking the headlines by storm
Jun 11, 2023•16 min
Launched in 2017, iSport360 has raised ~$2M in capital to help youth sports coaches, players, and parents set goals, foster healthy team communication, and engage in a positive way. They also have a media arm with over 500,000 newsletter subscribers. Ian is a father, coach, and entrepreneur who founded 3 companies before the age of 18 and helped his family's food distribution company for over 15 years before deciding to build Isport360. Chapters : (01:20) NBA Jr. Leadership Summit (03:00) Ian’s ...
Jun 08, 2023•29 min•Ep. 50
Thaddeus Young was drafted 12th in the 2007 NBA Draft out of Georgia Tech and has made $140 million playing for the 76ers, Timberwolves, Nets, Pacers, Bulls, Spurs, and Raptors. Thad is a 17-year NBA veteran with a massive 300+ portfolio at Reform Ventures, his holding entity of mostly private companies and real estate. One of the most underrated businessmen in the entire NBA, this was a great conversation on how Thaddeus Young is crushing it off the court. Chapters : (01:55) 17-year NBA career ...
Jun 06, 2023•34 min•Ep. 49
Hugo Inglis has participated in 3 Olympic games for New Zealand and is also building an exciting model around athletes + philanthropy. High Impact Athletes (HIA) connects world-class athletes with world-class charities, where every dollar given can do the best possible. This was a fascinating conversation about athletes doing good in the community, playing in the Olympics, and the power of athletes. Chapters : (01:25) Hugo’s Olympic journey (05:20) Idea to build High Impact Athletes (08:25) What...
Jun 01, 2023•27 min•Ep. 48
Anand is a two-time exited founder, Junglee (acq. by Amazon) and Kosmix (acq. by Walmart) that is now a founding partner of rocketship.vc and owner a United States cricket team, the San Francisco Unicorns. The San Francisco Unicorns will be one of the first 6 cricket teams in Major League Cricket. This was a fascinating conversation with Anand Rajaraman on cricket, owning a pro sports team, sports tech, and entrepreneurship. Chapters : (01:35) Owning a pro sports team (03:00) Differences in cric...
May 30, 2023•26 min•Ep. 47
(01:30) - Business of Athletes • Tom Brady, Steph Curry, and Dirk Nowitzki with big moves (03:40) - College Sports/NIL • Opendorse stays active and collectives making moves and a sports betting report (06:30) - Sports Business • India continues to grow, Fanatics & DAZN get busy, and pickleball is getting funky
May 28, 2023•9 min
Michael Raymond is an up-and-coming talent agent currently representing professional basketball players, influencers, student-athletes for NIL, and E-sports teams. Raymond Representation is a community-focused and innovative sports agency, specializing in NIL and Talent Management If you’re interested in the agency world, NIL, or influencer marketing then this podcast fills all that and more. Chapters : (01:40) Journey to building a sports agency (07:40) Scaling a sports agency (10:50) Builders ...
May 26, 2023•25 min•Ep. 46
Cole and Cody Hock are Forbes 30 under 30 co-founders with a background in the music and law industries which fueled their journey to creating Up North Management. Up North is a diversified entertainment & media company specializing in talent management, brand building, creative content, and original business ventures. They represent top content creators in the digital space division and incubate and launch creator-led brands in partnership with creators, such as Enjoy Basketball with Kenny ...
May 23, 2023•28 min•Ep. 45
Every Sunday I go into detail of the most important stories you need to hear more about... (01:00) - Business of Athletes (03:50) - College Sports/NIL (07:00) - Sports Business
May 21, 2023•13 min
Outlier raised over $3M to pivot their original idea and build the first-of-its-kind sports betting platform where sports fans can browse, analyze, and execute bets with confidence. Evan Kirkham was previously a litigation attorney before jumping into the sports tech founder seat (which gives him a unique perspective on the market). Recorded near the 5th anniversary of PAPSA, which legalized mobile sports betting in the US, this was a very insightful conversation as Outlier is attempting to buil...
May 18, 2023•28 min•Ep. 44
Asia Sports Tech is one of the leading business consulting and financial advisory firms in all of Asia. Loron Orris has 30+ years of experience in sports including being the managing director of NBA Asia during its early days. He also teaches at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School. Asia Sports Tech and Loron Orris believe in the future growth of Asian sports – which led to a great conversation. Chapters : (01:15) Journey to Asia (06:00) Building NBA Asia and IMAX Japan (09:50) Wa...
May 16, 2023•38 min•Ep. 43
(01:20) - Business of Athletes ( JJ Watt, Aaron Rodgers, and more ) (06:15) - College Sports/NIL ( betting scandals, new legislation, $300k to transfer, etc ) (10:25) - Sports Business ( new AI partnerships, Betr acquisition, and politics mixing with athletes )
May 14, 2023•14 min
