The Sports Entrepreneurs Podcast by Marcus Luer
Episodes
Monday Apr 27, 2020
Unmish Parthasarathi, Watching Cricket for a Living
Monday Apr 27, 2020
Monday Apr 27, 2020
Unmish talks us thru his 20 years of experiences and learning sitting on different sides of the table, from his time at agencies, rights holders and broadcasters.
Starting his career with TWI in the production space, great learning
Early days of New Media 1998-2000
BBC Days, developing new media platforms, more learning experiences
ESPN/Star Sports – developing new media platforms and services for broadcast clients
New Media turns Digital
ICC (Cricket), monetizing non-linear, short form content
The different forms in Cricket, T10, T20 and the difference to other sports
Current services and projects of his own agency
What changes are we seeing in digital from Covid-19
About
Unmish brings a rare mix of competencies that includes multi-media content creation, video-based product development, strategy & sales coupled with a deep understanding of partnership development and cross-cultural collaboration in Asia & Europe.
Unmish's international profile and contact networks are the result of 20 years in a leadership role at blue-chip firms such as IMG Media (Endeavour), BBC Technology, ESPN STAR Sports, Fox International Channels (FIC), News Corp., Scripps Interactive Networks (now owned by Discovery) and the International Cricket Council.
Educated at St. Stephen's College (Delhi), Cambridge University (UK) and London Business School, Unmish promotes entrepreneurship via institutional collaborations with Jungle Ventures (as Venture Partner) and TiE Singapore (Charter Member) and also mentors startups (in MediaTech, VideoTech & SportsTech) in a personal capacity.
Sunday Apr 19, 2020
Jim Wright, The Commercial world of Motorsports
Sunday Apr 19, 2020
Sunday Apr 19, 2020
Jim is taking us on a great journey through the commercial world of motorsports from his humble beginnings in UK motorsports to his career in Formula 1 to Formula E now. He is one of the most creative and talented commercial guys in Motorsports I know. His thinking and approach for how to create stories and sponsorship programs works for any sports. As a “commercial guy”, I love this talk. Anyone can sell a hot property, like the FIFA World Cup, the Team or athlete that just won a big Championship. In that space, it’s less about creativity but about managing the demand and getting top value for the client/property. When you sell a back/mid-table team or a new franchise, you have to be a whole lot more creative and come up with new angles. Jim is a master of that. Enjoy the lessons and give us your feedback.
Key Highlights
His passion for motorsports from his teens and how he got into it step by step
His knack for the commercial side of the business
His Williams F1 racing days under Sir Frank Williams, incredible learning
BMW and Williams F1 team deal, the learning and stories around it
Hundreds of Millions of Dollars of deals but even the little deals count
Learning how people treat other people
Power of B2B part in sponsorship
Switch to Formula E, difficult start but as usual staying focused on the end goal always works
Difference in budgets between F1 and Formula E
How to sell Formula E, the story book, do your home work on the client
Andretti Autosport, going beyond traditional motorsports revenue
The difference between selling commercial rights for a Winning team vs others (Mahindra Formula E story)
How to sell sponsorships in the new world after Covid-19
Current plans to get Formula E back on the track
About
A marketing professional with a proven and quantifiable track record for sponsorship sales, particularly in motorsport, Jim Wright is a sports fan with a finely honed talent for creating mutually beneficial opportunities and making partnerships happen using strategic vision techniques.
Having started his career upon completion of a Business Studies degree, Wright moved from team management and logistics in to the commercial side of motor sport working for the fledgling ATS F1 team in 1980/81 before accepting an offer from Eddie Jordan to help grow his eponymous team.
Through the acquisition of team sponsorship and trade partnerships, Jordan was able to hire race winning drivers and move his team to the forefront of international racing below Formula 1. Wright was the driving force behind this strategy and he also worked with the ebullient Irishman on driver management, starting the Eddie Jordan Management business.
After five years with Eddie Jordan, Jim was recruited by Cellnet, then Britain’s fastest growing mobile phone network to set up and manage a strategic motor sport division of their marketing department aimed at creating awareness and commercial opportunity for Cellnet as the mobile phone market emerged in the UK. Alongside this commitment, Wright developed his own agency to service other motor sport clients including drivers, championship promoters and car constructors. This business was a great success, particularly in Japan where Wright delivered the single biggest sponsorship of the booming Japanese F3000 championship with the Promise financial services company and Reynard Racing Cars.
Wright’s exploits were noticed by Frank Williams and in 1994 Jim Wright was offered an opportunity to head up sponsorship sales for the Rothmans Williams Renault F1 team, an opportunity that he could not turn down. Having landed his first deal within 10 days of joining Frank’s team, Wright quickly emerged as a real force and within 14 months of joining Williams he was asked by Frank Williams to be the Head of Marketing & Sponsorship, a position that Wright held for the next 11 years. During this term, Williams created the Senior Management Group – a core of five key executives who reported to the shareholders, Frank Williams and Patrick Head through monthly Board meetings and Wright represented the company’s commercial interests at these meetings.
Before he left Williams in 2006, Wright was directly responsible for introducing and/or negotiating more than 200 million dollars of commercial income to the team and he built a commercial reputation for the Williams F1 team based upon principles laid down by Frank Williams of fairness, transparency honesty and integrity. Those principles endure today, both at Williams and through the Anglo Svenska operation.
Having worked with Gerhard Berger through the BMW partnership with Williams, Wright was recruited by Berger upon his completion of the purchase of a shareholding in the Toro Rosso F1 team and Wright moved his family to Monte Carlo to begin work on this project. When Berger sold his shareholding back to Red Bull at the end of the 2008 season, Jim was asked to work on a CSR programme with Keke and Nico Rosberg which was concluded when Virgin made Wright their first commercial hire for their start up F1 team which was awarded an F1 entry in June 2009.
Starting work in July 2009, Wright created a marketing team from scratch and delivered against an ambitious target of sponsorship, mostly from companies new to the sport to ensure that the team formed up on the grid in March 2010. In addition to securing the vital third party investment, Wright was responsible for directing the creation of the look & feel of the team and working with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin brand and other stakeholders such as Lloyds Development Capital in developing a commercial and marketing communications strategy and served on the Board of Virgin Racing / Marussia Virgin Racing between September 2009 and December 2011. Wright was responsible for the introduction of more than 35 million USD of sponsorship for the fledgling Formula 1 team over two seasons, a remarkable achievement for a new team with limited on-track performance.
Increasingly disillusioned with the rising costs of F1 and lack of commercial direction from the Commercial Rights Holder ( Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula One Management ), Wright devoted time to pursuing other activities, transferring his skills to the non-profit sector by setting up a commercial structure for Jeremy Gilley’s Peace One Day organisation and mentoring others to achieve commercial goals for Peace One Day.
The creation of the FIA Formula E series for electric powertrain racing cars in 2013 proved to be of great interest to Wright who accepted an invitation from the Monaco entrepreneur Gildo Pallanca Pastor to lead the commercial aspects of his fledgling Venturi Formula E team. Wright was instrumental in convincing F1 veteran Nick Heidfeld to switch to the new racing series and Wright was able to introduce a number of technical partners to the team in ZF, Rohm Semiconductor and Farasis batteries as well as other companies such as Delta Auto.
As the Formula E series began to grow, the Teams formed a representative group ( Formula E Teams Association - FETA ) and from 2014, the Teams elected Jim Wright to serve as Secretariat working with an elected Chairman in rotation, a position that he holds to date. As the series expanded and more OEMs came on board and the business model changed from the start of the second generation car and battery, the role was increased to represent the Teams and the Manufacturers ( FETAMA ) and Wright remains in that elected position today. Nowadays, FETAMA is a well-respected stakeholder group working alongside the governing body ( FIA ) and the Promoter ( FEO ) to grow the FIA Formula E World Championship.
The Mahindra Formula E Team recruited Wright from Venturi in 2016 as their Chief Commercial Officer, a position that he held through to the beginning of 2019 during which time he personally introduced and / or negotiated a portfolio of sponsorship partners to offset the Mahindra & Mahindra budget spend as well as supporting Team Principal Dilbagh Gill in all commercial matters. Shell, Renesas, Avis, Umicore, Lear Corporation were major corporations which were brought on board during Wright’s tenure as they adjusted their business models for the e-mobility era.
In 2019, Wright accepted an offer from Michael Andretti to fill a new role, Group Commercial Director, with a brief to widen the commercial appeal of the Andretti Autosport business and to create new business opportunities for the iconic American racing team. Wright reports directly to Andretti Autosport President J.F.Thormann and he works across the Group’s motorsport platforms.
Friday Apr 10, 2020
Sam Li, The world of Sina Sports
Friday Apr 10, 2020
Friday Apr 10, 2020
Sam takes us into a deep dive tour of the fascinating world of SINA Sports, part of Sina- Weibo Group, China’s largest Social Media group (the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram of China, all rolled into one).
Key Highlights
China perspective on Covid-19, Sina Sports planning
Early eye on sports thru law Degree – well established route
Go back to his roots – NBA China first role in sports
China Sports Social Media 101 – Sina – Weibo (Micro Blog)
Weibo – the Twitter, Facebook, Instagram blend of China (biggest open Social Media platform in China)
Wechat – closed social media in comparison plus other functions (Whatsapp on steroids)
Business model – advertising driven, driven by large traffic
Sina Sports – how it started and where it is now
The Crazy years of Chinese Sports Media rights
Monetization of Content, Chinese learning & the same challenge everywhere
Sina Sports three pillars :
Digital Media
Social Media
Offline Events
Offline events – owning events, IP and content (3-on-3 Basketball, Futsal and Skiing) – massive numbers
Large logistics across the whole country, over 100 stops for most of the sports, including Skiing, venturing overseas
Focus on “Mobile friendly” sports, core audience of Weibo
Events are very sponsor friendly and driven, fully integrated with their Social Media platforms
From Amateur to Elite League
His advisory roles for various groups, entrepreneurship, learning
About
Sam Li is the Head of International Business Strategy for Sina Sports where he is responsible for domestic and international sports rights acquisition; strategic partnerships with rights holders, teams and individual athletes; and international sponsorships and marketing.
He was previously an Associate Vice President with the National Basketball Association. Sam has a Juris Doctor degree from University of Michigan Law School and dual bachelor degrees from University of California, Los Angeles.
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
David Falk, The NBA Super Agent Goat
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Having the opportunity to interview one of the true Superstars of our industry was a privilege and honour. David, is not just the well known “Super Agent” of Michael Jordan but he is truly someone who changed the face of our industry and still is at the age of 70. Listen, learn and enjoy. Tons of wisdom in that 1.5 hours.
Key Highlights
Suburb of New York upbringing and his parents influence
Always had a passion for Law & having College Basketball players as his buddies
1972, early days of Sports Agents - trying to get a meeting with Donald Dell (called him 17 times in 4 hours)
Start working for Donald for free while finishing his Law degree, just to get into the industry
At 25 big break to handle major clients, became Donald’s Chief of staff
Developing his own style of negotiations “always overprepare”
Michael Jordan and Barry Bond story about work ethics
His style of negotiations and how it changed over time (building relationships)
Negotiation is not a zero sum game, both sides need to be in the same “zone”
Being liked vs being respected
Michael Jordan’s Air Jordan deal with Nike (the real story how Air Jordan name came about)
Size of Deals during those Days (early 80s) and how he was able to craft the deal
Michael wanted Adidas and didn’t want to see Nike
His relationship with Michael now
The last Dance – new movie about Michael’s final season
1984 as a Rookie, Michael’s first commercial deals (McDonald’s, a small local deal in Chicago)
Coke, McDonald and Chevrolet – all American Image
Gatorade, break thru deal 1991 (10 years, seven figure deal)
The biggest and best deals, don’t just take cash, look for equity
The start of FAME (David’s own agency)
A man has got to know his limitations
Marque & SFX story (now Live Nation)
You need a “walk away” point in a deal – his target was US$ 100 million
Goldman Sachs Chairman story
His SFX time, buying other smaller agencies, culture is key
SFX US$ 4.5 billion merger with Clear Channel story
Round 2 with Donald
Big agencies and the huge competition between them
Big Basketball stars, new route, family offices
Tennis prodigy story – the next Serena Williams
Learning from mistakes – Stephan Marbury story
Current Ventures, dozen different companies, X-Factory (Sports tech accelerator), etc
Never too old to learn
About
David Falk has long been recognized as one of the sports industry’s leading figures and most talented innovators. He is recognized as the NBA Super Agent of his time and the man behind Michael Jordan’s commercial success. A trained lawyers, he began his career representing professional athletes with ProServ in 1974, rising to Vice Chairman of the company. In 1992, he formed Falk Associates Management Enterprises (FAME) to provide specialized and personal representation service to the company’s elite clientele of NBA superstars. During his career, Falk has represented more NBA first-round draft selections, lottery picks, Rookies-of-the-Year, and All-Stars than anyone else in the athlete management business. In 1985, he negotiated Michael Jordan’s ground-breaking deal with Nike--the most successful endorsement relationship in history--and in the process coined the nickname “Air Jordan.” Falk negotiated the highest contracts in NBA league history for Patrick Ewing in 1985 and Danny Ferry in 1990. He also negotiated professional sports’ first $100 million contract in 1996 for Alonzo Mourning as part of an unprecedented free agency period in which FAME changed the entire salary structure of the NBA, negotiating over $400 million in contracts for its free agent clients in a six-day period. In 1998, Falk sold FAME to SFX Entertainment for US$ 200 million, serving on SFX’s Board of Directors and in the Office of the Chairman. As Chairman of SFX Sports Group, Falk oversaw the acquisition of a dozen sports agencies that enabled SFX to represent approximately 20 percent of MLB and NBA players. Falk stepped down as Chairman in 2001 to pursue other interests. In January 2007, Falk re-launched FAME and currently serves as its Founder and CEO.Falk is also involved in a dozen ventures now, both as an investor and advisor.