The Sports Entrepreneurs Podcast by Marcus Luer

Mark Pannes is a highly accomplished US sports executive with an incredible career across the US and Europe, from his early days at the New York Knicks, to leading a large European Football Club (AS Roma) on behalf of a US Owner and learning the inside workings of one of the largest Banks in the world (HSBC Private Bank).  Mark has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and his views are well heard (through his own Podcast/Clubhouse talks) and respected in the industry. With the European Super League “fiasco” just over when we spoke, we off course took a good stab at the topic as well.  As always, lots of learning and great insights throughout the discussion. Enjoy.  
 
Key Highlights
How it all started, a High School dream to have a career in professional sports, leads to studying sports at UT in Austin and a summer internship with the New York Knicks
First job on the operational side at Madison Square Garden (MSG), 19 different trade groups (Unions) working in the building, etc
10 years with the Knicks -  Patrick Ewing and Pat Reilly days – MSG a vertically integrated company, the venue owns the teams and broadcast network – sales force is media let - Knicks the bait to sell other content at the venue (bundling)
Starting to sell Knicks as a stand alone property, non-media related – drove US$ 4 mil of new revenue (total team revenue over US$ 120 mil at the time)
Brand driven vs sales driven approach,  digital and CRM starting to kick off
Ground breaking deal with American Express, co-branded card for the first time
First Entrepreneurial experience – Skilo Brand agency – range of clients and projects  
First overseas sting, overseeing acquisition and then managing a Parisian Basketball Club (Tony Parker, French NBA player was part of the investor group)
After cleaning up the club in phase 1, spending most of the time on ways to finance the “underfunded” Club and connected with HSBC
Next stop HSBC Private Bank, London, banking athletes and IP owners, borrowing against assets
IP owners and athletes, asset & wealth management, borrow against revenue.  COI (contractually obligated income) as security
Insider look during the global Financial Crisis (2008-09) – HSBC’s approach
Next Raptor Accelerator, Jim Pallotta, US billionaire Family office – invested in AS Roma – new role as CEO of the club
The numbers in the AS Roma deal – total US$ 160 million investment (according to reports)
Learnings from his AS Roma days, running a Listed company, every club is a “selling club” – ability to sell players is important
New Stadium plans, great project, big plans, the process to get it started (unfortunately till today it hasn’t come to fruition) (Roman politics or what happened?)
European Super League (ESL) discussion – 48 hours of madness – his view as an American Sports Executive with European Football experience
Mismatch and disconnect between team owners, there was no “executive team” in place to represent the group (it appeared), no apparent media partners, rushed announcements, etc
BCG , JP Morgan and many of the big Clubs got their fingers burned it appears in hindsight – surprisingly many rookie mistakes across the groups   
The underlying challenges between the big clubs and the “others” haven’t gone away – the issue will come again at some point in the future – even the big clubs have little leverage with UEFA, so they need to come up with these threats to push their agenda
Union Sports – private consulting companies, advising on media and other long-term revenue streams
Vancouver Whitecaps FC , turn around, clean up – just when the pandemic hit six months into it
Inner Market Media – consulting and content creation for sports IP owners – focus on transatlantic view – “OTT Sports Speakeasy” (weekly on Clubhouse, Thu, 5pm UK time) and OTT Sports Podcast together with partner Michael Broughton
Last thoughts on the growth opportunities in sports in current climate – expansion period for sports – new money coming in with lots of changes along the way in the process
 
About Mark Pannes
Mark is the Managing Partner of Inner Market Media. A 30 year sports and media industry veteran he has managed sports, media, entertainment, and licensing businesses in North America, the UK, Europe, and Canada.
He has served as CMO of the New York Knicks (NBA), CEO for AS Roma (Serie A), CEO for the Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS), and founding director of the global sports practice at HSBC Private Bank, based in London.
He currently also serves as a teaching fellow and advisory board chair for the Center for Sports Communication & Media at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is based.
Mark is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Fordham School of Law.
 
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Paul Berger is a true Middle East insider, having been based in Dubai, UAE for nearly three decades and done it all from advertising, motorsports, helping to build the Dubai Autodrome to now running EMEA for the Arena Group, one of the leading temporary event structures groups in the world for sports, music, exhibitions to cultural events.   
 
Key Highlights
Paul’s early days in Advertising in the UK and his route to Dubai. BBDO took him to Dubai. 
From Advertising to Karting – setting up his first business (Leisure Karting) in Dubai – great stories (races in Oman, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi)
Dubai Autodrome & Business Park -  how it all started and where it is now (www.dubaiautodrome.ae)
Clive Bowen of Apex Circuit Design, designed the track (www.apexcircuitdesign.com)
What worked and didn’t work and what is happening on the track now
Next Entrepreneurial venture – Sports Marketing Global – focused on motorsports & brands from the Middle East  (partnered with Chris Akers – who was managing F1 Driver, Robert Kubica at the time)
Working with McLaren (Ekrem Sami), first deal with Emirates in motorsports (and how amazing visuals did the trick)
Abu Dhabi NDA & F1 story -  how the deal came about and contract was signed 
Harlequin Marquees – brother in law business – new challenge – bringing it together with Arena Group, UK (a company with 260 year history – started in 1761)
Arena’s first acquisition outside the UK, big growth since then through acquisition and Public Listing in the UK
Paul’s role as CEO across EMEA – expansion across the region – 350 staff across Asia/Middle East, offices in Malaysia, Korea, Hong Kong, etc
Arena America, Europe/UK, Middle East/Asia key regions– his region became the biggest and most profitable division (pre-Covid 2019) – hugely successful year (Anthony Joshua fight in Saudi) 
The Arena Business – temporary Event Architecture – from tents to modular buildings, interiors, hospitality, etc 
And then Covid happened and how that effected the Business and how Arena reacted to it – pivot business away from events, where could the equipment be used (temporary hospitals, etc)
Saudi family was keen to invest, raised money to make it through Covid – prior to that he was in the process of taking the company private again with US PE group (management buy-out)
Looking into the future, when is the event business coming back – his views on 2021 (transitional year) and 2022-23 – two year process to come back to 2019 numbers
Sports in the Middle East – big growth over the last few decades and where is the growth in the future – Dubai was the initial driver, Abu Dhabi the last decade, last few years Saudi Arabia 
Mostly driven by large scale events, from Boxing, F1, UFC, WWE, Tennis, Golf, etc – some top Venues now like Coca-Cola Arena (20k seater) in Dubai
How to operate in the region – need to have a presence on the ground in the key markets, have local experts and strategic partners
 
About Paul Berger
Paul Berger has been working in the Middle East and Asia since 1993. He started his career in Dubai with the OMNICOM Group, as a lead Account Director on Emirates Airline, Pepsi Cola and General Motors. In 1997, Paul moved into the sports event management sector, by launching the first leisure motor sport tracks in the region. Indoor Karting, Outdoor Karting, the Dubai Autodrome FIA Circuit and local motor racing championships.
In 2009, he became CEO of Harlequin and subsequently sold the company to the Arena Group. In 2010, he became CEO of the Middle East and Asia Division for the Arena Group, launching the company in Singapore and Malaysia. Paul has subsequently expanded the division to Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Korea and now Japan. Paul is also the President of the International Live Events Association in the Middle East.
 
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Hrish Lotlikar is a living example of a successful digital nomad Entrepreneur. A former Investment Banker turned VC, turned Tech, Blockchain and Crypto Entrepreneur. Besides covering Hrish's amazing career we take a very close look at his latest venture "Superworld", the relevance to sports and the connection to NFTs, the currently hottest trend in the Crypto and sports, music, arts IP (Intellectual Property) world. 
 
Key Highlights
From High school to Navy Reserved Officer and Surgical Technician removing eyes 
Pursuing Triple Degree (MBA, MPH, MD) in graduate school then taking him into Management Consulting and Investment Banking and his first Entrepreneurial exploit creating "The Wall Street Program", teaching how to get a Wall Street job.
Next stop Venture Capital (VC), bio-tech and other tech companies with "world changing ideas" 
From New York City (after the crash in 2008/09), traveling across Eastern Europe for 1.5 yrs. Great story on how to start a seed stage VC Fund in Ukraine with Victor Pinchuk (Ukrainian Billionaire) and tech accelerator in Belarus. 
Early employee, Senior Business Developer/Global Evangelist of Toptal, Andreessen Horowitz backed venture
Rogue Initiative Studios, LA based entertainment studio leveraging the latest in tech, VR, AR with Hollywood IP and partnered with Hollywood director Michael Bay
Superworldapp.com - virtual world in augmented reality mapped onto the real world, with 64 billion virtual real estate blocks (NFTs) on Blockchain which can be purchased
Superworld is Pokémon Go meets Foursquare meet Monopoly
Connecting Superworlds to the Sports & Entertainment space, from Venues to activities in the virtual world 
Still a few steps required to buy a block right now, thru your Ether wallet. Getting easier soon. 
NFT market place coming soon, platform to create NFT for any IP, sports, music, art, etc linked to augmented reality to showcase the NFT 
Exploring Online to offline (O2O) opportunities. Real Estate developers are exploring this space. 
Bringing Sports IP into the virtual world. 
NFT (Non Fungible Token) - basics explained
NBA Top Shots (not Hot Shots 😂) discussion and how it connects to Superworld's NFT market place. Creating digital assets out of content, experiences, unique moments 
NFT Salon vertically integrated into Superworld, music, art, architecture - Mars House example 
Long tail of NFT content to put these NFTs into the "virtual world" of Superworld 
Working across other platforms like Open Sea 
Contact Innerworld@superworldapp.com for on boarding and other questions 
ERC721 is the standard for NFTs, on the Ethereum Blockchain 
Digital Assets (NFTs) can be programed to create earnings for artists in perpetuity (on future sales transactional and value creation). A whole new way of monetization for IP.
Launch of Superworlds NFT Salon in early April:Contact Innercircle@superworldapp.comfor IP owners. Collectorscorner@superworldapp.com for NFT Collectors 
 
About Hrish Lotlikar
Hrish Lotlikar is a Co-founder and CEO at SuperWorld. Previously, he co-founded Rogue Initiative Studios, a Hollywood film, TV, gaming, and immersive entertainment studio. He was also the founding Managing Partner of Eastlabs, an early-stage VC fund based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Previously, Hrish was a Senior Business Developer and Global Evangelist at Toptal (backed by Andreessen Horowitz, the Rockefellers & the co-founders of Facebook and Zynga), a venture capital investor at Spencer Trask Ventures, and an investment banker at both UBS Investment Bank and HSBCSecurities, where he specialized in public finance, corporate finance and M&A. He also was an Associate in the Global Business Development Group at management consulting firm Hewitt Associates.
Hrish was born in India and grew up in the United States. He also has spent many years living around the world in Europe, Asia and South America. He has a close connection to the people and cultures in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Spain, France, Vietnam, China, Colombia, Bali and Thailand.
Hrish holds a BA in Political Science from Rice University and both an MBA and MPH from University of Illinois at Chicago. In his free time he enjoys working out, fashion photography and traveling the world.
 
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Sophie Goldschmidt, has been recognized as one of the most influential/powerful Women in sports by multiple publications/organizations from Forbes, Adweek, Leaders in Sport, Sports Business, etc, working across the globe in leadership and senior positions from the WTA, NBA, England Rugby to the World Surf League.  All very different sports, with different opportunities and challenges along the way.  Great stories and learning from her exciting career over the past 20 years.
 
Key Highlights
Journey from Baylor University playing NCAA tennis and landing at Adidas USA in Portland
Working in the Adidas Tennis division, Indian Wells, Roland Garros, dealing with top players from Hingis to Kournikova,  Henman, Safin, etc
Moving to WTA during the time the William sisters, Sharapova all becoming big stars, working with Larry Scott in the commercial and marketing space
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour – US$ 88 million  (5-6 year deal) – breakthrough deal
Porsche, Lotto, Wilson and Eurosport deal
Moved WTA Year end final from LA to Madrid – new commercial deals
Next stop, the NBA in NYC – David Stern and Adam Silver, tennis fans too - made connection through tennis and then moving into this new sport 
Moved back to London as Managing Director EMEA, establishing NBA operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa – more decentralized operations, opening offices in Moscow, Milan, Istanbul, Jo-burg, etc
Over 70 players from Europe in the League already at that time, NBA League Pass (OTT), finding new local marketing partners (sponsors), 
“Basketball without Borders” across South Africa and other countries, grassroots development, something the NBA is very good at – Leading up to potential NBA League in Africa
Long terms view,  “one kid at a time” convert from kicking to bouncing a ball  (David Stern)
Opportunity to join England Rugby (RFU) as Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer – passion for the sport from her dad – opportunity for the sport following the very successful London Olympics and leading up to the 2015 Rugby World Cup in the UK
First female board member at the RFU (also became the first female board member of the PGA European Tour during that time), evolved the brand and more progressive approach to sponsors, driving commercial and engagement with fans 
CVC new investment into Rugby and her thoughts on it – new resources and more independent strategic thinking for the sport
Joined the agency world at CSM – getting a look into the agency world
Moving back to the US with the World Surf League as CEO – sport accepted into the Olympics, new wave technology with Kelly Slater Wave Company, etc
Turning the challenge of the unpredictability of the weather (waves) into an opportunity, streaming vs linear TV, early digital adoption, less focus on live, lifestyle brand 
Elevator pitch – as many surfers than golfers (over 400 million) in the world, beautiful location and people doing amazing things, highly engaged audience (sponsors from Corona to Airbnb)
Big educational process, understanding and interest depending on the markets, Brazil is huge 
Sophie continues on the WSL Advisory Board, in addition to new roles now as an Advisor in sports, media, tech, health & fitness including; as a business partner to the new connected Home Health & Fitness Platform (Tersa), LOVB volleyball, MIXhalo, Egoli, Racquet Publishing, Pamos and as Board Governor for the International Tennis Hall of Fame
 
About Sophie Goldschmidt
Sophie is a dynamic, senior, global leader with broad and deep proven experience in sports, entertainment, media and technology. Throughout her career she has been at the forefront of globalizing and innovating sports and entertainment properties.
Most recently she was CEO of the World Surf League (WSL) and previously in leadership, commercial and marketing roles at the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the PGA European Tour, Adidas and the global sports marketing & entertainment agency CSM.
Sophie is a member of the WSL Advisory Board and business partner for Tersa. She also currently advises Egoli, LOVB, MIXhalo, Racquet Publishing, Pamos, round21, West 10th, Sportable and McKinsey, is a mentor for Techstars and a Member of the Board of Governors for the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
 
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Frederico Pena, better known as Fred is a "Jerry Maguire" inspired Brazilian Sports agent, working across Brazilian Football for 20 years, including many years with the leading Agency, Traffic. Great inside look into Brazilian and South American Football, the rise and demise of Traffic and how we worked together in Asia. 
 
Key Highlights
How the movie "Jerry Maguire" and Brazil winning the 1994 World Cup in the US inspired his career path
The Mueller Sports Group and Jeff Slack saved him from a boring Banking job
Working on due diligence for Mueller Sports Group and Hicks & Muse buying Traffic
Traffic deal. Mr Hawilla, the owner, amazing deal maker, sold 49% for USD 125 mil and then bought it back for a fraction when Hicks/Muse ran out of cash during Dotcom crash. TNT - Traffic & Torneos partnership holding key rights. 
First role in Traffic, exploring Internet concepts as we all did during that time in 2000.
Moving into TV sales - working with TSA in Asia as agent
The challenges of selling South American Football in early 2000 and what we (Traffic & TSA) had to do to build the confidence with broadcasters. Selling it as a stand alone product
Next step in his career to get closer to becoming an agent. Representing players just for sponsorship deals. 2002, deal w Brazil's Ronaldo, the best player in the world at that time
Copa America 2004 in Peru - LG Electronics sponsorship deal. Tag team with TSA to broker deal
Finally becoming an agent, starting his own agency at 29. Support from Hawilla. Being an Entrepreneur, not an easy start, 15 months before the first deal
Trading Brazilian players to Europe. His Jerry Maguire moments
How tough it is to become a Pro Footballer, lots of competition in Brazil
Coming back into Traffic - TPO model (Third party player ownership) - player fund, youth academy. Not allowed anymore
Selling controlling stake to Traffic of his agency - turned into Traffic Telantos - buying/selling players. Big deals, with top European and Chinese clubs
Traffic's demise and the link to the Fifa scandal (started in 2013). Hawilla was brokering the deals with Federations himself
Hawilla was a witness cooperating with the Department of Justice in the US. Hawilla being the Villan or Victim? 
Traffic Sports business, rights, clubs, etc sold to pay for fines
Management buy out of the Agency part for Round 2 as an Entrepreneur
Now focus on young players. Dynamics between the small and big agents in Brazil 
Biggest transfer in Brazil football - Vini Jr, now at Real Madrid - transferred at age of 17
Brazilian Football industry and Covid - bullish on players, less on Clubs and Football structure -lots of sports politics - little long term focus 
Red Bull entering Brazilian Football with a Club recently. 
The flawed logic of bringing all top Brazilian players back and final thoughts on the Brazilian players ecosystem
 
About Frederico Pena
Education background in finance and economics having graduated from the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business (The Wharton School/CAS), the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. Over 20 years of experience in the football industry, both in South America (Brazil in special) and Europe.
Fluent in 4 languages (Portuguese, English, Spanish and French), having lived in 5 different countries (Brazil, United States, France, Canada and England). Professional experience in football includes: player representation, player fund creation and management (third party ownership), consultancy in club acquisition, club management (in both Portugal and Brazil), marketing of sponsorship and TV rights (buying and selling).
Extensive international experience having travelled to over 30 countries in the world to do business with key industry stakeholders such as federations (Fifa, Conmebol, etc), clubs (Real Madrid, Barcelona, etc), sportswear brands (Nike, Adidas, Puma, etc), agencies (Dentsu, Sportfive, etc), sponsors (Coca-Cola, Hyundai, LG, etc) and TV companies (Globo, Fox, etc).
 
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Andreas Heyden, is a German web/digital native, learning from the tough times of the dotcom boom/bust days and the 2008/09 global financial crisis and now leading Digital Innovations at the Bundesliga (DFL - German Football League).  Great insides into the Digital innovations and projects of one of the leading Football Leagues in the world, which also aims to be the most innovative Football League in the world.  Plenty to learn for anyone in this space. Listen closely.
 
Key Highlights
Early days in Andreas’ career and how that leads to his roles in the digital space and the learning of cycles across the past 20 years
Crisis leaves clues and creates new opportunities Web 2.0 came after the dotcom crash,  Social Media boom after the 2008 financial crisis, what will come after Covid?
RTL Interactive (part of RTL Bertelsmann, one of the biggest Broadcasting Groups in Europe) – video on demand, taking a traditional broadcaster into Web 2.0 world after the dotcom crash
“I am a customer guy first, focus on the fan and customer”
Sevenload – German version of YouTube – joining just before the 2008 crisis – tough road ahead in a start-up environment
ProSiebenSat 1 Games – (another Giant of German Broadcasting)  & Maxdome– entering the Gaming world  
His start as CEO of DFL Digital Sports (Bundesliga) – German Football League – his roles
How to create new revenue opportunities with content and data – three initiatives he is leading (using AI and machine learning)
Local relevance – providing customized content
Bundesliga Match Facts (Data driven stats) & Club data portal
Smart media archive – 150,000 hours of media footage digitized  
Treat “AI” like a colleague – create customized content for different clients and customers
AWS (Amazon Web Services) partnership and evolution of it – best in class in cloud services to integrated business partner now
Deltatre partnership – JV in Football data, VR, etc
Sports Innovation Trade Fair – every two years, setting up a real live environment(actual matches) to showcase new technology – next Spring 2022
DFL Digital innovations during Covid -  on-screen innovation, augmented reality, additional match facts, new camera positions
Glass to Glass strategy – from the camera Lens to the screen – DFL owns the parts of the entire value chain
Betting space – DFL digital role – provide data to betting operators
NBA Shots – NFT discussion – real collectables vs digital versions – exploring, difference in market dynamics
OTT ready anytime if its needed – difficult question when will the switch to D2C happen vs the existing model
Bundesliga looking at PE partnerships and the process internally
 
About Andreas Heyden
Since June 2015, Andreas Heyden is serving as CEO of the DFL digital sports GmbH being responsible for digital platforms & production and distribution of national and international media content. Before Andreas was the Managing Director of Maxdome GmbH since July 1st, 2013. Previously, Andreas was COO as part the management of ProSiebenSat.1 Game GmbH from December 2011 on.
Before this Andreas was a managing director of the startup Sevenload, where his responsibilities included cooperation with content and distribution partners as well as internationalization of the portal. Before joining Sevenload, Heyden was head of the innovation and production unit at RTL Interactive, where he established new internet business models in the games industry and other segments.
Heyden began his career at Metronet AG in 1996, where he worked in the Subscriber Marketing Department. In 1997, Heyden became a key account manager for I-D Media AG. Following his professional work in Singapore in 1999, he began working with Microsoft GmbH as part of the Product Marketing team for MSN.de.
 
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Jeff Slack, the new Managing Director of the Aston Martin Cognizant F1 team is a highly respected American Sports Executive with a truly global CV, having worked at Pro Serve & FAME in the US, Wassermann Media and IMG in the UK,  Inter Milan in Italy and a few others in between besides running his own agency the last few years out of London. His unique experiences are bar none across the globe and he is excited over the new chapter and challenge in F1.  Listen carefully and learn.   
 
Key Highlights
Early days at Pro-Serve (Donald Dell's Agency) in Washington.  Experience working with Donald Dell and David Falk and the learning as a young man.
Working with/for Michael Jordan (at David Falk’s FAME) – extraordinary experience
Joining the Mueller Sports Group in New York,  launching PSN.com in South America partnering with Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst – and what went wrong
Next stop CEO of Inter Milan as an American executive -  bringing US best practises to Italian Football and the reasons for it and stories behind it  
The “Juve” scandal and the “wrongs’ of Italian Football at the time,  Inter had an amazing team and should have won a few Scudettos (Italian Championships)
The next decade in the Agency world -  first Wassermann Media in the UK, building the Football Agency Division (working with Casey Wassermann)
Next IMG Football in London -  Teddy Forstmann days as the owner of IMG – JV partnerships in Asia, with CCTV in China and Reliance Group (Mukesh Ambani) in India
Launch of Indian Super League and work on the Chinese Super League marketing (both Football)
CCTV stamp of approval of IMG and the doors it opened
China Super League and two different opinions of its future   
India Super League and TSA’s competitive bid partnering with CAA against IMG at the time and the challenges of the League since then
IMG is sold to Endeavor Silverlake and this opens up an opportunity to set up his own agency
JS3 projects – FIBA Basketball Champions League, working with startups, etc
The Aston Martin Cognizant F1 story
Lawrence Stroll, world class entrepreneur, passionate motorsports enthusiast, buying Force India F1 team & turning it into Racing Point F1 and purchasing a stake in Aston Martin separately
Jeff’s role is focused on the commercial side and creating enterprise value for the team, building a community, etc  
Great history of the team from Jordan F1 days and of course Aston Martin’s last time in F1, 60 years ago
Positioning of the team and the sport in general and the amazing response and interest from sponsors and partners – testament to the Aston Martin brand
Cognizant – who is the “mysterious” Fortune 200 company most people never heard of and how both sides work together to make the car go faster (smart partnership)
Sebastian Vettel – an engineer racing a car – statement of intend
New car launched on March 3rd – featuring the iconic green
F1 2021 season and what to expect and how to prepare, from bubbles to testing, strict protocols
Vision to be a top 3 team this year
 
About Jeff Slack
Jeff Slack joins the Aston Martin Cognizant F1 team after a 30-year career across the sports industry. The American sports executive has extensive experience at the highest commercial level of sports.
His career began managing Michael Jordan's marketing activities before moving into sports private equity with Hicks, Muse.
In 2000, Slack became the first American CEO of a top European football club, Inter Milan. He also has a wide range of agency experience, with leadership positions at Wasserman and IMG.
More recently, Slack has been a commercial adviser to FIBA and Dorna, as well as undertaking a number of personal investments in businesses across the sports industry.
 
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Enjoy our deep dive into the world of ESPN the "worldwide leader in Sports" through Bernard Stewart's eyes and stories. 
Bernard has had an illustrious career at ESPN for 30 years, from the early days of the truly first Sports Network in the world to overseeing its expansions globally and many other roles. Learn how ESPN started, expanded, the challenges and growth stories told by a true insider.
 
Key Highlights
Coming out of College and Air Force teaching Film and starting independent projects in TV & Movie Production
Start working at a Capital City company, WTNH TV New Haven – first break and being taught the world of “Broadcast Politics”. Created Program called “First Edition”
ESPN – the start of the first Sports Network (1979) - father and son founding team (Bill and Scott Rasmussen) -  RCA’s first Satellite helps to distribute the channel across the US, start-up funding from Getty Oil (US$ 10 million) 
ESPN = Entertainment Sports Programming Network, original programming from Tractor pulling to Softball (only 6 hours a day), major sports still at the big traditional broadcasters 
ESPN Sports Center – iconic show, first time stories beyond the action and beyond the 3 min News highlights on traditional TV
John Malone (Liberty Media), true leader in Cable growth and expansion and support of ESPN (the content piece)  – meeting with ESPN and Malone group, game changer in revenue share model
Getting into the big League sports, MLB and NFL – didn’t come cheap – ability to pay purely because of large and growing cable fees (affiliate fees)
A reflection on market reported numbers - ESPN in 2020,  US$ 11 billion Revenue, US$ 8.6 billion in Affiliate fees versus US$ 2.3b in advertising (only) – game changer 
His producer Role – creating “stories” and working around broadcast embargos, etc -  1984 Olympics in LA and Sarajevo 
1983 America’s Cup – first time the US teams loses the Cup in 132 years – Bernard had a crew at event from the start to capture the drama while its unfolding, big success 
Short sting at WBZ TV Boston before Round 2 at ESPN as Director Program Planning – it’s a monster to plan (war room to map out two year worth of programming), together with Program Acquisition team 
Shaping the sports world through smart programming and connecting different parts of the industry 
First overseas action – Australian group showed up, trailer in Parking Lot, recording content and shipping tapes to Australia  - syndication by tapes at that time 
TV Conferences and Conventions – big part of the push for ESPN going global - new Sandbox to play in – develop international division (syndicating US content globally)
Sportel history - Monte Carlo, Monaco early days – reminiscing on how it all started and ESPN’s – “the worldwide leader in Sports” role to shape the industry  
Moving to Hong Kong as VP & GM of ESPN Asia Pacific – the opportunities and challenges to take the brand globally – understand, listen and being sensitive to local differences, get a seat on the table first - Disney buying ESPN in mid 90s and leaving it mostly alone 
ESPN/Star Sports (ESS) world – ESPN & Murdoch JV in Asia – his view as a Board Member – how it started (my view) and his inside stories   
The challenges of how to make it work and Marcus recent discussion with a Senior executive in the new ESPN/Disney lead Fox Sports Asia – Bernard’s career in a nutshell, creating opportunities - History of Cricket program example 
Look at the current world of Sports Media Rights and Cable industry vs OTT dynamics – reverse world – shrinking Cable subscriptions
Disney+,  ESPN+,  Netflix and big growth of OTT      
ESPN+ USD 5.99 in the US -  cannibalization of business model? Is the House on fire or not discussion?
Value for money philosophy ingrained in Disney and how that shapes their decision making – price vs value – and change with the times
Disney & ESPN doubling down by purchasing FOX Sports channels globally (over US$ 70 billion transaction) -  his view, it’s about repositioning by Murdoch 
SPACs – 60-70 launched over the past 12 months, new directions and new opportunities for the big players 
Wrapping up with Bernard’s current roles and projects, back at writing scripts and film making, working with family offices raising funds for slate of films (AJE3 Studios – www.aje3studios.com)
E-Zero – Ecological Zero idea
 
About
Bernard Stewart was a member of the original creative team that started SportsCenter and ESPN. During his extended career with ESPN, Bernard's senior executive roles included the development and management of long-term strategies for ESPN’s International family of networks. He was the company's most senior executive for all of Asia including India; Oceania (Australia, NZ); the Pacific (Japan), and the Caribbean.After a lengthy career with the Walt Disney Company/ESPN, Bernard founded an entertainment, lifestyle, and production company. AJE3 Studios has a very active list of projects that include Family Office advisory, Film and Television, digital platform development, website design, and Branding Marketing.Bernard's content development and acquisition experiences include directed high profile rights negotiations for premier world events including The FIFA World Cup, The Olympics, and The UEFA Champions League. He was a program executive involved in the development of the ESPY's; launched international versions of SportsCenter and an Emmy nominated producer, and have created or developed over 30 original series and multi-platform program concepts for network, digital, and syndication distribution.Bernard is recognized as a featured international industry speaker with appearances that include Renmin University, The Peoples Republic of China; International Trade Specialist for the United States at The Bahamas Copyright Stakeholder Summit; the Jamaica Sports Business Summit on Global Brand building, and a featured speaker and Advisor to the Jamacia International Fim Festival.Author of the business management and life coaching book, “Fifty50 - A Guide to a Successful Work-Life Balance”.
 
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John Gleasure has been on the forefront of sports media distribution from his early days in BskyB to the dotcom boom days of Sportal to launching 3G applications for Hutchison Whampoa. And then starting Inform with a group of fellow sports executives 15 years ago which turned into PERFORM and now DAZN (the leading Sports OTT platform globally). Incredible journey and learning along the way. 
 
Key Highlights
Playing some decent football can get you a good job, ask John.  His early days at EMI Music 
BskyB, learning the ropes in the cable industry, Marketing Manager for Sky Sports, Sky Digital, his true University in business and sports 
Dotcom days, Sportal – interviewed by Andrew Croker, incredible team of people, launching various websites (portals) for sports properties, wild ride – dotcom crash
Leading to role at Hutchison Whampoa, Head of Sports – 3G rollout, video clips, etc – learning, it takes a lot longer than you expect for technology and consumers to pick it up (as example, the company didn’t use the Premier League rights for 1.5 years because they were not ready to deploy it)
Inform Group – ventured into Entrepreneurship together with Simon Denyer, Stefano D’Anna and Mike Ingram   
First business model didn’t work and then stumbled into the Live streaming for Betting websites space, started to work with Premium TV (Oli Slipper)
Business started to take off and grow, merger with Premium TV to create Perform Group – mutually beneficial for both sides, bringing in Access Industries (Ukraine born, UK/US Billionaire, Sir Len Blavatnik)
Lots of opportunities to grow internationally for a mostly UK based business at the time 
Took role as MD APAC and moved to Asia – acquisition of content, driving new digital revenues which were not there before for rights holders, building partnerships 
Key to Performs success was ingesting huge volume of content at the right cost and driving new revenue streams from it – betting revenue, PPV, other subscription services (first look at OTT)
IPO in 2011, raised GBP 168 million in process, looking for growth – buying Goal.com, Opta, Livesport services, etc 
Going from B2B to B2C business model and the challenges along the way 
De-listing in 2013 (GBP 700 mil valuation), market didn’t appreciate all the new business areas the management was exploring, including OTT – safer to be private 
The start of the DAZN idea, in 2014 – OTT is much more than streaming on the web – radical change of business model 
Two distinct businesses, Perform B2B and DAZN B2C – clear focus on growing DAZN and Perform needed its own home to continue its growth 
Divested out of Perform, Goal.com, etc – kept equity stakes – New partnership now known as "Perform Stats"
How the DAZN launch markets were picked, DACH (German-speaking region) and Japan – similarities in PayTV markets and opportunities to buy strong content for a reasonable price
Launching across multiple platforms from native Apps (Android & IOS), web, smart TV, consoles, Pay TV boxes, etc – find DAZN everywhere, anytime 
OTT and beyond – 60-75% watch DAZN on TV in Germany – certain events over 1 million streams – watching through traditional TV still the largest viewership (surprising for me) 
OTT goes way beyond traditional linear TV coverage in terms of fan engagement and user interactivity
But the “old” arbitrage model is still there and pure subscription model is tough to make work, advertising still plays an important role and other revenue streams  
DAZN’s global boxing offerings – US$ 1.99 per month (test price) – purchased big rights globally 
Multi-sport focused, different offerings across the world. Scale is a big differentiator, better rates, etc
F1 in Spain, Bundesliga and Champions League in Germany – lots of new rights coming on stream and new management firepower 
Partnership model vs straight forward rights sales model – current tough times might help in a positive way if we all learn from it
 
About
John Gleasure is DAZN Group Executive Vice Chairman. In this role, he works on the company’s long-term strategy and focuses on key priorities including key global business partnerships, new ventures and diversity and inclusion. John is a member of the DAZN Group executive committee management team and is a founder of DAZN and Perform Group. With more than 25 years of experience within international media, rights, marketing and distribution, John previously held leadership roles at Sky Sports, EMI Records, Hutchison Whampoa and Sony Pictures.
 
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Lucien Boyer, a rock star with a French accent in the world of Sports marketing, with an amazing career and stories to back it up.  Enjoy our journey through Lucien’s career across France, Australia and the UK, from the America’s Cup to FIFA World Cup and Coca-Cola to Louis Vuitton.  Lucien has leveraged the power of major global competitions and major commercial partners throughout his career. Enjoy the stories and the learning.  Plenty of it.
 
Key Highlights
As a student getting involved in raising money for the French Challenger’s Boat for the America’s Cup, which takes him to Australia
Eyes opened to the power of sports and combining his passion of sports with interest in marketing
From Saatchi & Saatchi to Larousse Lamborghini Formula One  - driving revenue from 20 mil to 120 mil French France (pre EURO)
Learning activation, telling stories for sponsors, branded content and content marketing
Lifestyle Marketing Group (LMG), his first startup incubated by Saatchi & Saatchi – brand consulting in the lifestyle space
Two Olympic Games coming to Europe, 1992, both Winter & Summer Olympics in the same year, Albertville (France) & Barcelona (Spain) – won pitch to promote the European Union
Big Global Events have been his big breakthrough, next up 1998, FIFA World Cup in France
Sold LMG to Havas to have access to a bigger global network. Rocky start to the new partnership, ISL part of the story
Took over the whole sports business in Havas and started a global expansion drive after a new owner of the group came in
At the peak 600 people, operating across 30 countries – over six years, including acquisitions – clear process and strategy in opening new offices, Coca-Cola a key client globally
Acquisition of Ignition – ran Torch Relay for Coke and FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour
2002 FIFA World Cup, first EA FIFA Esports competition  
Havas Sports & Entertainment (HSE), activation and execution of sponsorships (representing the client side) & creating new ideas and strategies for rights holders (Louis Vuitton Trophy Case)
Olympic Bids for France, involved in many tough losses – realization that France will never win unless France has a bigger influence in global sports – moved to London  
Winning agency of record for Barclays as title sponsor of the Premier League
Moving up into the Vivendi Group as Chief Marketing Officer for the whole group (almost 50,000 employees)
Creating new synergies across the group – used “Anglo -Saxon” Paddington Bear IP acquisition as proof of concept, new concepts in Music, Movie, Gaming, Licensing, etc across the group
Vivendi integral partner in helping Paris win the bid for the 2024 Olympics & the key differences winning it this time around in his view
Global Sports Week – the idea behind it. Shake, Shape & Share the future of Sport -  Next one coming up Feb 1-5th, 2021 – check out www.globalsportsweek.com
Connecting six other future Olympic cities to Paris virtually
Top speakers from Gerard Pique, Romain Grosjean, Justine Henin, Sebastian Coe, etc
Inspiring Sport Capital – PE fund to support sports industry and new digital transformation – six major investments worth over EURO 75 million
From Online Bridge to club management system to Yachting to Golf equipment – diverse portfolio – focus on growth capital, no restrictions on time and form of exit
Fnatic Chairman – latest role to learn first hand the world of Gaming/Esports
Helping the team grow and deal with challenges ahead – digital relationship started during Covid
 
About
Lucien Boyer is the Chairman and Co-Founder of the Global Sports Week. He is also Founding and Managing Partner of Inspiring Sport Capital, and he has now joined Fnatic as Chairman. Lucien is also serving as board non-executive Director of Groupe Le Five.He was previously Chief Marketing Officer at Vivendi, the leading integrated media, content and communications group. Lucien has been an industry pioneer in sponsorship activation, branded content, experiential marketing, fan engagement and social entertainment.
Beyond his management role, Lucien is recognized as one of today’s leading experts in sports and entertainment marketing. He was awarded his first Gold at Cannes Lions in 2006, before serving as a member of the jury of the Branded Content & Entertainment category in 2014. He initiated the creation of the Global Sports Forum, of which he was the General Commissioner, a global debate platform around the sports industry’s future challenges. He also is the Co-Chair of the Digital Transformation & Innovation Forum at the French Chamber of Great Britain.
Lucien is a frequent speaker at many international conferences such as the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, Advertising Week Europe and New-York, CMO Summit, Sporsora’s annual congress and the Ivy Sports Symposium. He has also been featured in many influential media including Bloomberg TV, The Guardian and Le Figaro as well as industry journals such as SportsPro, SportBusiness and SportCal.
A graduate from ESSEC Business School, Lucien Boyer is 56 years old. He is married, has three sons and after 6 years in London, he now lives in Paris. Lucien Boyer is passionate about sailing, skiing, the Olympics and music. 
 
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Craig Thompson has been on the forefront of Sports Marketing across the globe for over 30 years. We are taking a close look into his remarkable career with a deep dive into his role as a Founding Member of TEAM Marketing and the creation of the UEFA Champions League in the early 90s.  Amazing stories and lots of great learning as always from a true veteran of the industry.
 
Key Highlights
From professional Beach Volleyball in California to Lausanne, Switzerland with FIVB and not a happy start/ending
Next stop FEI (Equestrian) leading him to ISL, working with Peter Sprogis on IAAF events
Credits and accolades to Horst Dassler for being one of the true founding father of our industry, unfortunately passed away too young
From ISL to a founding member of TEAM Marketing with Juergen Lenz and Klaus Hempel
The “TEAM” started from ground Zero again, the big opportunity, tendering for the Champions League project (had to raise Swiss France 200 million as part of the deal)
TEAM wins the tender and has 8 months to pull off the first Season  (1992) – create broadcast schedule, sponsorship programs, operations, club manuals, etc
First time “mid-week Football matches”    
8 Teams (two groups of 4 teams)
Every match at 8.30pm CET (appointment TV)
Country by Country Broadcast deals
Broadcast Sponsorship inventory from Broadcasters
Commercial Advertising Inventory (free spots) sponsors didn’t know what to do with it
Broadcasters had to show a post-match highlights of all the matches (drove exposure for all teams and competition)
Success formula of TEAM was true TEAM WORK
How to deal with the big teams and the egos in the room
Challenges and success stories in the early days, highly successful product now with over US$ 5 billion in annual revenue
The Dutch World War II story
Tough decision to leave TEAM for personal reasons
Champions Hockey League (Ice Hockey) – the next project – raised EURO 60 million – 2008/09 recession killed it, revived and still running now
Next stop America’s Cup in San Francisco – changing the rules and appeal of the sport for younger audiences – racing Catamarans in SF Bay
Cameras on boats, sailors with mics, and other inventions including America’s Cup Healthy Ocean campaign (Larry Ellison wasn’t a big fan)
Mindspring Capital – focus on tech companies getting into sports (looked at over 600 companies the last two years)
Mindspring Capital is a Team of investors and experts across the world, focused on early stage companies (B2B focus), paid advisor role and investor at the same time
Ticket size, US$ 250k for 10-25% of company, plus advisory fee back
Leadership lessons – rallying a small group of professionals, full transparency, listening to the best ideas in the room and getting rid of bad apples fast
Love for sports and love for the job and picking your mentors and leaders carefully
 
About
For more than 30 years, Craig Thompson has been intimately involved in the creation and management of some of the most recognized sporting events across the globe:
CEO | 34th America’s Cup Together with Russell Coutts, CEO of Oracle Racing and four-time winner, Craig created and launched the concept for AC34, which included the use of catamarans, racing next to shore, shorter TV-friendly format and the creation of the AC34 World Series.
CEO/Owner | Ovation Sports AG Craig developed the concept and directed the inaugural season for the Champions Hockey League in association with the IIHF in Europe. Also specialized in development and management of sports properties and events for the Juventus Football Club, Spanish Basketball League, and UFL United Arab Emirates National Soccer League.
Managing Director | T.E.A.M. Marketing AG In his role with the exclusive worldwide marketing agency of UEFA for the Champions League, Craig was a management board member for 11 years and key member of the 6-person team responsible for initial creation and subsequent development of the Champions League project. The Champions League generates billions in annual sponsorship and TV revenues and is Europe’s most important club competition in Europe’s most important sport — soccer.
If anyone is interested to reach out to Craig, please contact at: craig@mindspring.capital
 
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Andrew Craig, is a true industry veteran, from being an early executive member of ISL Marketing to rising to Deputy CEO, to leading CART as their CEO to a successful IPO, before spending the last 20 years as Consultant with his own business (The Craig Company) across successful Olympics Bids, International Sports Federations and motorsports.
 
Key Highlights
His early days, getting started at Nestle as a Sales Executive in the 70s before moving into the Advertising world and starting his first agency in PR & Marketing
Early involvement in motorsports and with Adidas
Which turns out to be a fork in his career and lead to joining ISL as Marketing Director just shortly after it was founded by Host Dassler (son of Adi Dassler, founder of Adidas), with Juergen Lenz and Klaus Hempel leading the charge (early 80s)
ISL’s Glory Days in the 80s – representing FIFA & UEFA, creation of SRI, first research firm in the industry, etc
The Olympic TOP Program and the true story and players behind it – from Samaranch to Horst Dassler
Key to it was bringing all the individual National Olympic Committee rights together under one umbrella
Greatest moment, his first Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988
What went wrong at ISL, bankruptcy in early 2000 (he had left in 1994) – death of Horst Dassler and Lenz & Hempel leaving – leadership issues
Joining CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) Series as CEO, open wheel racing series in the USA
Big challenge from the start with Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indy 500) owner Tony George
Two Racing Series competed for a period of time,  CART and Indy Racing League (IRL)
Taking CART public on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1998, reason and process, benefits to team owners, valuation went up to US$ 750 million
Some discussions with Bernie Ecclestone to buy F1 -  CART dissolved in 2003 and was purchased by Indy Racing League. Recently Series bought by Roger Penske
“The Craig Company” – starting his own Consulting business in 2001
Olympic Consulting – working with Olympic Bidding Cities – Vancouver, London, Sochi, Paris, etc
The role and responsibilities of being a Consultant to Olympic bidding cities
Understanding the fundamentals of the voting system – the art of winning bids (emotional connections)
His role with Ifs (International Federations) linked to their Olympic participation (Olympic Wrestling story)
Legacy Sports vs New Sports in the Olympics – his views on the balancing act and Esports potential   
The big 2020 events which moved to 2021 – his and my views on Tokyo and others
World Lacrosse’s Olympic ambitions  and his work with startups as investor & advisor
To reach Andrew +12488192100 (phone) & thecraigcompanyllc@gmail.com
 
About
After an early career with Nestlé and in advertising, Andrew Craig moved to sport when he joined senior management at ISL Marketing in 1983. Responsibilities included work on the FIFA World Cup prior to focusing on the successful development of the International Olympic Committee’s global marketing program.
In 1994 Craig was appointed CEO of Championship Auto Racing Teams in the USA. Craig executed a successful IPO for the company on the NYSE in 1998. He consulted on the negotiations for the F1 Grand Prix in Baku. He served as Vice Chair of the FIA Touring Car Commission from 2008 to 2015 and as a Member of the FIA Endurance Racing Commission from inception through until 2018. Currently Craig is Permanent Representative in North America for the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Craig has extensive involvements in the Olympic World. He worked on four winning Olympic bids - as an advisor on Vancouver 2010 and as Senior International Relations Advisor on London 2012, Sochi 2014 and Paris 2024. He was an advisor to the International Golf Federation on its campaign to become an Olympic Sport and as Senior Advisor to United World Wrestling on its campaign for reinstatement in the Olympic Games. He served as Senior Advisor to the European Olympic Committees on the development of the European Games and served on the European Games Coordination Commissions for the 2015 and 2019 editors. Craig is Senior Advisor to World Lacrosse on its long term campaign for Olympic inclusion.
Craig serves on:The Advisory Board of "Wait Time"​ (http://www.thewaittimes.com); a tech start up that optimizes service times at sports venue concessions and other time critical locations.As a Director of “HookIt”from 2007 to 2017 and continues as an Adviser to the company. “Hook It” connects athletes with brands and measures athlete engagement through social media in real time. (www.hookit.com)As a Director and Founder of Sport at the Service of Humanity (www.sportforhumanity.com)from 2014 to 2020.
 
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Pete Vlastelica is a true product of the Internet and Silicon Valley boom era, studying in Stanford in the late 90s and later getting an MBA at Berkeley.  From his entrepreneurial exploits building, growing, raising funding and eventually selling Yardbarker to FOX Sports to his most recent role as President & CEO of Activision Blizzard Esports (including Commissioner of the Overwatch League), building the Overwatch and Call of Duty Franchise Leagues.  Incredible stories and insights into his illustrious career and close up look into the world’s first franchise Esports Leagues.  
 
Key Highlights
Coming out of Stanford into Disney Internet Group in late 1999, going to London
Back to New York working in a design and software agency
Back to California for an MBA at Berkeley, focus on Entrepreneurship – while studying focused on starting his own company
First idea failed, fractional ownership of Music rights (too complicated)
Started Yardbarker with four buddies from Berkeley – first investors was one of the instructors, friends & family, bootstrapping, US$ 100k lasted 18 months
Yardbarker become the largest network of sports blogs, with over 1,000 independent sites, bloggers and pro athletes (pre-Twitter days)  
Growing the platform to over 22 million uniques and attracting millions in advertising dollars
Funding rounds, from US$ 100k, to US$ 1 million to US$ 6 million (Series A) from proper VC investors (valuations in the twenty million range)
Competition from other Ad Networks and 2008/09 Financial Crisis came along, new lessons, going into survival mode
Fox Sports buys the business in 2010, a successful transaction for everyone involved
Fox Sports Digital & Fox Sports days – building the digital platforms within the Network (FS1) – “sucked into the belly of the corporate beast”
Joining Activision Blizzard, a true Gaming Giant (US$ 67 billion valuation), to build their new Esports Leagues modelling the sports franchise model
Overwatch League – first League in 2018 with 12 teams – after 12 months of planning, building rev share model, governing structures, etc  
Building a global City based franchise League – first of its kind  - attracting top owners (NFL, NBA, Premier League team owners)
Educational process with investors – franchise fees starting US$ 20 million now up to US$ 30-50 million (3rd party sources)
League monetizes League sponsors, media rights, licensing, merchandise, etc and shares with the teams in addition to prize pool (like in traditional sports) – first season reaching US$ 200 million in revenue (3rd party source)
Building an entire League infrastructure from scratch, including minor league structures around the world, ultimately building a career path for players
Call of Duty League – similar model but not as easy as copy/paste, designing a League to fit the Game, different styles and modes
How 2020 effected the Leagues and season – huge learning curve on online vs offline competitions
Dynamics between Teams and top star players – opportunities for sponsors and partners
Korea learning – cultural export from K-Pop to Esports
Interactivity between Gamers and fans, way beyond traditional sports model – Esports is taking fan engagement model to another level – sports needs to learn from it
Comparing Esports Leagues vs Major Esports Competition with tens of millions in prize money
Dota 2 – The International – tens of millions in prize pool, mostly generated from in-game purchase and special access passes by the fans
The difference to traditional sports – short game of content (shorten supply vs demand), Esports is the opposite, 24/7 interaction with fans
 
About
Pete Vlastelica is President and CEO of Major League Gaming (MLG), a division of Activision Blizzard devoted to creating the best esports experiences for fans across games, platforms and geographies. Prior to MLG, Vlastelica was the Executive Vice President of Digital at FOX Sports, where he focused on content and product development, social media, technology, and creation of multi-platform content properties, including the Emmy-award winning “Garbage Time with Katie Nolan”.
He directed the growth of FOXSports.com and the mobile app FOX Sports Go, where he oversaw the streaming of thousands of live sporting events, including Super Bowl XLVIII, which set a new internet record for streaming viewers for a sporting event. Recognized for his influence in the sports media industry, Vlastelica is a member of Sports Business Journal’s prestigious “Forty Under 40” Class of 2014. Vlastelica earned an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Stanford.
 
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Seth Berger has seen it all, took the risks as an Entrepreneur, build an iconic brand in the process (AND1), sold the business, with success and failures along the way. He shares his amazing stories here with us with a smile and laughter. The Sixers Innovation Lab gives him now the playground to follow his passion, being a Coach at heart. Listen and learn. Tons of incredible Entrepreneurial lessons in here.
 
 
Key Highlights
How it all started - coming out of Wharton Grad School - AND1 Database Marketing business early days...
Great Entrepreneurial start up stories not to be missed
The real AND1 started in a Pizza place
As an Entrepreneur you are winning and losing every day.
Ego is the brother of insecurity. And Seth has no time for either
Focus on 16 year old Basketball consumers - AND1 T-Shirts were born
Some luck - MJ retired for the first time and his brand stopped selling and retailers were looking for something new 
From T-Shirts to Shorts to Basketball Shoes - almost bankrupted the company in the process
Incredible Stephon Marbury story - Marbury 1 - break an ankle with SM
Business took off from there hitting USD 280 mil in revenue and become 2nd biggest Basketball shoe brand in the USA
Creativity a key to the success - great slogans "call me Mayor because I spend all my time downtown" 😂
Commitment and focus and no space for ego
Birth of Mixedtape Tour and ESPN's Streetball
Selling the company - the stories and emotions behind it
The story behind "Tai Chi" - Vince Carter, 2000 NBA Slam dunk contest
Hoops TV - ahead of its time and despite all efforts it failed
Sixers Innovation Lab (SIL) - reconnecting with Scott O'Neil & HBSE
SIL's USP - access to HBSE network and affiliated services and cash
Invested in 14 companies, sold one so far
From sports gambling, Esports to health drinks - broad range with a focus on B2C - examples
What are the three most important factors to chose investments: Market, Team, Idea 💡
Ask the right questions. Technology today allows you to find the right answers
Focus currently on US companies but open to others
Gaming & Esports - it's real and might become bigger than real sports
SIL's three investment in this space (U.gg,..)
Betting on young talent
Basketball "Coach" at heart
 
About
Managing Director, Sixers Innovation Lab
Seth Berger earned his MBA in 1993 from the Wharton School and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from University of Pennsylvania in 1989. Seth has been the CEO of four businesses in the consumer space, and his fifth “venture” has been to build an elite high school basketball program as Head Coach. In these ventures, Seth has started with a hyper focus on the understanding of the target consumer, with the philosophy that every consumer business must meet and communicate a specific consumer need to survive. After that, he has worked to create branding and marketing strategies to drive messaging that sticks in a world of constant consumer messaging.
 
AND 1 — 1993-2000, 2002-2005
As Founder and CEO of AND 1, he ran an upstart basketball sneaker, apparel and entertainment company. After starting out selling screen printed tee shirts in 1993, the Company moved into the broader apparel and footwear market. AND 1 reached its height it 2001, when it attained the No. 2 spot in the US basketball footwear market. At its peak, AND 1 had revenues of $285 million, including its licensees. In addition, AND 1’s entertainment division created the Mix Tape tour and Streetball, an ESPN series that was the No. 1 rated show among male teens, eclipsing SportsCenter. AND 1 also donated more than 5 percent of its annual profits to youth-based charities. In 1999, the partners sold a stake in the business to TA Associates, a venture firm out of Boston. In 2005, the company was sold to American Sporting Goods, a private shoe company based in Irvine, Calif.
 
HoopsTV.com — 1999-2001
Seth served as CEO of HoopsTV.com from 1999-2001. He helped raise $15 million in financing for the business, hired its staff, and launched a site dedicated to basketball fans all around the world. Despite negotiating a partnership deal with ESPN.com, the business was unable to generate enough revenues to continue, largely because broadband capabilities were not strong enough to sustain its business model. Seth shut the business down in 2001.
 
Lightning Gaming — 2005-2006
In the fall of 2005, Seth took on a part-time CEO role for another start up, Lightning Poker. This business was the brainchild of Brian Haveson, former CEO of Nutrisystem. Brian was traveling the country as a professional poker player, and he approached Seth with his idea and patent. Seth helped raise $1 million in financing, hired a staff, created an automated poker table, and negotiated an international distribution deal with Shufflemaster, a public company. After 12 months, he turned the Company back over to Brian, as part of their original agreement for his term of service. Lightning Gaming now holds many slot machine licenses, in addition to its original product, and is a non-traded public company. More information can be found at www.lightningpoker.net.
 
Gravy Train — 2011-2012
Seth self-funded a small venture in the mobile gaming space. GravyTrain created a Facebook game, “imthnkgof” (I am thinking of), and launched it in December of 2011. Although the idea was executed well, the market for these games started to crash, led by Zynga, and Seth shut down the business before wasting too much money.
 
The Westtown School, Westtown, PA, 2007-Present
Seth is currently the Head Boys Basketball Coach at The Westtown School, in Westtown, PA. He has had this role for 12 years, and was an assistant for two years before that. His teams have a 72 percent winning percentage, and they won their league title seven of the last eight seasons. The team won the state championships in 2016 and 2017, and have four runner-up finishes. The Westtown program is a high level athletic and academic program that has helped many kids move on to play Division 1, 2 and 3 basketball in recent years. When Seth took over the program, the team had a 3-15 record in his last year as an assistant, and it had only won one basketball league title in 1986.
He and his wife, Christelle — also a Wharton School graduate — have three boys. They also have guardianship of five brothers from overseas who attended the Westtown School and now live with the family. Prior to Wharton, Seth was Legislative Director for US Representative Harold Ford, Sr. from 1989-1991. He was, at 21-years old, the youngest Legislative Director on Capitol Hill. As an undergraduate at Penn, Seth was a four-year letter winner, captain and MVP of the Sprint Football team. He played one year of junior varsity basketball. Seth also received the Bowl senior award for service to the community. He is still waiting for his first 10-day contract in the NBA.
 
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Drew Sheinman’s career is a 40 year smorgasbord in the world of sports, sports marketing, entertainment and now Private Equity from MLB, MSG, Coca-Cola, Breeders Cup, Endeavor to now Brand Velocity Partners.  Incredible journey from the humble days of a management trainee in the MLB in 1979 to now running his own Private Equity partnership. As always, enjoy listening and learning.
 
Key Highlights
Starting his career as one of the first Management trainees in the MLB
Baltimore Orioles stories, working with new ownership, winning the World Series in 1983
Next stop New York Mets, as a Yankees fan, creating new marketing and revenue streams.  “Let’s go Mets” rally song for 1986 World Series Champion – according to Rolling Stone Magazine, the greatest anthem in baseball. https://youtu.be/2N4VIXM1RJk
Two World Series Rings from Orioles and Mets days. Started his first own company, integrating sports and entertainment. Investor pulled the plug.  
Madison Square Garden – marketing and business development for the teams across many different genres, sports, entertainment, etc
Created the first MLB Fan Fest around the All-Star weekend.  MSG owned the concept.  Still running 20 years later.
Coca-Cola Director Sports Marketing – they wanted someone from the outside looking in
Coca- Cola Olympic City – at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, Theme Park concept, etc almost a 1,000 presentations to get it approved – great success story
From FMCG to Real Estate -  Running Malls for Simon Brand Ventures (250 Malls across the US). Turning them into entertainment complexes. 2 Billion visitors annually. Simon live media network.
Tiki Barber (NFL NY Giants player) partnership -  Tiki Ventures (replicating Magic Johnson success story, bringing athletes into business opportunities)
Breeders Cup – Chief Marketing/Revenue officer – 30-day crash course around the industry –
Endeavor (WME-IMG) – Brand Ventures – first agency for retired American Football players (22,000), talent management from athletes, Hollywood stars to supermodels (Agent 2.0) – working with Kobe Bryant
Brand Velocity Partners – Private Equity – started 2 years ago – independent sponsors model (closed several acquisitions already) – focus on middle-market companies
Barbeque Guys – brought in Manning Football family and other players as investors and brand ambassadors
Core Values:  integrity, kindness, carrying -  creating balance – do well and do good
Not a fund (independent sponsor model) – looking for deals which fits the model, Ebida threshold.  Then raise the funds to close the deal.
Looking across health, wellness, Tech, food & nutrition, etc -  other deals Original Footwear (Military Footwear),
Reflection on 2020 – was a great year despite the challenges – all funds raised virtual
Vision Works-  Rebels Spirit – agave spirit from Mexico – new category called “Avila”
 
About
If you want to launch, scale or monetize your business, you want Drew in the room. He's a self-described "white space" guy. The guy that not only looks forward but looks around to come up with fresh ideas to grow your business.Drew has a results-charged track record of guiding premier companies and iconic celebrities to differentiate their brand and optimize revenues through the development and execution of ground-breaking concepts, strategic partnerships and new business ventures. His ideas have created a billion dollars of top-line value.What makes Drew extremely valuable is his proven ability to shape his ideas for profit and take them to market to his vast and well-connected professional network. Drew particularly enjoys building new categories, the most challenging and exciting work of all. He is best known for envisioning and making markets in sports and entertainment for: Endeavor(WME-IMG), MLB, International Olympic Committee, Coca Cola, Madison Square Garden, Simon Property Group, Breeders Cup, NY Mets, and Baltimore Orioles.Drew is a Partner of Brand Velocity Partners, a disruptive lower-middle market private equity firm that focuses on consumer and data companies with $5-30 million of EBITDA. BVP is differentiated because of its focus on marketing, something its competitor’s lack. Drew takes great pride in BVP’s core values -- integrity, thoughtfulness and kindness.Drew is also a Director and Partner at Revel Spirits, a high quality importer of all agave spirits produced exclusively in the Morelos region of Mexico. All Revel spirits meet the high-quality standards of a trademarked new disruptive category now called “Avila.”Drew “lives every second of every day” and loves spending time with his family, dog and doing his part, such as mentoring kids in sports to make the world a better place to live. 
 
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Feel Good by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyadenCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_feel-goodMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/bvgIqqRStcQ