Today's article is quite special, talking about NBA and investment. The reason for choosing the topic is attributed to the end of June. In Beijing, Zhang Ying and Curry had an hour-long conversation in the car.
As we all know, Zhang Ying likes the NBA.
As we all know, Curry likes to invest.
Zhang Ying likes to chat with people from all walks of life, and summarizes the characteristics of these people and the common features of through chat, thereby establishing a criterion for people dynamic and sensitive judgment. And because he doesn't like business trips, it's best to be able to chat in Beijing.
Curry likes to find outstanding people from all walks of life to participate in his interview programs, and continue to expand his understanding of business extension by talking to these people. And because he has to fly to play away games every day, it is best to be able to do programs in private without interruption in the car.
So, when Curry came to Beijing at the end of June at the invitation of the sports brand Under Armour, the meeting between the two sets of factors, "Investor X, who likes to invest in the NBA, and "who likes to chat with the great people in Beijing, and who likes to talk with the great people in the car", Curry and Zhang Ying met with nature.
The two talked about the development of competitive sports and business, and talked about the trend of cross-border integration of more and more top figures in the field of technology and sports.
The two talked about the universality of competitive mentality in competitive sports. In all walks of life, if you do things with a competitive mentality, you will always succeed.
The two talked about some of the common values of outstanding people around them, which were not only reflected in the decision-making, but also in the details of dealing with people.
The two also talked about their importance to the brand, and it is not an exaggeration to take care of it carefully.
Of course, the most talked about between the two is investment. Many NBA stars are investing, and Curry is no exception. In recent years, he has also made some investments in the Bay Area.
So, with curiosity, we tried to summarize it and found that NBA players not only have many investments, but also very professional and serious.
For example:
● Shaquille O'Neal was one of the early investors of Google. Moreover, he had the opportunity to invest in Starbucks, but missed the opportunity because of the empiricism of "black people don't drink coffee often."
● Legendary star magician Earvin Johnson briefly worked as a managing partner of an venture capital organization called Detroit Venture Partners in 2011, aiming to revitalize the motor city economy.
● Phoenix's Honor Steve Nash also worked in an venture capital organization called Bullish, and now he makes more investments as an individual.
● Bearded Byron Davis has been investing in angels since 2012 and has been persistent. His latest investment was in February this year Overtime, a sports information platform for young people.
● Kobe Bryant invested in Alibaba in 2014, and after retiring in 2016, he specially established a venture capital fund of US$100 million to participate in VIPKID financing.
But after a deep understanding, we think it is worth writing in depth Golden State Warriors , because this team, which is only 60 kilometers away from Silicon Valley, has not wasted its time, location, and people at all. Below, Enjoy:
The pioneer of my coming to the mountains: Iguodala
Andre Iguodala 8
In the summer of 2013, Andre Iguodala transferred to the Warriors. At that time, he might have ambitions, but he still has not foresee that he will enter the finals five times and win the championship three times in the next few years.
But he knew exactly why he came here because Oracle Stadium was so different from other places.The regulars on the sidelines here are not film and television stars, but tycoons in the venture capital circle. The list is very long, such as -
Airbnb's CEO 3Brian Chesky, Salesforce's CEO 3Marc Benioff, WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum, A16Z partner and author of "Entrepreneurship Tough", Ben Horowitz, Internet Queen Mary Meeker, Jingwei American partner Tim Barrows, and former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Among the team's shareholders, there are KPCB partner Joe Lacob and S-Cubed Capital partner Mark Stevens (yes, it is the person who was punished by the NBA for conflict with the Raptors and may be forced to sell his Warriors' equity).
Iguodala may be the person who is most interested in the venture capital circle among NBA players. His plan for his retirement is to invest. Iguodala, who entered the league in early 2004, invested his first salary in the secondary market. In the early days, he bought Facebook/Netflix/Tesla when he was trading stocks.
Before coming to Oracle Stadium, he did not really sit on the closed and "only open to his own people" poker table in the investment circle, whether in , Philadelphia, or Denver. Most so-called venture capital dinners only regard him as "the big guy who plays basketball" enriches the diversity of communication - "Come on, tell me if there is any fight in your locker room."
Iguodala said that 2016/11 NBA courtside, that is where power is, and the destination I look forward to arriving... After moving to the Bay Area, the first thing I did was to try my best to get to know the senior executives of technology companies and venture capital companies in Silicon Valley, and try to contact and communicate with them as much as possible. Actually, I don’t have to spend so much effort, just let the money lie in the bank or invest in real estate, but that doesn’t arouse any interest in me. Only by investing in startups and emerging technology companies can I arouse my competitive spirit and fighting spirit, which is also the reason why I can succeed in basketball. However, both in the technology circle and the venture capital circle have high thresholds. Their circle is like a private alumni association, and I am an absolute layman. The bigger difficulty is that I and they are from completely different fields. Of course I could feel the fingers and fingers behind my back, "He is just a basketball player." I knew it was not a good thing, but I decided to use this to narrow the distance with them. Yes, I am a basketball player, but I can use this title to bring a lot of convenience to myself.
So he came to the Warriors, Auckland , Bay Area.
Isn’t it just me, I’ll be there for the mountain.
Iguodala and her business consultant wrote a letter to A16Z partner Jeff Jordan (Jeff Jordan), expressing his yearning for the venture capital circle and hoping to ask Jeff for advice. According to Iguodala, Jeff Jordan, who likes basketball socializing, is the first person to not treat him as a player. That meeting was successful, Jeff saw his passion and possibility and really brought him into the circle.
The two became both teachers and friends. Iguodala asked about the rules and gameplay of the investment circle like a student. Jeff will also provide analysis and advice to companies that Iguodala is interested in.
△TWICE, which won the first battle, picture source: TWICE official website
In the end, Iguodala chose A16Z's invested project, second-hand fashion trading platform Twice, as his first investment project, and he himself empowered this project as Twice's men's clothing director. Four months later, Twice was acquired by eBay and Iguodala won the first battle.
Since then, Iguodala and Jeff have invested in multiple projects. Iguodala has also become a pioneer in sports stars' deep participation in technology venture capital, and has become a technology venture capital evangelist in Warriors , the entire NBA, and even the entire American sports circle. Step by step, leading his younger brothers into the more magnificent venture capital circle in the competition field.
Now, although Iguodala is going to go east to the Memphis Grizzlies, his investment career will not stop because investment has become the most important career in his life besides basketball.
Judging from the disclosed investment projects, Iguodala is relatively more inclined to trade platforms and consumer goods☟☟☟
Investing is better than starting a business by yourself: Curry
Stephen Curry 8
100 steps on the court, who is struggling with the sky and the earth, has also ambitions for the off-field business world.
In 2015, he invested in CoachUp, a company that matches personal trainers and trainers. But at that time, Curry obviously preferred to do things as a founder, such as he and his teammates of the university team jointly established a data marketing company called Slyce.
In 2016, when he participated in the forum of TechCrunch, he shared how he, as an entrepreneur, came up with this idea with his former teammates, and what advanced business model the company has. However, he may still be more suitable for playing and investing. Slyce, a company closed in 2018, and CoachUp is still living a good life.
Time fast forward to 2017, when Iguodala was already doing well in the venture capital circle and invested in many celebrity projects. This year, Iguodala and Curry jointly launched an event called Players Technology Summit. The event is hosted by Bloomberg and aims to give athletes more contact with the technology venture capital circle. Participants include various competitive sports stars in the United States, partners in venture capital institutions and founders of startups.
Perhaps this conference broadened Curry's horizons. Since this year, Curry has participated in investments in several companies in different fields. For example, Hooked, an interactive science fiction reading platform that participated in investments with many NBA stars, such as Palm, a smartphone that returned to the market last year.
Curry's biggest investment so far was on July 24 last year, when Curry and Iguodala participated in Swift's $37 million Series A financing. This news report also appeared in the three news sectors of games, sports and venture capital: the game sector is more popular with Curry and Jerry Yang among investors, and the sports and venture capital sectors are more popular with Curry and Iguodala among investors - but no matter which sector it is, this financing news put Curry in the big title.
△Culli is with the founder of SnapTravel, Image source: SnapTravel founder Hussein Fazar blog
Culli is thinking more and more clearly about investment. For example, when he invested in SnapTravel, a hotel booking company based on social media, he once said: "A startup company spends money to ask me to be an endorsement, it is better to use my investment than to take my investment. They can take my money, I also use my image to promote it. "Housein Fazar, CEO of SnapTravel, also verified Curry's words, "As a new type of hotel booking company, users may hesitate when using us. But when you see Curry on our homepage, everything will be solved and you will place an order happily. Curry solved our trust problem." When Curry communicated with Zhang Ying, his most concerned issue was "how to invest well and form a team." Although Curry has not invested in many projects at present, he is serious about his attitude towards investment. Perhaps, soon, we can find one or two Chinese companies in Curry's investment list. I also hope that next season, he can lead the Warriors after the blood change and continue to compete for the championship.
Be the boss of a venture capital company by himself: Durant
Kevin Durant, who came to the Warriors in 2016, did more extreme things. He directly opened a venture capital company called Thirty Five Ventures.
This may be related to Durant's status in the NBA. When he went to the Warriors, he was already an NBA superstar. There is no reason to follow Iguodala like Curry with a good temper. If he wants to do it, he must have a big vote.
NBA stars are not without venture capital companies. The more famous ones are Kobe's Bryant Stibel Fund and Melo7 TechPartners of Melo7. But Kobe and Melon are both retired or have passed the peak of the league. It is rare for Durant to run a venture capital company as an active superstar.
So many people scolded Durant for going to the Warriors to easily win an NBA championship, and it may have been scolding him in the wrong direction. Durant is just like Iguodala, who went to the Warriors to make good investments in Silicon Valley.
Many people may not understand what Durant’s investment is. A brief comparison will make you clear:
● Iguodala's investment is more about cooperating with professional institutions such as A16Z, and participates in projects as an individual to follow up on . He participated early and was professional with people. He has invested in about 20 projects.
● Curry's investment is more involved through his own company SC 30. The business scope of SC 30 also includes Curry's endorsement and other business cooperation. The projects that Curry invested in are generally followed by their interests in , and the number of projects invested in is the smallest, and the investment field is relatively random.
● Durant recruited analysts with his business partners and established a complete investment team to explore and invest in projects like a professional venture capital organization. Durant has only entered the investment circle for about 3 years and has invested in more than 30 projects, covering a relatively wide range of fields. It can also be said that already has a relatively clear track layout concept .
This summer, he chose to leave the Warriors, with the Achilles tendon after the surgery, headed straight from the west coast to the Nets on the east coast of and to find a new height and a wider sky. As Warriors fans, we thank him for the two championship trophys he won for the Warriors and for all the blood and sweat he gave to the Warriors. We also sincerely wish him a return to the king as soon as possible and see the Warriors Finals under the leadership of Nets boss Joe Tsai (Executive Vice Chairman of Alibaba Group Cai Chongxin )!
△Durant's Thirty Five Ventures, Image source: Thirty Five Venture
The following passage is an introduction we are trying to write for Durant's Thirty Five Ventures:
Thirty Five Ventures, with Durant as its founding management partner, was established in 2016 and focuses on the discovery and investment of high-quality projects in seed wheels and angel wheels. The tracks that are currently mainly focused on include Internet finance, O2O, new consumption, social entertainment, and sharing economy. We are also extremely looking forward to cooperating with outstanding early-stage companies in the fields of big health, drones, blockchain, artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
NBA is a circle full of money, and NBA is even more a circle that is easy to get lost. According to a data mentioned by Sports Illustrated, nearly 60% of once high-paying NBA stars go bankrupt after five years of retirement.
players must plan their future while obtaining large contracts. This is the experience left by countless seniors with half of their lives after retirement - Anthony Walker , which declared bankruptcy in 2012, received a total of $110 million in the NBA, but because of all kinds of unwise squandering and investment, they finally fell into the dilemma of auctioning the championship ring.
Looking back at 2017, when the first Athlete and Technology Summit was held, the conference sponsor and NBA Players Union Vice Chairman Iguodala once answered the media why he held this summit:
"The athletes' career has only been more than ten years or even a few years. There are too many people who have gone bankrupt and missed their lives after retirement. I hope there is such an opportunity to find more possibilities so that they can maintain financial freedom in the second half of their lives while helping others. Of course, I also hope that through such activities, I will tell them that investing is not easy. You need to take the risks you deserve, you need to invest more energy and stay wise."
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Reference:
"As NBA players take ashot on tech, VCs are lining up to coach all-star investors" Author / Conor Grant BY the Hustle
"Mark Stevens is banned, but here are the other TechTitans you may see courtside on the Warriors' 'Billionaire's Row'" Author / Terry Collins BY Fortune
"Startups net more than capital with NBA players asinvestors" Author/ MaryAnn Azevedo BY Techcrunch
"Kevin Durant's successful business ventures areinspiring NBA peers" Author/Alex Kennedy BY HoopsHype
"13 basketball stars netting success in the tech world" BY Silicon Republic
"NBA Stars Who Became Successful Entrepreneurs and Investors” Author/ Tam Pham BY The Hustle
”Kevin Durant’s Tech Investments In Silicon ValleyAre Nothing But Net” Author/Ann Brown, BY The Moguldom Nation
”Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala hosting tech summit for pro athletes” Author/Daniel Mano BY Mercury News
”Running up the score, the golden state warrior on owning the court and crashing silicon valley” Author / Andre Iguodala BY SanFrancisco magzine
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