To start off, I love Kobe Bryant - the guy is a legend. Today, he announced his venture capital firm, called Bryant Stibel, and apparently has been running it along with Jeff Stibel for years.
Current investments include sports media website The Players Tribune and legal-services company LegalZoom.
In an interview, Kobe Bryant and Jeff Stibel said their skills complement each other, with Stibel bringing experience building companies and Bryant contributing a creative, if obsessive, flair for details around marketing, branding and storytelling. He, in fact, designed the company’s new logo with inspiration from piano keys.
Any thoughts, monkeys? Do you think Bryant Stibel will be successful?
Company Website
Source: WSJ
Ah. A classic slap.
She gonna wanna blow me, cause I ball like I'm Kobe.
I wonder if they'll hire analysts. I can see it now, interviews at the staples center. technicals followed by a game of horse (aka let Kobe posterize you)
He's not capable of that anymore
I would normally feel bad for a professional athlete investing in a "VC fund"...9/10 they'd probably lose everything...but I think Kobe will make it work given the branding & deals he will see just because of who he is.
and yes, we'll let you know when we have an internship/analyst position for this firm on our job board :-)
I think Kobe's situation is pretty similar to how Ashton Kutcher is doing things now. Kutcher hasn't done half bad.... look what he got out of his investment in Mila Kunis
How about Steve Young at Huntsman Gay?
really great great great world class work on that logo kobe. Wow really great. Ya so great. We see what you did with the logo we know you will do the same with your investing
lol, the logo isn't that bad
It goes to show you how qualified Venture Capitalists really are. Not just Kobe, the Bay Area is filled with "professional" venture capitalists who throw money around like hot potatoes. Hence the unicorn-filled world we live in. I probably shouldn't talk shit though, since it works for them.
I think that's understating how much Kobe knows about branding, marketing, etc. It'll depend who all is in the firm. One partner isn't generally going to make or break it.
Kobe will probably kill it because of his work ethic and intelligence. He isn't trying to leverage the Kobe brand rather find actual businesses that make sense. His business partner seems pretty legit too. Also, this doesn't appear to be new rather an extension of a prior working/investing relationship.
Grant Hill is another example of an ex NBAer doing well in finance with his PE / Mezz Fund http://www.pentamezz.com/team/
I love how is bio reads like he's just another finance professional. No mention of his NBA career and it says "Graduated from Duke University where he also played college basketball"
There's 1000s of VCs filled with people whose work ethic and intelligence are greater than Kobe's.
yea, I am sure you're well acquainted enough with Kobe to know his level of intelligence or work ethic. I am sure your post isn't just one giant assumption based on who knows the fuck what.
p.s. I hate Kobe
Does Kobe know how to model?
He bangs hot models if that's what you mean.
We're all focusing on Kobe, instead of looking at the fact that he's working with Jeff Stibel. Stibel brings a ton of experience coming in from Dun & Bradstreet that gives the firm the much needed boost to compete in the VC Space. The athletes that succeed in PE and VC are the ones that take their love of the game and all the work that goes into really being the best of the best and transition it into their next challenge. That work ethic only goes so far without having someone in the business to balance out the skills they lack. I think Bryant Stibel will definitely be successful, but I think that they are going to have to find a niche market to really capitalize on the strengths that both men bring to the table.
The value he can bring as a spokesperson is obviously worth millions to certain companies, especially those starting out. Athletic equipment, energy boosters, massaged Japanese beef, and healthy foods are obvious candidates.
But, wait there's more: Think of what he could do to re-energize pepper spray as a rape defense kit......he's been on the other side and could certainly talk about how the searing pain of burning chemicals would have deterred him with his rape victim(s). A demonstration of its efficacy on Kobe would be amazing and would sell millions of overpriced 'Rape Defense Kits' to middle aged white women.
All-in, I would give him a decent shot of being successful as long as he uses his celebrity status creatively and honestly.
If it's anything like his playing career, he will make a ton of investments with a low success rate but, based on sheer volume, he will have a few 10 baggers, and everyone will think he is the greatest VC investor of all time.
Expecting some MS but let's be honest
This is good because it finally gives an analogy to make the point of why Kobe is great.
Kobe is a an MVP, NBA Champ, top 5 scoring of all-time, father of two... blah blah. He's also shot 28 of 46 from the field to score 81 points in a single game. But who really cares. If he was too timid, had no instinct, and his only greatness was calculable from a sheet of statistics, he'd look like today's hedge funds with all of their 'expertise' going into trailing the market.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't know what you're doing. But that's where hard work and determination come in to really help out. Kobe puts in the hardwork to get the most out of his craft. He focuses on one thing so that he can do it well and better and better. MJ had more physical abilities than most of his contemporaries and so did Magic as a 6'9" PG. You can't take LeBron's 6'8"/250LB stature away from him, nor can you add to Kobe's 6'6" in height. But a person with good instinct and the ability to learn coupled with the determination to grow can win at anything since his mind is already made up.
I make these comparisons because before we had access to information in the internet age, your naked eye would've had to tell you what is good and true. There are comparisons that can be made without a sheet of numbers in front of you, and your instinct has to kick it in with good judgement. I think finding a winner in VC is similar to being successful on the court because even if you look at the numbers, it can't tell all.
Even Buffett, who reads like 500 pages of company filings and information a day, must have some instinct because how does he group good information from bad and chooses what to focus most on? There's a bunch of idiots out there that seem to say that 'as long as you're doing the work, it'll go well', but that's not nearly true. Everything you do takes intangibles like determination, dedication, and instinct to move down the path to success.
Hedge funds are not lagging because of lack of information. Statistics don't measure success in either way. If the statistics go against you, find away to work through it. If the statistics are on your side, do you just lay on your ass and do nothing, because the stats will carry you to success? LeBron is one to have gotten depressed because he fell to this misconception (read
What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul
What in the fuck did I just read
Completely agree with you here. Many success stories from BC to now happened without the absolute need for complicated calculations and expert statistics etc. Many things can be done when people put out their heart in it and don't stop until they physically and mentally can't. Of course in this day risk management and all that number crunching is required but it is not the sole requirement because we all know that one person in life who got the highest grades in everything and still somehow turned out to not be as successful as expected.
I think this is great. Kobe will do very well, just like Magic Johnson and his PE firm and David Robinson did.
I remember hearing a podcast with Chris Sacca on the BS Podcast where Kobe called up Chris to learn about the VC world (looked it up Ep. 95, near the end). Chris didn't take him too seriously but gave him a reading list just to throw him a bone. Kobe called him up constantly with a bunch of questions he had while going through the list. Chris Sacca seems to believe that Kobe is approaching it with some amount of seriousness and intensity. It doesn't necessarily mean Kobe will be successful but this isn't just another athlete throwing money around and hoping for the best.
Thought about that episode with Sacca when I read this. That's a great listen.
Any advise on how to ask him for an informational interview?
Agree that using his celebrity is worth some money, but the plan is apparently not to do that, according to a recent WSJ article:
"“We don’t want to be in the business of investing in companies so someone can use Kobe as an endorser. That’s not interesting,” said Mr. Stibel, who began his career in brain research and later founded and developed tech companies. “The point is to add real value.”
Mr. Bryant, who is known for his painstaking preparation and training, said he also brings the ability to identify entrepreneurs with a robust work ethic."
http://www.wsj.com/articles/kobe-bryant-and-jeff-stibel-unveil-100-mill…
No one else sees this as an anecdotal sign of a market top? A celebrity entering a market well after it's experienced a long bull market (see Isaac Newton/South Sea Bubble)...
He entered the market in 2013, he just retired and he is filthy rich. I don't see a correlation. It isn't like he entered the market because the market was doing great, and I think for him this is his own personal fund to manage his money. So if he retired in 2020 or 2005 that is when he would of made his fund.
David Robinson is a principal at Admiral Capital, a REPE fund that has some conventional PE investments. Carmelo Anthony is a partner at Melo7Tech Partners, they invested in alibaba & Lyft. along w/ various other firms. Hill has been mentioned. This was inevitable, dudes with capital see the cash being reaped by the Marc Andreessen's of the world and want some of that cash. I think there will be successes stories and failures just like any other investment vehicle, also think it is a good idea on their part b/c they have the cash and the cache.
Anyone know how much equity Ashton Kutcher has in Airbnb? Dude is a billionaire methinks...
"Bryant contributing a creative, if obsessive, flair for details around marketing, branding" That fucking logo...
Tim Tebow is trying out for baseball. I do think this will be a more successful career switch, FWIW
I don't care about athletes but there are a number of lies being thrown around here.
if Kobe didn't know the meaning of the word "no," he wouldn't be as wealthy as he is and wouldn't be able to start this fund. athletes who don't know the meaning of the word no go broke. they don't start VC funds.
google "kobe bryant work ethic," sure playing people to 100 one-on-one until midnight isn't the same as hunting for business ideas, but the guy has it in his blood to improve, be the best, and put in the man hours. he's not lacking in work ethic.
it's not all kobe. as mentioned, he has a partner. fuld has the right idea in that kobe's brand is worth a lot to companies, so it could be a good partnership.
VC is not PE, you likely have dozens of busts before you have a unicorn, so yes there will be failures but any VC investor whose batting average is better than ted williams's is cooking the books.
he's worth over $300mm, and no telling how big the nike contracts he's on are worth. this is a $100mm fund. even if he goes completely bust, this is actually pretty smart diversification. it's not like he's counting on this to avoid going on food stamps.
all that being said, he's still a rapist and likely a piece of shit to be around, but y'all need to do your research before slaying people, it makes you look stupid.
you genuinely believe he raped that chic in Colorado?
rapist was too strong since he wasn't convicted. how about "he did some sketchy shit when he was #8 and had a mini afro."
I don't know nor do I care what him and that girl did, but you don't just get accused of rape and then settle if you did absolutely NOTHING wrong
No. Dogshit fund name. Should've been 3 Point Partners.
I'm open to offers for marketing positions if you can afford me.
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