Athletes are no strangers to the world of venture capital. Across the country, we have seen the likes of Serena Williams, Kevin Durant and Joe Montana make investments.
Wisconsin has seen its share of VC involvement in the world of sports. Most recently, former Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Redd teamed up with a lawyer to form TwentyTwo. It provides angel investments and mentorship but has not yet provided details on its first fund. Redd also is available as a guest speaker.
Last year, Redd joined the $20 million ADvantage Sports Tech Fund, which provides Series A funding of $1 million to $2 million to sports tech companies focused on fan engagement, connected athletes and derivative sports.
Speaking of the Bucks, the team, along with the Packers and the Brewers, partnered with Microsoft in 2020 to form the Equity League, which invests in minority-owned companies. Considered an investment network, the Equity League is a division of the existing Titletown Tech that focuses on building and funding early-stage high-growth startups.
Two years ago, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers co-launched Rx3 Growth Partners (formerly Rx3 Ventures), a $50 million fund headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif. Some of its portfolio companies include Blast (game-based savings app), Hydrow (rowing machine similar to Peloton) and Therabody (athlete recovery tools).
Other athletes invested in the fund include former Packers Desmond Howard, auto racer Danica Patrick and New York Jets QB Sam Darnold.
Back in Wisconsin, the team behind Bascom Ventures includes Keaton Nankivil, who played for the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team before playing professionally in Europe. Its portfolio companies include music streaming platform LUM and healthcare company Thirty Madison.
On the periphery of the sports world is former Fiserv Inc. CEO Jeff Yabuki, who serves as the chairman of global sports data company Sportradar Group AG. It filed for an IPO in August and became public last month.