Revolutionizing Sports Investing

How Finlete Lets Fans Own a Piece of Athlete Success

Author

Jeff "fuzzy" Wenzel
March 21, 2024

Guest and Company Overview:

Guest: Rob Connolly, Co-Founder of Finlete Company: Finlete offers a platform for fans to invest in athletes through future earning contracts.

Key Discussion Points: Finlete's Unique Concept: Fans can buy future earning contracts directly from athletes. This idea evolved from their initial platform, Meetle, aimed at connecting fans with athletes.

Origin Story: The founders pivoted after learning about the financial struggles of minor league baseball players and the dominance of a private hedge fund in athlete contracts.

First Athlete and Process: They signed Echedry Vargas, a promising baseball prospect. The process involved scouting, legal work, and offering an alternative to hedge fund contracts.

Growth Potential and Challenges: Finlete anticipates significant growth, with the main challenge being convincing athletes to choose their platform over traditional methods.

Financial Model and Returns: Finlete’s model involves paying athletes upfront for a percentage of their future earnings. Investors can potentially see returns as the athletes progress in their careers.

Long-term Vision: The goal is to establish a secondary market where investors can trade shares in athletes, much like stocks.

Team Building Strategy: The team comprises industry experts from various fields, ensuring a strong foundation for the company.

Target Market and Customer Education: Finlete initially targets sophisticated investors, but eventually aims to attract sports fans as they become more educated about this investment model.

Future Plans: The plan includes expanding the platform to other sports, increasing the number of athletes, and creating a diverse investment portfolio for users.

Conclusion: The podcast highlights Finlete's groundbreaking approach to sports investing, aiming to democratize athlete investments and offer fans a unique opportunity to engage with sports. It's a potentially transformative model in the world of sports financing, particularly appealing to startup founders interested in innovative equity crowdfunding platforms.

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