The latest in Tanner Simkins sitdowns with key executives is with Fantex CEO Buck French and their unique, and controversial, approach to literally investing in athletes…
Buck French is Co-Founder and CEO of Fantex Holdings, a company that offers investable securities linked to the performance of athlete entertainer brands. French, who holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS from West Point, has been building successful businesses for nearly 20 years. We recently caught up with French for a discussion on Fantex and more. A brief bio of French follows the Q&A.
Full Court Press: For those who may be unfamiliar tell us a little about yourself and Fantex Holdings.
Buck French: I am cofounder and CEO of Fantex. I’ve spent close to 20 years as entrepreneur building tech companies. I built a tech company called OnLink Technology and sold that for $609M to Siebel Systems. I then built a $200M side of Siebel Systems into the largest eCommerce business in the world at the time. I built a network security turnaround company called build Securify which turned into Secure Computing. Basically, I’ve been building companies for 20 years. The idea behind Fantex was to change the approach of building an athlete entertainer brand [in two main ways]. One, You can apply additional brand marketing techniques to athletes entertainer. And two, you have the ability to develop a security linked to the value and performance of the athlete brand. [The idea is] that these would lead to a level of advocacy out in the marketplace. If you were able to sell a security to the general public and they had an ownership interest…we felt one day that would marry well with social media and advocacy to help build the brands into the post-career.
FCP: How did the idea originate?
BF: Dave Bur, my fellow cofounder, came up with original idea. He was working with john Elway, Michael Jordan, and Wayne Gretsky on a company called MVP.com. Dave, also was one of the leading partners at Benchmark Capital, a leading silicon valley VC firm. [Benchmark Capital] was involved with eBay and companies like that. Dave noticed that these athlete brands had unique attributes. And it wasn’t that they were the greatest to have ever played the position. That didn’t mean you had a consumable brand like Elway, Jordan, Gretsky. [Identifying those that do] really became the nexus to start investigating this concept. Again maybe you do not obtain this level of brand status as a Jordan or Elway but [brands] are about creating audiences of various sizes. Dave felt there was an approach where we could ultimately do that. That was really the genesis. [Prior] Dave brought me into Securify where he was on the board. After we sold that company he approached me and said ‘are you interested in building this company [Fantex]?’ That was the start.
FCP: Tell us about the business model
BF: Our business model is to increase the branding associated with athlete entertainers. Ultimately everyone’s interests are aligned. If we can generate awareness and interest with the brand then the brand can activate on that awareness. This turns into income, which then flows into Fantex. This is all positive for everyone.
FCP: Thus far, what is the greatest success at Fantex?
BF: Milestone is better word in my opinion. The best milestone is happening right now: our ability to actually offer shares in an IPO to the general public. This security is linked to the value and performance of the athlete’s brand. This is a tremendous milestone that we worked 2 years to achieve.
FCP: What is one challenge you had to overcome? What have you learned from that?
BF: To generate enough awareness and education where someone feels comfortable investing dollars into Fantex. Approximately 10 shares of Fantex Vernon Davis cost the same as a jersey; but there is a mental barrier. It is crucial to build up the level of trust and awareness and that’s what are building right now
FCP: What qualities do you look for with the athletes?
BF: We have a defined methodology for the athlete brands that we are interested in working in. They have to have a high degree of character, and their brand has to be multidimensional. They’re not just great athletes because you can’t really build a sustainable brand on that. Therefore, we look for multidimensional aspects that many of these athletes and entertainers do have, but we as the general public aren’t exposed to this. We look for character, a multidimensional aspect, interesting, articulate; those are the key big bucket items. We are not looking to work with everyone – it doesn’t fit everyone. But there is a large pool out there where this does fit, and we want to work with as many of them as possible.
FCP: Where do you see Fantex in 5 years?
BF: Today’s the first step and the process of getting the first offering out the door. In 5 years, hopefully there’s a lot [Fantex users] across the world of sport and entertainment. Its been tried before in different flavors people have not been able to achieve it. At the end the day competitors just tell you have a good idea. I welcome it I jump on in and the waters warm
FCP: Are you working on any other projects we should know about?
BF: No, all I work on is Fantex. If you’ve never done an early stage business, if you get distracted on iota, you have it give it your all everything you got. And that’s what I’m doing. That’s paid good dividends in the past and I expect it to do so in the future. Everyone here, the entire team, is focused on building a great company that helps build great brands out in the marketplace. Hopefully, the plan is to make everyone successful. That’s the only thing I’m doing. [laughs] And occasionally I see my family, that’s my hobby.
FCP: What are some industry trends or developments that you are closely following?
BF: The major one is what we are partaking in, the ongoing development of athlete brands beyond just there on field performance. I think Fantex is just the next step on what social media started, which was giving the athlete brand a voice. That was step 1. This next step is the brand development that Fantex is providing. I think that is a natural trend. The team brands will always sustain and be out there. But as you see this fragmentation of media, which we are living through, pools of hyper localized audiences will be created. Athlete entertainer brands will be much more granularly applied to that audience. We’re just one piece of what a larger overall trend of athlete brands that can potentially drive an audience.
FCP: What is your favorite book?
BF: Unbroken. If you are going to be an entrepreneur read that book. Its not about being an entrepreneur. It’s about perseverance, strength of will, dedication, never giving up, and belief, all core attributes you need to be successful as an entrepreneur. Its an amazing story.
FCP: Lastly, do you have advice or tips for young people? This could be general or related to finance, sports business, etc
BF: The best tip I can give anyone is to know your passion. Don’t follow the paycheck. That will come if you follow your passion and what you are really truly deep down in your core interested in. Don’t say I got to pay my student loan or pay my bill; those are short term. If you go after what you are passionate about, whatever it is, you will be great at it because you will love it. If you are great at it you will be paid for it. …I love what I do every day its awesome. I get to build a company and work with great people. …You got to love it or you will be average and who wants to be average. I don’t.
Buck serves as our Chief Executive Officer and a Co-Founder of Fantex Holdings. Buck brings to Fantex Holdings his extensive management, business development, financial and strategic planning experience. Previously, Buck founded and served as CEO of OnLink, which sold to Siebel systems. He then built and ran Siebel Systems eCommerce business unit. He was also CEO & Chairman of Securify and led its sale to Secure Computing. Buck holds an MBA from Harvard University and a BS in Economics and General Engineering from West Point.
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