As fall rolls in, our summer intern Noah Zaret keeps hammering out our podcast notes, this week featuring to recent and very timely ones; one of the growing value of entrepreneurship in the sports space, the other on the expanding world of sustainability. You can hear all our podcasts here as well.
Jennifer Rottenberg On Raising Funding, Partnerships, And Women Sports Listen here:
Having seen many sides of the sports industry, Jennifer shares her experiences working with IMG, USA Water Polo, Fan Controlled Football, her own company, and Athleta. Being a long-time advocate for women’s sports and the founding president of WISE’s Los Angeles chapter, Jennifer is also well-versed on anything concerning women in sports. She elaborates on the history of women’s sports, which factors can bring women’s professional sports to an even higher level, and how many brands should have a better notion of the audiences that watch women’s sports. Now working at Athleta, she explains how she shaped the newly created role of Head of Partnerships and built a team that maximizes the relationship Athleta has with its notable partners, such as Simone Biles and Allyson Felix
- Common themes amongst the start-ups Jennifer has been involved with and the most unique from one to the next:
- At any given time, an opportunity arose that felt new and different; something that was going to be new and unique to the market
- The challenge of “making something out of nothing”
- Learning a new aspect of the industry as Jennifer went from one startup to another
- Jennifer shared that playing youth sports as a little girl drew her passion for working in sports as a woman
- Wanted to be part of “starting the ripple effect” for women’s sports
– She says that there is a major misconception about who watches women’s sports; it is not just women watching
– Athleta has been a women-focused brand from the beginning
– Moving forward, they are aiming to be the apparel of choice for females, but to help their customers on their well-being journey.
– Lessons learned from Fan Controlled Football:
– The team you have and build is very important
– need to believe and have trust in each other
– A good team of employees is just as essential as having a good team on the field
– Jennifer thinks that if one does have the money, then the market can catch up with them n terms of creating a new entrepreneurial idea
Ian Tupper On The Current State of Motorsports And The Automotive Industry. Listen here
Tom was joined by Ian Tupper, who is the Senior Group Manager of Strategic Environmental Partnerships and New Climate Tech Business Initiatives for Hyundai and Genesis in North America. A Columbia University Sports Management graduate with a track record of cultivating strategic partnerships with marquee organizations such as Ferrari, Formula 1, and Formula E, Ian shares his incredible career trajectory and how he combined his passion for automobiles and his interest in sustainability to advance his career. Ian shares his thoughtful insights on the current state of the motorsports industry and how international racing organizations are already transforming to cater to the needs of future generations, viz-a-viz sustainability, contextualization, and event production and broadcast. He also talks about his role at Hyundai and Genesis, where in addition to manufacturing industry-leading electric vehicles (EVs), the company is trying to build an all-encompassing, environmentally friendly ecosystem for people’s homes. Ian also weighs the opportunities and challenges posed by the current shift towards electrification in the automotive industry.
Key points:
- He wants to use his skills that he has developed over the years (building strategic partnerships, working with third parties) to tackle all the challenges that are posed towards the current shift in electrification
- Transform those to benefit the customer and be generated into new business ideas
- He says that the electric vehicles platform is superior and offers a lot of unique and exciting things that are resonating with the current market
- The consumer wants to know that electric vehicles wont impact the environment in a negative way
- Strategic branding and advertising of electric vehicles:
- Product-consumer fit is extremely important
- Advertising the new EV as a new sector of an already existing vehicle
- Advice:
- Very important to follow up when meeting new people and do your homework
- Be respectful of people’s time
- “Your word is your biggest currency”
Enjoy and learn!
