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Joe Pompliano

10 Sep, 11 tweets, 4 min read

Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.

But did you know he has spent the last year quietly building a venture capital firm?

Time for thread 👇👇👇

1) Since being named the Green Bay Packers full-time starter in 2008, Aaron Rodgers has become an elite NFL quarterback.

Accomplishments include:
- Super Bowl XLV champion & MVP
- 2x NFL MVP
- 8x Pro Bowl selection

In total, Rodgers has earned over $240M in on-field earnings.

2) With financial success from football, Aaron Rodgers started investing in private companies.

The issue? Rodgers didn't want to just be another blank check.

He saw an opportunity to help brands maximize growth by leveraging his fame & marketability.

Enter Rx3 Ventures…

3) In 2019, Aaron Rodgers teamed up with Byron Roth & Nate Raabe, of Roth Capital Partners, to launch Rx3 Ventures.

Rx3 is a consumer-focused venture capital fund specifically designed to provide institutional resources to celebrity investors within sports & entertainment.

4) Rodgers' fund, Rx3, is placing a bet on the continued trend of influencer marketing.

The fund partners celebrity investors with consumer brands where they can organically promote products while receiving equity for their investment.

It's a win-win for the brand & investor.

5) Rx3 sounds great, but how's it going?

In the first year, the response has been amazing.

Investor list includes:
- Desmond Howard
- Danica Patrick
- Ryan Sheckler

From the NFL specifically, about a half-dozen quarterbacks, including Sam Darnold of the NY Jets, have invested.

6) When it comes to deploying capital, Rx3 has been just as active.

Investments include:
- Hims
- Hydrow
- Manscaped
- Mack Weldon
- Corepower Yoga

The fund’s typical check is $1-$3 million and they focus on consumer brands where their investors can provide additional value.

7) Ultimately, it’s too early in the investment lifecycle to tell how some of these will turn out.

Based on the quality of investors alone, the concept of investor & influencer has clearly resonated with celebrities in sports and entertainment.

8) The idea of athletes in venture capital certainly isn’t new, but Rodgers came up with a unique platform for additional celebrities to get involved.

All celebrity investors will eventually realize the value they provide beyond capital and look to be compensated accordingly.

If you learned something today and want to receive more updates about the business and money behind sports, subscribe here to receive my free daily newsletter.

huddleup.substack.com

Sources:

rx3growthpartners.com

forbes.com/sites/kurtbade…

techcrunch.com/2019/06/05/aar…

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