Local Venture Capital Firm Teams Up with Sports Agency to Expand Options for Athletes
PIVOT.Today by Mark Hostutler
Radnor’s SeventySix Capital has teamed up with the newly formed management and sports marketing agency Rubicon Talent to expand the options for its signed athletes and celebrities beyond the usual deals of cash in exchange for endorsements, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Under the new partnership, SeventySix Capital will advise on entrepreneurial opportunities for Rubicon’s clients. The new deals could include an equity stake in the companies and products that those clients agree to represent.
Rubicon is led by sports marketing veterans Dave Maryles, Peter Raskin, Jonathan Salant, and Brandon Swibel. Beach volleyball player and Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings and New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett are two of the athletes Rubicon represents.
“With athletes seeing more equity-based opportunities, we wanted to get more specialized in that area,” said Maryles. “So we brought in the team from SeventySix Capital.”
SeventySix Capital is led by Wayne Kimmel and Jon Powell and focuses its investments primarily on companies in the technology, health and wellness, and sports industries.
“Athletes and celebrities have social capital that can really help companies be successful,” said Kimmel.