The Renaissance Man (Contributor Post!)
/*Once a week, you'll hear from one of my amazing team of contributors. This week, I'm delighted to introduce you to Titus Kimbowa! Peep Titus' bio at the end of this post. Looking forward to Titus' perspective on entrepreneurism, business, music and life in general. Enjoy!
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Last week, I read somewhere on Twitter that Jay-Z was selling his stake in the Brooklyn Nets to become a sports agent. I was surprised, to say the least. Where does opportunity lay within the sports agency arena? For the next few days I pondered on why he’d make such an unconventional move.
Looking at all of Jay-Z’s past moves, from starting Roc-A-Fella to selling Roc-A-Wear, there’s something they all have in common: he actually never “leaves.” He’s still reaping benefits on every deal he’s made since leaving the drug game. He only uses each milestone to build onto another.
Diversifying the hustle per se.
Image via Book of Hov
Let’s look at the current move and see how much opportunity lies ahead. Jay-Z has created a brand in which everything he touches turns gold. He has a reach that is respected at every level. He was able to create a lot of buzz and support for the Brooklyn Nets - this is how he was able to get an ownership stake in the Nets at a discount rate. Being part-owner made it easier for the Nets to not only move to Brooklyn, but also gain New York’s support of the team. This is Jay-Z’s main role. He’s the face of an organization in midst of transition.
Selling his stake in the Brooklyn Nets and becoming a sports agent gives Jay-Z a new opportunity to use his brand in the sports arena. Using his ownership of the Brooklyn Nets as a stepping stone, Jay-Z’s out to challenge the likes of David Falk and Bill Duffy. Jay’s popularity and brand puts pressure on David and Bill’s business strategy. I’m interested to see how they’ll react to the new competition.
Growing up, many sports figures listened to Jay-Z’s music and many can connect to his story. Having him as their agent will give them access to him at a clock’s tick. I can already see a lot of young, up-and-coming athletes signing on to Jay-Z’s agency. You could look at Jay-Z’s relationship with Lebron James (among other professional athletes) as a catalyst for this move as well. Lebron is one of the top paid athletes in the NBA. If he is able to have Jay-Z represent him, this will keep the money within the clique (cue Jay-Z’s verse on“Clique”)
There’s a lot that Jay can do with the new venture and I’m particularly interested to see how this pans out. You never know, he’s known to move in silence.
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Titus Kimbowa is a young entrepreneur living in Seattle, WA. He was born in Kampala, Uganda & moved to the States when he was 12. He’s currently a senior at the University of Washington and serves as vice-president of the UW American Marketing Association, and he's interning as the product marketing analyst for stealthy start-up Webtuner. He’s got past experience as part of the Zagat team at Google, Crown Social, TEDxYouth Seattle, and starting up an enterprise travel company. In his spare time (which he rarely gets) he likes to play basketball, read, and hang out around Seattle.
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