Kobe Bryant retired from the NBA this past season, but he is wasting no time in setting up his post-basketball career. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday the future Basketball Hall of Famer is setting up a $100 million venture capital fund.
Bryant’s venture capital fund will be used to invest in technology, media and data companies, but Bryant and his business partner Jeff Stibel are not currently looking for outside investors. Bryant has previously set aside some money to invest in companies in the recent years, most notably The Players’ Tribune. Bryant also has investments in a video game design company and a telemarketing software company.
Bryant’s role with the new company will be more to do the marketing work, while Stibel will handle the more tech-savvy portion of the company’s investments. Bryant has always been noted for being a fierce competitor on the court, and that drive should serve him well as he takes steps forward in his post-playing career.
However, knowing other basketball players have taken a dive into similar off-the-court ventures, Bryant is more interested in perhaps working with other companies rather than competing against them.
“I think it’s interesting that the immediate reaction from people would be competitiveness between myself and others,” Bryant said, per Business Insider. “I’m more interested in how I can help Shaquielle O’Neal], [Carmelo Anthony], or [Andre Iguodala].”
It will be interesting to see what Bryant’s investments lead to. Hopefully Bryant manages to divide responsibilities and work load to people more equipped to contribute rather than take on more than he really should be.
[Business Insider, pic via NYSE]
