
Kobe Bryant and Jeff Stibel Unveil $100M Venture Capital Fund - dacm
http://www.wsj.com/articles/kobe-bryant-and-jeff-stibel-unveil-100-million-venture-capital-fund-1471838403
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btrautsc
I am legitimately afraid for founders who show up to meetings/ pitches
unprepared.

Kobe Bryant was an idol of mine growing up, and the stories of his obsessive
preparation and competitiveness are simply incredible. He is an extremely
smart, driven person. I can envision him being ruthless.

Link to a random Olympics all night training session story:
[http://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-woke-up-
at-4-am-t...](http://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-woke-up-at-4-am-to-
practice-before-olympics-2013-3)

~~~
ceocoder
Or working out after losing a game against Miami Heat[1], Kobe's work ethic is
way beyond usual norms.

[1] [http://www.nba.com/2011/news/03/11/kobe-bryant-
practice.ap/](http://www.nba.com/2011/news/03/11/kobe-bryant-practice.ap/)

~~~
btrautsc
_" You've got to work at it," Bryant said. "This is what you're supposed to
do. I mean, if you're not comfortable with something and you feel like you can
tweak some things, you've got to work on them. It doesn't matter when you work
on them. You've just got to get it done. You've got to work it out."_

~~~
gshx
This translates exceptionally well to fields other than basketball, as well. I
wish this "magically gifted engineer just needing to work 3hrs a day making
e'thing look so easy" profile goes away.

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soperj
I always find that in retrospect that these are the kind of announcements you
see right when something has jumped the shark.

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mason55
Doesn't seem much different than Ashton Kutcher's VC fund

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jgalt212
or Carmelo Anthony's fund.

[https://techcrunch.com/2014/11/24/game-recognizes-game-as-
ca...](https://techcrunch.com/2014/11/24/game-recognizes-game-as-carmelo-
makes-his-first-vc-plays/)

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dopeboy
As a big Kobe fan, I'm excited to see what his career will be like post
career. I hope he takes a hands-on approach with this venture rather than just
have his money managed. There's a lot he can bring from playing competitive
basketball to the startup world.

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damienkatz
I'd certainly give him a better chance at success than most athletes have post
career. He might be the next Magic Johnson. But as Michael Jordan has shown,
tenacity and work ethic on the court don't necessarily translate to business
success.

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pyrrhotech
Michael Jordan is the only billionaire athlete in the world, I'm pretty sure
he is the anti-example of what you are trying to convey. Use Latrell Sprewell
or Allen Iverson instead.

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eitally
Michael Jordan is a billionaire _because_ of Nike. Magic has diversified quite
nicely beyond his original sponsorships.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Johnson_Enterprises](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Johnson_Enterprises)

[http://fortune.com/2014/12/09/magic-johnson-the-
businessman-...](http://fortune.com/2014/12/09/magic-johnson-the-businessman-
behind-the-basketball-legend/)

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ilostmykeys
$100M for a seed fund, right? Can't imagine $100M being a serious play for
anything other than a seed fund. I think he'd make a good board member, not so
much as an early stage investor.

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slowandlow
Insane work ethic and one the greatest. I really like this move. Founders
beware, you must be prepared and confident.

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clairity
bryant|stibel has actually been investing for a couple years out of a smaller
fund in LA but they've been fairly low key about it. this seems to be the big
coming out party, with a much larger fund to play with now that kobe is
"retired". =)

