Seth Berger, "A Coach at Heart - from AND1 to Sixers Innovation Lab"

Seth Berger has seen it all, took the risks as an Entrepreneur, build an iconic brand in the process (AND1), sold the business, with success and failures along the way. He shares his amazing stories here with us with a smile and laughter. The Sixers Innovation Lab gives him now the playground to follow his passion, being a Coach at heart. Listen and learn. Tons of incredible Entrepreneurial lessons in here.     Key Highlights How it all started - coming out of Wharton Grad School - AND1 Database Marketing business early days... Great Entrepreneurial start up stories not to be missed The real AND1 started in a Pizza place As an Entrepreneur you are winning and losing every day. Ego is the brother of insecurity. And Seth has no time for either Focus on 16 year old Basketball consumers - AND1 T-Shirts were born Some luck - MJ retired for the first time and his brand stopped selling and retailers were looking for something new  From T-Shirts to Shorts to Basketball Shoes - almost bankrupted the company in the process Incredible Stephon Marbury story - Marbury 1 - break an ankle with SM Business took off from there hitting USD 280 mil in revenue and become 2nd biggest Basketball shoe brand in the USA Creativity a key to the success - great slogans "call me Mayor because I spend all my time downtown" 😂 Commitment and focus and no space for ego Birth of Mixedtape Tour and ESPN's Streetball Selling the company - the stories and emotions behind it The story behind "Tai Chi" - Vince Carter, 2000 NBA Slam dunk contest Hoops TV - ahead of its time and despite all efforts it failed Sixers Innovation Lab (SIL) - reconnecting with Scott O'Neil & HBSE SIL's USP - access to HBSE network and affiliated services and cash Invested in 14 companies, sold one so far From sports gambling, Esports to health drinks - broad range with a focus on B2C - examples What are the three most important factors to chose investments: Market, Team, Idea 💡 Ask the right questions. Technology today allows you to find the right answers Focus currently on US companies but open to others Gaming & Esports - it's real and might become bigger than real sports SIL's three investment in this space (U.gg,..) Betting on young talent Basketball "Coach" at heart   About Managing Director, Sixers Innovation Lab Seth Berger earned his MBA in 1993 from the Wharton School and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from University of Pennsylvania in 1989. Seth has been the CEO of four businesses in the consumer space, and his fifth “venture” has been to build an elite high school basketball program as Head Coach. In these ventures, Seth has started with a hyper focus on the understanding of the target consumer, with the philosophy that every consumer business must meet and communicate a specific consumer need to survive. After that, he has worked to create branding and marketing strategies to drive messaging that sticks in a world of constant consumer messaging.   AND 1 — 1993-2000, 2002-2005 As Founder and CEO of AND 1, he ran an upstart basketball sneaker, apparel and entertainment company. After starting out selling screen printed tee shirts in 1993, the Company moved into the broader apparel and footwear market. AND 1 reached its height it 2001, when it attained the No. 2 spot in the US basketball footwear market. At its peak, AND 1 had revenues of $285 million, including its licensees. In addition, AND 1’s entertainment division created the Mix Tape tour and Streetball, an ESPN series that was the No. 1 rated show among male teens, eclipsing SportsCenter. AND 1 also donated more than 5 percent of its annual profits to youth-based charities. In 1999, the partners sold a stake in the business to TA Associates, a venture firm out of Boston. In 2005, the company was sold to American Sporting Goods, a private shoe company based in Irvine, Calif.   HoopsTV.com — 1999-2001 Seth served as CEO of HoopsTV.com from 1999-2001. He helped raise $15 million in financing for the bus