This isn’t actually the first time that Kobe Bryant and Jeff Stibel have worked together. The Bearded Mamba rang the opening bell at the NYSE this morning and announced his new $100 investment fund focused on tech, media and data companies.
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Former basketball player Shaquille O’Neal has invested in several tech start-ups.
Stibel added that the company is investing its own money at the moment and now isn’t prepared to raise funds from outside investors.
USA basketball star Kobe Bryant has formed a partnership with venture capitalist Jeff Stibel to launch a $100m (£76m) investment fund. “That’s not interesting”, said Mr. Stibel, who started his career in brain research and develop and build many tech firms.
According to the report, Stibel has the business know-how, while the former Los Angeles Lakers star will provide the marketing direction.
Kobe Bryant retired from professional basketball this year, but he’s still ready to drop a dime.
We don’t want to be in the business of investing in companies so someone can use Kobe as an endorser.
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Bryant Stibel has already made investments in Chinese online marketplace Alibaba Group (Baba), mobile game developer Scopely, legal technology provider LegalZoom and athlete-centric publishing platform The Players’ Tribune. His ambitions have been quietly discussed, with VC giant Chris Sacca telling Bill Simmons on a podcast that at one point that he had been advising Bryant on his entry into the industry. He also designed the new venture capital funds logo.
