Kobe Inc. — The Future of Athlete Investments

More and more athletes are looking to extend their brand and business off the court. Kobe, as always, has taken it one step further.

Kobe Bryant set up Kobe Inc. last year and recently talked to Forbes about his ambitions beyond playing basketball, and simply endorsing products.

“Kobe Inc.’s mission statement is to own and grow brands and ideas that challenge and redefine the sports industry while inspiring the world,” says Bryant. “The model has always been for entertainers to get sweat equity, but I wanted to progress beyond that.”

Kobe Inc.’s first investment was made this past week in an emerging sports drink BodyArmor.

Rather than simply endorsing the product like typical athletes do, Bryant will sit on the board of directors and own more than 10% of the company, according to one source familiar with the negotiations.

Bryant’s investment between the $4-6 million range makes him the third largest shareholder behind co-founders Mike Repole and Lance Collins.

“Kobe gets branding, he gets business. The product you are seeing has Kobe’s fingerprints all over it,” said Repole.

Yet both Bryant and Repole realize that the success of Bryant in the business world, and specifically with BodyArmor, will focus on his actual business and marketing skills, not simply his reputation.

“Being one of the best basketball players of all time will get the initial phone calls returned and meetings set,” Repole said. “But if there is no substance behind it, if there is no true business acumen on display, potential business partners will be wary, unless of course they are merely licensing his name in a business setting and he has no true input.”

Alicia Jessop, professor of sports law at the University of Miami, thinks Bryant is making a smart investment and expects it to be a success.

“What’s different about BodyArmor is who its creators are. You have two people who have been hugely successful in developing companies and selling them,” she said.

And as far as the future of Kobe Inc., Jessica Golden of CNBC writes that, “going forward, the success of Bryant’s investment in BodyArmor will be an important indicator into the future of Kobe Inc.”