Q&A: Andre Iguodala on investing, his new book ‘The Sixth Man’ and overcoming obstacles.
The 15 year NBA veteran and tech investor joins Brian Berger on Sports Business Radio from the Bloomberg Players Tech Summit.
BRIAN: Here with Andre Iguodala at the Bloomberg Players Tech Summit in San Francisco. Andre, I’ve talked to several of the athletes here, and they’re calling you the O.G. of investing. What do you think of all these athletes looking up to you as an investor?
ANDRE: Well, I’m just trying to take something from what occurred with me coming into the league as a rookie. I had really good vets that I could look up to, and a lot of guys aren’t fortunate (enough) to say that. That really can shape who you can become; and a lot of your actions, on and off the court. It’s always like, a veteran saying; you’ve got to take care of the guys that’s coming after you. You wanna leave the game in a better place, both on and off the court.
BRIAN: This is the third year of the event. I see a lot of new faces from last year. That’s gotta make you feel good that more and more guys are showing up for this.
ANDRE: Yeah! It’s uh…the bad part is, uh, turning guys down. But, you also gotta look at it as a positive that a lot of guys want to be a part of it.
BRIAN: You were on stage with Tim Brown of Allbirds. Usually you are the one being interviewed. How was it for you to do the interview and how long did you prepare for that interview in advance?
ANDRE: It’s a lot of fun actually. Something new that takes you out of your comfort zone. I actually enjoy being out of my comfort zone. If it’s something new, I feel like I have to be even better prepared for it. It’s kind of seeing it from another standpoint.
BRIAN: You’ve had some exits recently. I had Rudy (Andre’s business partner Rudy-Cline-Thomas) on Sports Business Radio two weeks ago. That’s great. When you were on with me last year, I think you said if you can go 3 for 10 when you’re investing, that’s All-Star caliber and you’ve had a few exits in the last few months.
ANDRE: Yes, I’ve done exceptionally well. I’m still kind of surprised that the batting percentage is as high as it is. So hopefully we’re doing something right. There’s a little bit of luck there. Got to be honest about that. But we are doing the things that are keeping us on the right track. Recently the enterprise space has been really good to us. Zoom and PagerDuty.
BRIAN: What’s the criteria for you to invest in something? I’m sure you and Rudy have things brought to you all the time, as far as invest in this, invest in that. What gets you excited to say, “That’s it!”?
ANDRE: Well, you wanna understand the product, first and foremost; and seeing where that company can potentially be in 10 or 15 years. So, that’s where you learn your history of how a lot of these successful companies; how they actually started.
BRIAN: You told me last year that you look at the founder too, and the energy of the founder. And you say that you don’t wanna come in and change what they’re doing, but you wanna (let them) know that you’re there to support them.
ANDRE: You look at somebody like Tim Brown from Allbirds and, you just. The one thing that resonated with me the entire time was how comfortable he was. I said, “Whoa!” You don’t see too many people sell a million of anything at all, but to do it in two years, especially in that market? But, you tell them how to build out this company and you look at somebody who’s really humble, who has a passion for something it’s more than just financial gains.
BRIAN: I wanna change topics. I know you have a new book out; I know you’ve been doing a lot of press about your book. I’ve read it, I love it, and there’s a few things that stuck out to me. Number one, the story about when you got paddled. Your mom had to come to school; you were at school and you got paddled! What was that like?
ANDRE: You know what’s funny is, I’ve gone through this book like six times. Edit it, take it in, put back in, take it out. Like, it’s just been a whirlwind so, I forget. I haven’t read the final copy, which is funny because, I’ve read like six versions. But I forgot about that, uh. That brings back all the memories in the world. I never got in trouble after that! That was good for me.
BRIAN: Yea! Another thing that I like is the chapter called, Find Your Flow. Not a lot of guys with your pedigree would’ve accepted to go to the bench. Maybe you can explain the whole “find the flow” when you come into the game.
ANDRE: Well, within basketball there’s different levels. Find the flow, you know, teams that have longevity; you look at the Bulls with the triangle offense. You look at the Lakers as well but, they had to alter a little bit within their offense that made everyone on the court a threat. Finding the flow is that.
BRIAN: You had some really tough injuries in the finals; you’re one of the leaders of this team. What’s your message in the locker room to keep everyone’s spirits up and, you know, look this going to be adversity going forward?
ANDRE: I always asked guys, “Is it hard. Is it hard. Is it hard.” We figured it out, I was like “Oh, man! This is really hard.” You know, there’s no real joy in accomplishing something unless you have to get through obstacles.
BRIAN: Last question. Last year when you were on, I know you watch HBO’s Silicon Valley. They’re entering their sixth and final season; are you going to get the cameo?
ANDRE: I was wondering when it was coming back. But that’s good to hear. Hopefully I can get a cameo. I’m excited about the season, and how it’s going to end. They lost our guy, the incubator for the house, but the show kept rolling. The show kept rolling pretty good, uh. So, hopefully this, they’ll finally make it.
BRIAN: Yeah, they’re doing a condensed season, so they’re only doing like six episodes I think. But, you gotta get in contact with them now, I wanna see you on there. Alright, Andre Iguodala, congratulations on this event. You do a really good job of it.
ANDRE: Thank you!
Listen to the whole episode of the Sports Business Radio Podcast:
Sports Business Radio focuses on the issues and people directly impacting the world of sports business. Guests on the show offer an insider’s perspective include pro sports league executives, agents, college athletics administrators, sports apparel company reps, ad agency executives, media executives and athletes.
