A New Model of Value Creation with OneTeam Partners
Today we are excited to announce a first-of-its-kind exclusive partnership between Will Ventures and OneTeam Partners, a sports company that represents the rights of world-class athletes. Together, we are generating a powerful new model of strategic value creation in the venture capital space.
“The reach, demands, and allure of the sports market make it an ideal proving ground for innovation,” said our Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Isaiah Kacyvenski. “Having been a professional athlete, an entrepreneur, and an investor, I have seen the outsized value that engaged athletes can bring to startups. That’s why we believe that our partnership with OneTeam will help early-stage consumer, health, and media companies win.”
Here at Will Ventures, we focus on early-stage, research-driven investing across consumer, health, media, and gaming. Anchored by institutional investors and a strategic group of LP’s, including professional sports team owners, professional athletes, and successful entrepreneurs, we have made 19 investments to date in companies like Tempus Ex, Future, Breathwrk, Just Womens’ Sports, Looped and more. OneTeam is aligning with us as their official strategic value creation partner. We will work in tandem to identify companies from our portfolio that can benefit from access to the substantial marketing influence and group licensing power of athletes, and then unleash the full suite of OneTeam’s capabilities to support these startups and their founders.
OneTeam represents the commercial interests of more than 4,000 athletes of the NFLPA, MLBPA, the MLSPA, the U.S. Women’s National Team PA, the WNBPA, and the U.S. Rugby PA. Through this partnership, our portfolio companies will have access to OneTeam’s unprecedented capabilities across group licensing, athlete marketing, digital marketing, content and media.
“We’re fortunate to work across a diverse set of world-class athletes. And by partnering with Will Ventures, we’re excited to help integrate the unique attributes of influential athletes early on in the marketing and growth strategies of their portfolio companies to deliver a whole new level of value,” said Ahmad Nassar, CEO of OneTeam.
In addition to infusing early-stage startups with robust athlete collaboration, the strategic alliance with OneTeam will provide educational resources, access, and prospective business opportunities in venture capital to multifaceted athletes across the OneTeam network of players associations. We are eager to unlock these opportunities for both our portfolio companies, as well as the professional athletes that have made sports their business. We are proud to call OneTeam our official partner and look forward to this next chapter ahead.