Shaquille O'Neal is a busy man. The four-time NBA champion is a broadcaster, a partner in multiple franchises, an investor, a philanthropist and an educator. And all those pieces come together in his latest project, splita three-episode YouTube series featuring student entrepreneurs of the online learning platform The campus competing for $60,000 in prizes.
“We wanted to give these kids and young people a chance to play,” Shaq told Entrepreneur for an upcoming episode of the “How Success Happens” podcast. “We wanted to see courage, resilience, determination and faith, and they came up with some great ideas. It was great to see.”
The show was filmed at the campus investor Joe Lonsdaleat his home in Austin, and Shaq was joined by judges Jennifer Hyman (CEO of Rent the Runway) and Poppy Thorpe (Snapchat board member) to help make the big bucks decision.
While the spirit of the show is about nurturing new ideas and encouraging talent, it wasn't all love. Students underwent a competitive admissions process to enter the show, and throughout the three-part series, they went through intensive workshops and rigorous field practice sessions.
Shaq routinely advised contestants to calm their nerves when it came time to ask for funds. “I was speaking from experience,” Shaq explains. “When you step into someone's world and want to borrow their money, you have to have confidence. You have to talk to the experts and know the core of your business. I do my due diligence so I really understand what I'm You you don't want to go into a meeting with Jeff Bezos and ask for a hundred million dollars alone.”
The whole season is over now – fun to find out who walks away with a life-changing investment!