College's sports industry is worth billions of dollarsHowever students-athletes have been able to receive payments for their Names, images and similarities (Nile) since a decision of the Supreme Court of 2021.
Students-athletes stay to earn more financially than ever before: in some cases, they will see higher income than they can be at any other point in their careers. However, some very common mistakes can turn them back into a square, an issue that professional athletes have been caught for years.
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It is a reality that Michael Haddix Jr., the founder of scoutA financial management company for athletes and school administrators knows very well.
Image Credit: Scout courtesy. Michael Haddix Jr.
His father, Mike Haddix, played in the NFL for eight years and faced financial difficulties after his football career ended.
“I lived through her and saw why it happened,” says Haddix Jr. The entrepreneur. “And it didn't happen because he had 10 cars: it happened because with the time he realized how the money worked and had little financial experience and education, his career was over.”
After scoring more than 1,000 points as a basketball player in Siena College, Haddix Jr. He continued to take his MBA from the Columbia Business School, where he saw in the forefront of how people who had money settled for financial success.
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Then, he gained more knowledge as an investment banker in Goldman Sachs and a financial adviser at Octagon, where he worked with athletes like Chris Paul, Steph CurryDerrick White, Devin Booker, Aly Raisman and Michael Phelps, among other things.
The college should be the beginning of everyone's financial journey, not the end.
With Nile developing, Haddix Jr. realized the assistance potential College athletesMost of whom would not go in favor after graduation would effectively manage their money in the context of their unique situations.
Because, unlike a typical worker who may work a 9-5 And raise their income every year until they hit the pension around the age of 60, students-Atlets often make more money that will ever earn in the first five years of their work life, explains Haddix Jr.
Moreover, many students-athelets, who are classified as independent contractors And for this reason it is not subject to keeping trends, end up in a high tax bracket and owe considerable amounts each year.
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It is also common that college athletes “quickly become nutrients” for older and young family members because they have “reached” in a stratosphere that no one else has ever achieved, “says Haddix Jr.
There is an opportunity hereHaddix Jr. remembers thinking. College should be the beginning of all financial tripnot the end.
“It's not about what you are coming,” says Haddix Jr. “It's about what is here now. Many decisions are made based on it When I go the pros I will pay my taxes, OR When I get this other check, I will start SAVING. Set a plan instead of what you have now to prepare you if you never get money anymoreAnd then you can do all the things you want to do as long as there is a plan. Actually makes your life easier, no harder. “
“Is the platform big enough? How successful can you be?”
So Haddix Jr. set off to start scout. The first step was to build the company team; Haddix Jr. had the passion and the mission, but it was not “technical”, and he also wanted to position the platform topic.
This is when Haddix Jr. Connected with his co -founder and Cto Cindy Zeng, who would work in the companies like Ticket and a citizen and knew how to build scale products that could help millions of customers. Haddix Jr. And Zeng was forced to work on the initial idea – then it was time to raise money.
Haddix Jr., who is from Mississippi and worked on sale before attending business school, had no friends or family members who could help finance the enterprise with controls for $ 50,000 or $ 100,000, he says. Instead, the founder for the first time was supported in NETWORK He would be cultivated in Colombia and joined the Dec group -based scholarship program to make more links.
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Throughout the SCout funding travel, Haddix Jr. heard a similar refrain: “Is the platform big enough? How successful can you be?”
However, Haddix Jr. managed to collect smaller checks – from $ 2,500 to $ 10,000 – which opened more doors and ultimately led to larger checks. Scout never raised more than three to four months worth cAPITAL at one time; It was a cycle of raising a little, trying it, then raising more, says Haddix Jr.
“While the number of current athletes is smaller. Their value of life is essentially more.”
Nile growth as a “very hot industry” also helped the company gain traction. As news of paying college athletes spread through the media, interest on the subject increased and scouts used it to help people understand the great potential of the company.
“We were like, 'How do you manage the fact that you are injecting billions of dollars into a group of people who have never had it before and with a high truth the value of life? '”Explains Haddix JR ..”' If you get a 19-year-old who really loves your platform or product, they will be with you for 70 years. So while the number of current athletes is smaller, their value of life is essentially more. “”
From there, Scout “began to grow very quickly,” Haddix Jr. Since its inception in 2021, the company has raised more than $ 6 million. Haddix Jr. Credits some of the SCO's success to be a sustainable business that transcends trends, even how many investors told him they were going all The beginnings of he.
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“You have to resist (investor feedback) and have strong convictions to realize that (simply) because someone has a control does not mean that they know nothing or that they are the right investor For you, ”explains Haddix Jr.
Another important lesson Haddix Jr. had to learn as a founder for the first time? “You can't boil the ocean.”
“Many times, people want to see your vision As an entrepreneur, “says Haddix JR ..” 'Oh, how big can this be?' And when you talk how big something can be over and over, you forget that you can't choose for a million people if five people don't like your product. “
“We can be this unique community-infrastructure-community -fintech community.”
Now, as the number of global athletes increases “by minute”, Haddix Jr. It is excited to double in the original scout mission: serving athletes best.
“We look at what USAA has done to veterans (and think), Can we be something like this for athletes?“Haddix Jr. says.” (Maybe) You go to play basketball overseas, come back and you are 27 and are trying to figure out how to start. You have bad credit. How do you get a home? A car? Learn to invest? We can be this unique infrastructure of the community-taxation -fintech for anyone who has been athletes at one point and is trying to sail on the journey. “