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Unknown
True NIL is an endorsement.
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Unknown
you know, we've worked with
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Unknown
Creighton, men's basketball,
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Unknown
Stephen Ashworth,
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Unknown
work and Husker volleyball,
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Unknown
brands like Mary, Nissan Racing Canes,
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Unknown
eight weeks to build a company from concept to pitch.
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Unknown
by the time I get to my car, she must be back.
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Unknown
And it's like, hey, can we open a call tomorrow?
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Unknown
But then it was like the year of doom.
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Unknown
nothing was really moving
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Unknown
there's no broke like entrepreneur broke
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Unknown
Hey, everybody. Brian Lee here from Prey Founders Club. And today we have really exciting podcast episode I have with us, Val Shafak of New, which is a sports marketing company that connects athletes with brands. So, welcome, Val.
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Unknown
Yes. Thank you for having me. It's great. Great to be here. So really excited to hear your story. So you're, success story that's come out of Omaha.
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Unknown
You started a business that's kind of taken advantage of this new, sports marketing wave that's opened up in the last three years. Started at Creighton University. Just love to hear. Let's just start with, what does your business do? And, how do you serve? How do you serve people? Yeah. So our business, kind of came out of the neo boom, right?
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Unknown
And, had eight weeks to build a company from concept to pitch. And a entrepreneurship class at Creighton was taught by Nathan Preheim And that was a wonderful opportunity because, you know, it kind of put us students in a position that we hadn't been in before, kind of forces forced us to think outside of the box and, create something that, you know, either hadn't been done yet or, you know, evolved an industry, that we were interested in and I wasn't interested in, I oh, I have, I have friends who, you know, played D1 basketball, you know, Gonzaga and you see USC and you know, they were telling me of all the crazy stuff
00:01:47:03 - 00:02:12:00
Unknown
that was happening, I was like, I don't want to be in it. But, the somehow, someway just got looped in and, you know, ever since been, building, building a new you mentioned somebody, Nathan Preme, who's kind of a legend in the Omaha startup industry. So this is great. So this kind of goes back to when the startup scene started in, in Omaha, Nebraska, you know, in the late 2000.
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Unknown
It's great to see some of the fruits of this effort. But can you tell us some of the who were some of the athletes and maybe some of the brands we might recognize that you represent? Yeah. You know, Stephen, if you're, you know, Creighton fan Stephen Ashworth, you know, we've worked with William Creighton, men's basketball, women's basketball work and Husker volleyball, some partnerships.
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Unknown
You know, we're doing some stuff down south, with us. You right now and then
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Unknown
brands like Mary, Nissan Racing Canes,
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Unknown
Dayspring Bank, co-op Credit Union, and so, the likes of those. So for people that don't know, the opportunity that arose a couple of years back, laws and laws changed to where athletes could start getting rewarded for their own name, image and likeness, which opens up the opportunity for brands to be able to promote their brand through partnerships and things like that.
00:03:05:02 - 00:03:28:28
Unknown
Can you give us some examples of some ways that, brands might partner with athletes? Yeah, absolutely. So a lot of, you know, I always like to say because I think people get confused or they're unsure about what. And I always it's an endorsement most of the time. True. And it is an endorsement. Now we've seen, you know, the one side where it's, you know, pay for play and the other side where it's a true endorsement.
00:03:29:01 - 00:03:50:05
Unknown
But and it was originally designed to be an endorsement. So your favorite basketball players endorsing runs, or doing a post on runs, or, you know, we're doing an activation or something of that sort. That's great. Well, let's go back to the beginning. How did this get started? You were a student at the university.
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Unknown
You were associated with Nathan, who's, great resource. So how did the whole. Let's take us back to the beginning and how did it start? Yeah. So it was, Wow. It's crazy how time flies. It's been three years since I took my class. That is crazy. Yeah. So it was, spring semester of 2023, and I, you know, decided to take an entrepreneurship class because, you know, I've always been an entrepreneur.
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Unknown
I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. And, you know, the first day of the class, Nathan gives us this challenge because he was the adjunct at that time. He was teaching it with another tenured professor. And he gives us this challenge, okay, you guys are going to build a company in eight weeks starting today, which is like, goodness, how do you even do that?
00:04:38:18 - 00:05:04:29
Unknown
You know? Yeah. But then, you know, from there we, you know, hired a couple weeks of just understanding what it means to start a business. And then from there, we really got the opportunity to be practical. So there was a day where we had to put, you know, 11 ideas on, whiteboard. So we did, and we had to narrow those down to five.
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Unknown
And when we nervos down to five, we started to go into groups. And those groups were the companies, quote unquote, that, would be started in the class. So I originally was actually part of a bagel startup. And the reason being is, Nathan, that made us take the strains. Fine. Well, they're not transponders, but they're it's like an entrepreneurial, test to see if you're a rainmaker.
00:05:30:25 - 00:05:54:09
Unknown
Yeah. Assessment. Exactly. So to see if you're a rainmaker, a conductor or an expert, and I, a conductor according to that. So from there, you know, I was in that video group and the initial group needed an extra conductor, so I was just like, all right, like, I'll move over. And I kind of got forced to move over there to buy Nathan, but that's like, in the best way possible.
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Unknown
So it was just kind of a wonderful opportunity, sir. Well, let's, let's fast forward to the end. So this has been three years now. And, you know, even for such a hot industry is nil. My understanding is you still went through the typical entrepreneurial curve, which included the valley of death. So kind of give us a brief summary of the path to now.
00:06:16:15 - 00:06:33:28
Unknown
Oh my goodness. That first year was tough. It was like so for me, you know, my faith is really important in my life. I'm a Christian. And so like the entire time we were building, you know, starting now, I'm like, God, is this really for me? And like, I feel like the initial booms, like we've got a partnership, Raising Cane's.
00:06:33:28 - 00:06:55:02
Unknown
And then we got a partnership with me sign right after that. And I was like, great, cool. Like, okay, these are good confirmations. And like those partnerships went on. But then it was like the year of doom. I felt like despair because, nothing was really moving or we were getting like we had a couple bad situations with, another partnership opportunity we had.
00:06:55:02 - 00:07:15:00
Unknown
And it was just not it was not a good look at all. So I struggled in that first year big time. But I learned a lot about what it takes to be to really be an entrepreneur. And I think a lot of times, you know, if you look up entrepreneurship on Instagram or TikTok, you see, you know, people flashing their Rolexes and amex's and going on trips and whatever the case is.
00:07:15:00 - 00:07:40:13
Unknown
And I learned that it was not that it was. It is not that that comes at the very end of the struggle, but I mean beyond down the line. So my favorite meme that's going around right now is there's no broke like entrepreneur broke like employed, broke. Yeah. But curiously, no, no. But like seriously though, like it was it was hard.
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Unknown
You know, it's like, why why are you even doing this? But, you know, I've always, I've always wanted to build something that would sustain me through life, and and I you, has given me the opportunity to do that thus far. So I'm grateful for it. Let's talk about some of your first wins. It sounds like, you know, Raising Cane's and some some big names came early.
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Unknown
Like, how did the how did you get those connections? And, what was were you nervous going into that? Like what was the closing process? How do you feel about those. Yeah. So the Raising Cane's deal was crazy. I've told the story like a thousand times, but it just never gets old. We even trying to find who I know, the marketing person that Cane's was for a very long time.
00:08:22:20 - 00:08:50:13
Unknown
And, you know, one night, I was. I was the president of a club at Creighton called queso. And I was in Harper, which is our business school or the the business building, at Creighton. One night and I saw a friend of mine just talking to these finance pros about how there's this platform that Creighton students have access to to be able to connect to almost anyone they want in the country, at any company.
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Unknown
So that was a great opportunity for me to be like, okay. And like, let me see, how do I get into this? So I got into it and I found the lady we've been stalking on LinkedIn for weeks, and I decided, you know, we had already made a pitch ready to go, like, for whenever, you know, she got back.
00:09:09:10 - 00:09:30:27
Unknown
It's always better to stay ready than to have to get ready. Right. So, sent her an email, said a prayer, and, like, I left campus. It's about a three minute walk to from the business school to my car at this point, by the time I get to my car, she must be back. And it's like, hey, can we open a call tomorrow?
00:09:30:29 - 00:09:56:08
Unknown
I said, yes within 24 or 48 hours. Basically, we got that deal closed. So wow. It was incredible. And then Nissan came because. So I worked in an athletic marketing, a Creighton. I worked with the ones, closely, capturing video and whatnot for the different teams. And I brought this opportunity, the Cain's opportunity first, actually, to the men's basketball team.
00:09:56:11 - 00:10:20:10
Unknown
And Jordan Reese, who was coach at the time, and Carly, Carly Berger, who I love dearly, really supported me in that process. And then John McHugh, on the men's basketball side, as well, kind of helped put this deal together, helped me put this deal together. But on the women's basketball side, one of the coaches had a connection, and he saw Nissan, and they were like, hey, like, I'm going to connect you with him.
00:10:20:12 - 00:10:39:20
Unknown
And, I want you to go meet him. And I went to meet them and, you know, he was interested. And then we made him a pitch. And so I'm on the on the deal. Wow. What a what a whirlwind there that first couple of weeks. Sounds like crazy. Yeah, it was insane. So. So now you've got me curious.
00:10:39:22 - 00:11:05:00
Unknown
Entrepreneurs play all the roles at the beginning, whether that be operator, salesperson, marketer, accountant, etc.. What, what are like in that role you're playing the sales role. Like what are some of the roles you find yourself playing the most? What are some is you, some that you like more than others? Yeah. I mean, so it's different, you know, now not having the full team that I had.
00:11:05:03 - 00:11:24:28
Unknown
But I, you know, just to give credit to my co-founder Matt and also and other co-founder Sam Perkinson, to those two really helped kind of divvy up the process. I mean, Matt was more focused on operations. Sam and I were Sam was focused on deals. I was focused on the creative side, making sure like ideating how we'd execute partnerships.
00:11:24:28 - 00:11:46:15
Unknown
So just going out and getting new opportunities together, but yeah, it was a wonderful experience. I learned a lot through having that, but I always had people to kind of lean on for that. And now in this process, I mean, I still have people helping me on operations and on the legal side of things. But now it's helping me kind of outline, okay, what do I really want?
00:11:46:17 - 00:12:03:24
Unknown
And people. So it's like you need someone who can take care of your athletes really well. You need someone who can work with the brands and, you know, execute what's being promised really well. You need someone who can come in and make sure that you're not burning all your cash. So, yeah, stuff like that. I had to learn, but it's it's beautiful.
00:12:03:24 - 00:12:26:11
Unknown
It's, it's a beautiful part of the process. So I'm. I'm also curious, too. I know that you've, the size of your team has sort of varied. Get a larger, get a little smaller. It's probably growing now, talk talk me through that process and kind of what roles you now three years in. As you grow, will you be expanding into and then kind of the process getting to where you are now.
00:12:26:13 - 00:12:51:11
Unknown
Absolutely. Yeah. So I'll go take a step back. So when we started, it was just me and Matt. Matt was, you know, CEO essentially. I was the chief creative officer. And he and we then brought Sam Perkinson on. And at the time he became our, what was he at that time? He was a chief brand officer. No, no, he wasn't our chief brand officer.
00:12:51:13 - 00:13:11:26
Unknown
I forget what his title was. I'm not going to lie. I could LinkedIn real quick, but, and then we brought on a guy named Landon Fogle. Who? Super talented kid who's in the right school at Lincoln Sources to help us build our website and just some other stuff internally for us. Excuse me, but then.
00:13:11:29 - 00:13:30:12
Unknown
So that's how the team grew. But then Matt had to go to law school and he brought in a guy named Kylie. Kylie Caskey, who I love dearly, just one of my best friends, but has become one of my best friends. But she was overqualified, for what we needed, but she jumped right in and helped kind of fill in that role and elevated us.
00:13:30:12 - 00:13:56:10
Unknown
I mean, she got us connected to our legal team and, like, you know, just really made sure that we were at a place where we could grow effectively and with the right resources that we needed. So, yeah. Then from there, you know, everyone had a stake in the company. Matt and or Matt and I have a majority originally, and Sam and I, and then this past summer, you know, they transitioned out of the business, so.
00:13:56:12 - 00:14:26:29
Unknown
And now the majority and actually sole owner of the company, I love them. It was wonderful. You know, we were wonderful in the sense that, like, no, there was no bridges burn and we all love each other. Still, it was the right time to separate. So now kind of just thinking through what the future looks like, really wanting to be able to build a team that is multifaceted, meaning, you know, on the, you know, there's a sports marketing focus, you know, on the agency side of the company.
00:14:26:29 - 00:14:48:25
Unknown
But then there's two other verticals we want to explore down the line and as that develops, you know, again, really it's going to really be important to have someone who's on the athlete relations and the university relations side, someone who is on, you know, more of the brand side. And then, you know, the tech side will come back in and they are finance that will come in as well.
00:14:48:27 - 00:15:09:12
Unknown
So that's kind of where I'm looking out at right now and trying to start trying to start to outline what you know will be required. Gotcha. You mentioned something that actually prompted my next question. The legal team, you're in a area that I assume has some amount of regulation and compliance, although it's sort of ambiguous at times.
00:15:09:14 - 00:15:34:27
Unknown
How much are you dealing with, lawyers and compliance pretty often. Especially early on. Like, we we would it would be pretty often. It's nice to have, like, my office is across the street from Creighton, and thankfully, I know everyone at Creighton, so if I ever have questions, I can go to the compliance office. Our friends at law school who are studying this, that can be helpful.
00:15:34:27 - 00:16:04:07
Unknown
Our legal team is always one call away as well. So often I mean also getting contracts done and executing stuff like, just to make sure that it's done well and effectively. You know, I could tell that program that you took at Creighton was very valuable for those connections. I mean, if someone tried to do this on their own, you know, how are they going to find a the the, the legal contacts and also the professional contacts that that's, you know, that's a really good argument for that program.
00:16:04:11 - 00:16:26:01
Unknown
There's a lot of college programs that, may, may not have as high of an ROI, but this one seems pretty good. So you're pretty happy with that. Absolutely. Creighton. That was the best investment I've ever made in my life. And I will stand on that like that. That is that score changed my life. It gave me it gave me what I have today.
00:16:26:01 - 00:16:44:29
Unknown
It gave me the resources and the network to be able to go out and do some crazy things. So yeah, Creighton Crane's the best. Let's talk about some of your struggles. Because, you know, we all know now that entrepreneurship is not all roses. What are some things you struggled with? Maybe what are some things you learned to overcome those struggles?
00:16:45:01 - 00:17:09:04
Unknown
Yeah. It's not all axes and Rolexes. Yeah. Entrepreneurship is very lonely. I think the biggest thing that I've learned, it's it's a process that most people don't understand. So most people won't ever go through it. So, you know, you really have to find a strong community that you can count on and that you can go to in times of need and times of need and support.
00:17:09:07 - 00:17:30:04
Unknown
You know, I think that was like one of the biggest things. But then also too early on, like we were young guys selling something that we like. No one really knew what it was, which is so funny because again, it was just endorsements. So people can wrap their minds around it at times. So it's really interesting for us.
00:17:30:07 - 00:17:50:06
Unknown
But like, you know, we weren't like as polished as in Open Doors or we weren't as you know, we didn't have a website for a month and a half and still got deals. But like, it just might not seem legit early on. It took us a long time. Well, not a long time. I mean, it took us about 5 to 6 months early on just to, like, get everything established.
00:17:50:06 - 00:18:20:13
Unknown
And, you know, legal and stable and, you know, good. Before we could start to be taking more seriously. But even then, we still went through some of those problems with people. I think the biggest thing was just having to trust the process and learning through the process and be patient, which is hard to do. Yeah. Especially, when you get to big heads and it looks like everything is going, and especially when people on your team are expecting that, well, the reality of entrepreneurship is you have to be.
00:18:20:15 - 00:18:43:23
Unknown
Patience is your best friend, whether you like patience or not is your best friend. But it's a beautiful thing. So I love that you, you gave a great sales pitch for pre Founders Club when you mentioned community. That's kind of our goal is to give the lonely entrepreneur, a support network. So, excited to kind of get you involved with that as well.
00:18:43:25 - 00:19:07:29
Unknown
You also you also mentioned I guess I'm curious to know where do you see the future going? I know it's changing quickly. The landscape of nil. I think what it's my understanding that over the last year they've now allowed universities to compensate athletes. Is that correct? Yep. So, curious, how does that change your model and what do you kind of see in the future?
00:19:08:02 - 00:19:28:24
Unknown
It's a great question. So I mean, again, like really doubling down on the sports marketing focus. Just because what like we don't we're not just like a bridge between brands and athletes. Like we come up with the entire campaigns as to what the athletes are doing and how the brand is being active in that. And like, you know what I mean?
00:19:28:24 - 00:20:02:07
Unknown
So it's not just like functioning as an agent. Sure. However, you know, I think with everything coming in house schools still need to raise money. That's money. The money that they're paying these athletes is money that's being taken from their athletic operating budget. So if we can just even if it's small amounts, even if it's 12, 20, 30, $50,000 a year that we can get an athlete and help them kind of take that off their plate and helps free up opportunities for them, that makes a lot of sense.
00:20:02:10 - 00:20:21:01
Unknown
Speaking of the future, where do you where do you see the company, in the next few years? Like, where do you hope it to be in, let's say, three years from now? Absolutely. So, you know, I'll start with physically because I've gotten to travel a lot because of NIU. And, you know, Omaha is a phenomenal home base.
00:20:21:03 - 00:20:50:18
Unknown
But I would love to have operations on the West Coast, particularly in San Francisco and then on the East Coast, particularly in New York. So really excited to, you know, have the opportunity to go to those places and really just set up a hub down there. And then as well as, you know, just building a new team, building a, a team that is able to execute at the level that I believe that company can get to.
00:20:50:21 - 00:21:12:05
Unknown
And, I'm really excited to get that done. Just taking it one step at a time. A big thing for me is just working on becoming a better leader, a more effective communicator. One day, one step at a time. So that, you know, whenever I do have the opportunity to lead again, I can, you know, build and encourage and empower people to keep building alongside me.
00:21:12:08 - 00:21:47:17
Unknown
That's great. You also mentioned Open doors, which is, one of the inspirations here in Nebraska for a startup. That's, that's really done something, along with huddle, like, what are some other local inspirations? Nathan Prime that did you draw on to come to your local inspiration? Hey, that's a great question. Not all companies, what's it's like, why is a real estate development company you know, inspiring, but, like, I will sell these guys out till the day I that, Sam and Aaron and Sam and Aaron.
00:21:47:17 - 00:22:08:04
Unknown
Noddle. I love those guys. Those are my guys. They just push the envelope, the needle. Even their dad, J like, he. I think they are just kind of. They go to different places and they see where things can be, and then they bring them here. And we need more of that in the city. And I'm really inspired by all the concepts that they create.
00:22:08:06 - 00:22:25:20
Unknown
We're working with them on a couple concepts right now. But not all companies. I would say de screen Bank, me and the president of the bank have gotten really close, their grand and that's one of my good friends. And we just it's it's good to see the innovation in the city and at least the desire for it.
00:22:25:20 - 00:22:44:24
Unknown
So him and I have a lot of those conversations. A guy named Ben drinky of a company called Torch Works. He mentored me, you know, before I got into all the sports and all that stuff taught me how to, you know, really be a high level thinker and not just like, you know, he owned the production company, and it was one of the best in the region.
00:22:44:27 - 00:23:08:05
Unknown
But we didn't just have conversations about film. We had conversations about excellence and what it takes to be a high level leader and what it takes to get to the place that no one has ever gotten to before. So yeah, several people. Jason Fisher sorry, in the Media Lab, Scott Heider there's so many names I could say, that have just poured into me.
00:23:08:05 - 00:23:33:13
Unknown
I've been poured into by this city more than I could have ever asked for. So beyond grateful. Well. That's great. Well, it sounds like you're an advocate for the region. And, hopefully you maintain operations at least partially in the region, to work for it. As always, I'm, Well, this has been really great. So for Prairie Founders Club members, Val's actually going to break down a case study of his first three years.
00:23:33:16 - 00:23:53:24
Unknown
The different milestones, including that valley of death that we talked about. So for members, we're going to be following up on the pre founders Clubcard members site with the rest of it. But, you know, that was really great getting to know you and your story. It's really inspirational. I guess if people want to learn more about you and what, you know, what you're up to, how can they connect with you?
00:23:53:27 - 00:24:12:00
Unknown
It's great. Look me up on LinkedIn. Valerie shot back. Valerie a sage, a fake, and then just follow, and I. You.com and I dash while you.com. Awesome. Well, hey, thanks a lot. And I can't wait to hear your case study coming up. Thank you so much.
