Athletic Ventures, the athlete-centric VC cofounded by former AFL player Matt de Boer and basketballer Matthew Dellavedova, has announced a major recruit to lead its growth into the US.
Kevin Love, 37, now with Utah Jazz, the NBA team part-owned by Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes, has joined the Sydney VC as a venture partner with the remit not only to support their portfolio companies in their own US efforts, but to start building the investor community amongst American athletes.
“He’s so well connected, it’s going to be great for our founders with the doors he can open,” Dellavedova said.
“And after 18 years in the NBA he knows a lot of athletes who he can tell about our community.”
Love and Dellavedova were Cleveland Cavaliers teammates and, alongside Lebron James, won the 2016 NBA championship. It was on a recent 10-year anniversary trip that the former teammates reunited and, “over a glass of wine or two”, Love got interested in Athletic Ventures.
“Kev and I built a strong relationship as teammates, and I’m excited to build something together beyond basketball,” Dellavedova said.
“He brings curiosity, perspective and trusted relationships across sport and business. I’m looking forward to working together on AV’s growth in the US.”
Athletic Ventures now has over 500 athletes from 26 different sports in its community. With its first $35 million fund alongside 14 Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), they’ve made a diverse range of investments including Eucalyptus, Guzman y Gomez, Lorikeet, Hnry, and Adelaide allied health startup, splose.
While eyes are on the US for growth in its investor base, the focus is very much still on Australian founders.
“Where athletes really add value is go-to-market: PR, social media and their networks help open doors to assist founders,” de Boer said.
“A growing US athlete community means we can do that for Australian founders expanding there.”
With a long track record of angel investments, Love is seeing this opportunity as a way of getting more athletes into the investing space.
“There’s a lot of interest among athletes in the US in entrepreneurship and investing. What attracted me to Athletic Ventures is the community: athletes, experienced business leaders and founders learning from each other and building relationships. I’m excited to help grow that in the US,” he said.
