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‘That was a crappy call ref’
‘We won on the weekend.’
If you’re a founder, yelling at the TV or bragging about your team’s win to a friend, may be the extent of your interaction with sport and elite athletes. Maybe some of you play sport too, and compete at a decent level, but playing for a Premiership or an Olympic medal seems like a long way away. Particularly in Australia, we love our sporting heroes, and respect the sacrifices athletes make to play at that level.
For athletes, we are just as impressed by the sacrifices founders make to solve the problems they care about. Early mornings, hard work, the pressure to perform, seemingly insurmountable odds and the lack of days off are not things that only athletes face.
A lot is written for investors about selecting which companies to invest in. Not so much is written for founders about selecting which investors and advisors to allow into their company and onto their cap table. Money is the same no matter who it comes from, so what else is worth considering?
Athletes can bring a lot to the field of play. And more and more athletes are becoming passionate about supporting and investing in founders. It’s fantastic to see as in many ways, the founder journey is very similar to the athlete journey. Here are a few unconventional ways athletes could be a great teammate for your company.