How Athletes Get Into the Top VC Funds | Ryan Nece, Next Legacy

<p>Ryan Nece runs Next Legacy, a $4 billion fund of funds that connects athletes and philanthropists with the top venture capital firms in the world.</p><p><br></p><p>Ryan is the only player in NFL history to win a Super Bowl as a rookie and go 0-16 in his final season. His dad, Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, started one of the first athlete-backed venture funds with Joe Montana in the late &#39;90s.</p><p><br></p><p>Ryan rebuilt that playbook a generation later, so almost nobody is better positioned to explain the similarities between pro athletes and the top founders / investors, how athletes actually break into Silicon Valley, the biggest mistakes they usually make, .</p><p><br></p><p>Thanks to this episodes sponsors!</p><p><br></p><p>Numeral: Sales tax on autopilot https://www.numeral.com</p><p>Flex: Premium banking, 60-day credit, 0% APR https://home.flex.one/referral/bananacapital</p><p>Amplitude: AI analytics https://www.amplitude.com</p><p>Merge: Every model, one API https://www.merge.dev/turner</p><p>Monaco: The revenue engine for startups https://www.monaco.com/</p><p><br></p><p>Timestamps:</p><p>(0:00) How a football family broke into Silicon Valley</p><p>(4:33) A Super Bowl rookie year with four Hall of Famers</p><p>(8:09) What separates the top 0.1% of athletes?</p><p>(12:18) The mistake of having &quot;a guy&quot;</p><p>(18:41) Vetting who to trust</p><p>(20:18) The dumbest investments athletes make</p><p>(22:45) How athletes can help founders</p><p>(29:44) VC Power Law is just like sports</p><p>(34:24) How to break in without connections</p><p>(38:05) Building Next Legacy to $4B AUM</p><p>(40:44) Why they give away all the profits</p><p>(43:20) Early firm building mistakes</p><p>(48:19) Learning to pitch institutional LP&#39;s</p><p>(53:03) The emerging-manager barbell</p><p>(55:45) “Your starting five tells me who you are”</p><p>(57:47) The other AI: Authentic Interaction</p><p>(59:55) Getting LP attention with the rule of three</p><p>(1:03:40) Working the whisper network</p><p>(1:06:03) Pick the kid who gets picked last</p><p>(1:12:26) The Lions 0-16 season</p><p>(1:14:43) The “Next Play” mindset</p><p>(1:19:28) Mental toughness</p><p>(1:21:32) What it’s like commentating an NFL game</p><p>(1:27:14) Getting cussed out by Warren Sapp</p><p>(1:31:13) His favorite athlete: Jerry Rice</p><p>(1:35:15) Abe Lincoln and his grandfather&#39;s restaurants</p><p><br></p><p>Referenced</p><p>Next Legacy: https://www.nextlegacy.com/</p><p>Give and Take: https://www.amazon.com/Give-Take-Helping-Others-Success/dp/0143124986</p><p>Three Feet From from Gold: https://www.amazon.com/Three-Feet-Gold-Obstacles-Opportunities/dp/1402784791</p><p>Team of Rivals: https://www.amazon.com/Team-Rivals-Political-Abraham-Lincoln/dp/0743270754</p><p><br></p><p>Follow Ryan</p><p>Twitter: https://x.com/ryannece</p><p>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-nece-abb07b8</p><p><br></p><p>Follow Turner</p><p>Twitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovak</p><p>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/turnernovak</p><p><br></p><p>Subscribe to my newsletter to get every episode + the transcript in your inbox every week: https://www.thespl.it/</p>