Description

In this episode, sports journalist, author, and astute investor Darren Rovell shares ways he feeds his entrepreneurial spirit beyond the significant roles he holds at Action Sports Network (and formerly at ESPN and CNBC).

He gives rare insights into the investments that he helped basketball star Kobe Bryant make before he died, which led Darren later to become a venture capitalist in the food and beverage industry., founding KickStand cocktail company.

Highlights Include:

• How John and Darren met at Northwestern University (and the”pride” culture there is discussed), and then connected again 20-plus years later at the Super Bowl last year.  
• At age 22, Darren became the second youngest on-air hire ever for ESPN.  
• Rejoining ESPN six years later at five times the salary from when he left.
• Darren’s growing financial expertise and his relationship with Kobe Bryant, who wanted to win at business as much as sports. One $10 million investment gave a return of $440 million.
• Darren’s side hustle in sports memorabilia.
• The Product is 1% of the equation; you have to build a great team to win.

His Sports Journalism Career:

Darren is Senior Executive Producer and Reporter at The Action Network and also a former sports business reporter for ESPN and CNBC.

He focuses on stories related to the business of betting, from public companies to where the public is siding on each game. Darren started betting in 2000, the same year he started at ESPN at the age of 22. That’s also the year he started covering the beat as part of his sports business reporting. Darren worked for ESPN for 12 years in two stints and CNBC for six years before joining The Action Network in 2018.

While Darren loves the betting beat, he also has passion for covering any business. His book, First in Thirst, which is about the history of Gatorade, was named among the Best 30 Business Books of 2005 by Soundview Summaries. His CNBC documentary, Swoosh: Inside Nike, was nominated for an Emmy. 

He won an Emmy for his coverage of Barack Obama winning the presidency on an NBC News show that night in 2008.

His Entrepreneurial Experience:
Darren is a partner in Tastemaker Capital, a venture fund in the food and beverage space that features a curated roster of professional athletes, sports team executives, influencers, high net worth family offices and leading executives from various industries. The company is an investor  in Biena Snacks and Athletic Brewing Company.

Darren is also founder of KickStand Cocktails, “The only canned cocktail solely dedicated to spice.” (Or, more specifically, the product features premium spirits, clean ingredients, perfectly balanced spices, 105 calories, 3 grams of  carbs, and zero-added sugar.)

Darren went to Northwestern and graduated with a degree in communications. He was sports editor of the weekly paper, The Northwestern Chronicle, and sports director of the radio station, WNUR.

Follow Darren:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/darrenrovell

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darrenrovell/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarrenRovell/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenrovell/

Kickstands & Cocktails:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickstandcocktails 

Website: https://www.kickstandcocktails.com/

Tastemaker Capital:
Website: https://tastemakercapital.com/

Follow John:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johncerasani

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johncerasani

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncerasani

More 2000 Percent Raise Episodes and Content: https://linktr.ee/2000percentraise

Produced by: https://socialchameleon.us