My MBA Journey: How I From the NBA to a Business Degree

Last Updated on October 24, 2023 by Robert C. Hoopes

Former NBA player Baron Davis is making waves in the business world with his latest venture, Business In the Game. This platform aims to support athletes and talented individuals looking to become entrepreneurs. Davis recently sat down with Insider reporter Yoonji Han to discuss his transition from the NBA to entrepreneurship.

During the interview, Davis shared his deep love for basketball and how it has played a significant role in his life. Basketball has not only kept him grounded but also helped him move from South Central to Santa Monica, shaping him into the person he is today. Throughout his NBA career, Davis strived to be a beacon of light and inspire others from similar backgrounds to pursue their dreams.

Davis also spoke about how he found himself surrounded by tech-savvy individuals when he was traded to San Francisco. This exposure allowed him to share his ideas and solutions with developers, which eventually led to the founding of his first tech company, ibeatyou.com. The platform focused on challenging friends and building a community and was later acquired by Shutterstock.

The former NBA star also discussed how he learned from venture capitalists as a fly on the wall, realizing that there is an order and process to entrepreneurship. This newfound knowledge motivated him to pursue an MBA from the NBA, gathering the necessary skills and experiences to challenge the negative narrative surrounding athletes’ financial decisions.

With this goal in mind, Davis created Business Inside the Game (BIG). The platform aims to showcase athletes and entertainers as entrepreneurs and involve all stakeholders, including investors, C-suites, connectors, and the media. BIG operates as a collective membership, facilitating investment, communication, and idea-sharing through events, dinners, and content.

Davis’s primary focus is to curate a network of trustworthy individuals and weed out bad managers, agents, and friends who may take advantage of athletes and entertainers. He believes in the importance of athletes understanding their business and protecting their stake and ownership.

Through Business In the Game, Davis aims to bring the right people together in the right rooms to explore win-win opportunities for everyone involved. The platform strives to empower athletes and entertainers, showcasing their entrepreneurial ventures and proving that they can achieve success beyond their primary careers.

Baron Davis’s journey from the NBA to entrepreneurship serves as an inspiration for athletes and talented individuals worldwide, proving that with the right mindset and support, they too can excel in the business world.