Entrepreneurship and wealth building
Closing Deals with Celebrities and Pro Athletes: Metta World Peace
How to Close Deals with Celebrities and Pro Athletes | Metta World Peace
Pro athletes, celebrities, and the advisers and sponsors who want to work with them and need to understand how they think about trust and deals.
What this talk covers
Metta, a former NBA player with a 17 year career, describes how he moved into business through his philanthropy work in Los Angeles. Paperwork for that work became overwhelming, so he set up a company to handle it. Later he chose a thesis of sports, entertainment, consumer businesses, logistics and healthcare after he studied the sponsors he saw inside an arena.
The talk also covers risk. Metta says athletes often lack trusted advisers, and he describes cases where athletes lost very large sums to someone they trusted. He stresses due diligence, reading the energy of a new partner and learning to say no. He also warns about fake inbound offers, including a claimed $200 million transfer, which is why in person meetings matter.
The 5 big lessons
- Build a thesis before investing. Metta says he had no thesis early on and spread himself in the wrong direction. Once he picked sports, entertainment, consumer businesses, logistics and healthcare, opportunities started to fit his focus.
- Look at where your skills matter. He walked into an arena and looked at the sponsors. He reasoned that sports affect the outcome for those brands, so he built his company around businesses that fit what he saw there.
- Trust is the hard part. Metta notes that athletes struggle to know whom to trust. He points to athletes who lost very large sums to a trusted person as an example of the cost of a wrong choice.
- Vet partners and learn to say no. He describes friendships that lasted years but should have ended in days. He says to check whether a partner thinks like an employee or an entrepreneur, read the room, and do real diligence. He also says he started out saying yes to everything.
- Use a team system. Metta compares his business process to the triangle offense. He wants six people on the same page at all times so a deal like a logistics acquisition does not depend on him alone.
Quotes from the session
"Not everybody has a vision. Not everybody's setting up the infrastructure on day one. You know, like, now you're making so much money."
"If I can have six people on the same page at all times, you know, so if I say I'm going to go after this business."
From the source
- Metta played a 17 year NBA career and says he played sports for 18 years.
- He describes athletes losing very large sums to a person they trusted.
- His thesis covers sports, entertainment, consumer businesses, logistics and healthcare.
- He expanded his team process to six people who stay on the same page at all times.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: How to Close Deals with Celebrities and Pro Athletes | Metta World Peace. Quotes come from the video captions, lightly edited for readability. Figures are the speakers' own estimates and experience.
General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
Talk to a securities attorney to explore options around entity setup for philanthropy, partner vetting agreements and fraud protection steps. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.
Related questions
- How do I close a funding round?I close a funding round by focusing on investors who fit the opportunity and moving each interested prospect through clear, consistent follow-up.
- What documents do investors request during due diligence?Prepare a clear, organized package covering your operations, investments, compensation, team, and track record.
- How do I raise capital for my business?I raise capital by building a repeatable system for attracting the right investors, establishing credibility, and developing relationships before asking for money.
Questions about this video
How did Metta get into business?
He did a lot of philanthropy in Los Angeles and the paperwork became overwhelming. That led him to create a business to support the work, and his investing grew from there.
What areas does Metta invest in?
His thesis covers sports, entertainment, consumer businesses, logistics and healthcare. He also mentions an art management company and art galleries.
What do pro athletes want to invest in?
Metta says athletes love fashion, and many now look at real estate such as multifamily and land. Crypto comes up often, while data centers are less understood.
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