Roger Ehrenberg is the Co-founder of Game Changers Ventures and IA Ventures.
We talk about the current Seed stage venture environment, what he learned investing in sports teams, how COVID changed sports, what he’s investing in today, characteristics of the top founders, advice for emerging managers, and his real estate and consumer brand projects in Detroit.
Thank you to Michael Kim, Jon Oberheide, Jesse Beyroutey, James Fitzgerald, Dan Feder, Sarah Smith, Marc Weisser, and Charles Hudson for help brainstorming topics for the conversation.
Thank you to Hanover Park for supporting this episode. Upgrade to an AI-native fund admin at https://www.hanoverpark.com/Turner
Timestamps:
3:45 Current Seed stage market
7:17 Starting Game Changers to invest in sports
12:25 Investing in the Miami Marlins
16:45 Investment opportunities in sports
18:21 Tomorrow Golf League
23:54 Investing in sports teams
25:50 Business models in sports
27:12 Importance of real estate development, gambling
32:53 How COVID changed sports
38:41 Clippers experimenting with cheap tickets & concessions
41:51 Opportunities monetizing super fans
46:51 Sports as an investable venture asset
53:24 Great founders find big TAMs
56:31 The desire to win
58:09 Sending letters to break into Wall Street from Michigan
1:02:38 Raising IA Ventures Fund 1 in 2009
1:07:58 Advice for emerging managers
1:13:18 The Trade Desk’s three bridge rounds
1:18:03 Lessons on recycling capital
1:20:16 What it’s like working with your kids
1:24:53 Brand Detroit
1:29:14 Being world class at multiple disciplines
Referenced
Game Changers Ventures: https://gamechangers.vc
IA Ventures: https://www.iaventures.com
Eberg Capital: https://www.ebergcapital.com
TGL Golf: https://tglgolf.com
Brand Detroit: https://www.branddetroit.com
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rehrenberg
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