Why He Sold 51% Early and Chose Partnership Over Passive Funding

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Adam White didn’t set out to build a media company – he just wanted a job in sports. So at 19, he started posting informational interviews on a Wix site. Today, he runs a $20M brand with NFL partnerships and no background in media. Because in the end, it wasn’t about who he knew – it was about who knew him, and how he got in the right rooms by outplaying legacy media at their own game.

Here’s what we talk about:

• Building Front Office Sports out of his dorm room
• Why brand aura matters more than ever and how to create it from scratch
• The tweet that led to a $750K investment
• Why he gave up 51% of the business early – and doesn't regret it
• The role of soft touchpoints in landing major deals
• Growing to 800K newsletter subs without chasing SEO
• How an official NFL content partnership changed everything
• Diversifying revenue from newsletters, social, events, and brand partnerships
• The personal side: paying off student debt, buying his mom a car, and defining success as freedom

Cool Links:

• Hampton https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Lower Street https://www.lowerstreet.co/
• Front Office Sports https://frontofficesports.com/ 
• Adam White https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-white-85ab4389/

Sponsors:

• Protect your upside and get your time back at cressetcapital.com/moneywise
• Achieve your dream body with dailybodycoach.com/moneywise
• Join 700+ founders hiring A-players in Latin America at hirewithnear.com/moneywise

Chapters:

• (0:42) Building Front Office Sports: Growth & Early Days
• (1:40) Revenue Milestones
• (3:40) Building Brand Aura & Early Partnerships
• (10:34) Attracting Investors & Business Model Shift
• (13:24) Audience Growth During COVID
• (16:04) Monetization & Revenue Diversification
• (17:44) Philosophy on Investors
• (19:08) New Investors, Professionalization, & Validation
• (22:07) NFL Partnership 
• (25:44) Networking Secrets
• (28:31) Personal Growth as a CEO
• (30:45) Personal Financial Journey & Mindset
• (33:40) Motivation, Competition, & Enjoying the Journey

This podcast is a ridiculous concept: high-net-worth people reveal their personal finances. Inspired by real conversations happening in the Hampton community.

Your Host: Harry Morton

• Founder of Lower Street, a podcast production company helping brands launch and grow top-tier podcasts.
• Co-parents a cow named Eliza.