Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

As a four-time All-American, Paul Rabil led Johns Hopkins to two national championships, then became the biggest star in Major League Lacrosse. But Rabil was also a born entrepreneur who envisioned a greater platform for the sport, and better compensation for the players. With his brother Mike as co-founder, he launched the Premier Lacrosse League in 2019. The league fields over 200 of the world’s top lacrosse players in a tour-based system with significant venture backing and distribution on NBC Sports. Entrepreneur Magazine named him one of “Top 40 Most Entrepreneurial Athletes” and Fast Company included the PLL in its "Top Ten Most Innovative Company In Sports” list. Rabil talks to Rich and Gianni about his very humble entrepreneurial beginnings, his foundation work, and why he thinks the PLL will help broaden access and popularity for a sport often associated with rich kids and the Ivy League. He explains why he thinks the PLL can one day be as big as the UFC.

Rich's business partner, longtime friend and 2x NBA champion Kevin Durant joins Out of Office for an off-the-cuff conversation about his mentality coming out of this year's Nets playoff run, the way he approached the series against the Bucks, and what he really sees as the pivotal moments in his life and career. He and Rich talk through the craziness of his injury in Toronto, what he's learned from growing up as a naturally curious person, and his excitement around the Nets culture and the fandom the team has built in New York. Plus, looking ahead to the Olympics and his new obsession with baseball

This is a special episode where Rich and Gianni welcome Mark Ronson, one of Rich's long-time friends and a former business partner. Mark and Rich talk about the early years of their friendship and Mark's trajectory from being a seat filler at the Grammys to the shock of winning his first Grammy (for Amy Winehouse's Back to Black.) Mark discusses the importance of mentorship from icons like John Forte and Q Tip, the record label he and Rich partnered on, Allido, and their strange experience together when Mark DJ'ed Tom Cruise's wedding. Mark also goes deep on how producing for Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen changed the trajectory of his career and transformed him from a "New York DJ" to a "Grammy-award winning producer", ultimately doing work with some of the industry's biggest names, including Adele, Paul McCartney, Bruno Mars, and Lady Gaga (with whom he won an Academy Award & a Golden Globe for "Shallow."  Mark talks about his new project, Watch The Sound with Mark Ronson, a six-part docu-series on Apple TV+ that examines sound creation and revolutionary technology used to shape music and features acclaimed guests like Paul McCartney, King Princess, Dave Grohl, Adrock and Mike D from the Beastie Boys, Charli XCX and more. He also discusses his new podcast, The FADER Uncovered.  Mark is currently based in New York where he operates his record label, Zelig Records, home to Raissa, Issy Wood and King Princess. Ronson’s multiple honors include an Academy Award, seven Grammys, and a Golden Globe. 

Al Harrington was such a basketball late bloomer in high school, his own mother wouldn’t come to his games. What was the point if her son was riding the bench? But hard work and a growth spurt turned Al Harrington from so-so hooper to the nation's top high school player by his senior year. In '98, he was a McDonalds All-American, and the Gatorade and USA Today Player of the Year. Drafted out of high school in the 1st round pick by the Indiana Pacers. Harrington reveals the profane warning that Larry Bird, the Pacers Head Coach, barked at him when he showed up late for his first team meeting. Harrington describes what he learned from veteran teammates like Antonio Davis and Reggie Miller that helped forge professional habits over his 16-year NBA career with multiple teams. Harrington talks to Rich and Gianni about his surprising entry point into the cannabis business, which began with Harrington’s search for ways to help his grandmother, Viola, cope with her glaucoma and diabetes symptoms. Harrington later met with then-NBA commissioner, David Stern, and managed to change Stern’s opinion about the dangers of cannabis. That meeting paved the way for the NBA to set the tone for how pro leagues take a more tolerant stance on marijuana use by players. In this powerful episode, Harrington drops many gems, including his stunning estimate of the number of NBA players who used marijuana when he started in the league in the late ‘90s, a number he believes has held steady to this day.

In this episode, Rich and Gianni have lots to discuss. In a week of major headlines, they get into Naomi Osaka’s decision not to do media interviews at the French Open, which led to a fine, and ultimately to her decision to withdraw. Rich and Gianni tackle the complex sides of her decision, and what it means for one of the world's most influential athletes to declare her mental health a priority over competing in an event. They also give props to super agent, Rich Paul of UTA/Klutch Sports, following the New Yorker’s deep-dive on how he's impacted the business of basketball and helped fuel the player empowerment movement. They also chat about recent developments in the Crypto and collectibles space, and tease a big announcement on Sabrina Ionescu’s collab with Boardroom. Rich also gets personal, talking about challenging periods in his own life that have given him far greater empathy for people, including rich athletes, contending with mental health challenges. And of course, Rich and Gianni marvel at KD's performance in the playoffs, and the Nets tougher matchups going forward.

In 2012, as a high school junior from Flint, Michigan, Claressa Shields qualified for the Olympics and won a Gold medal in boxing. She won another in 2016, becoming the first US boxer to win gold at consecutive Olympic Games. As a pro, she's undefeated, and widely-regarded as the best female pound-for-pound boxer in the world. Seeking a new challenge, she's signed a deal with the Professional Fighters League and is now training for her MMA debut. On June 3rd, ESPN+ begins streaming a 4-part series about her bid to become an MMA fighter, with a live broadcast of her bout on June 10th.  Her compelling story has also been the subject of a documentary, “T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold" and is being developed into a motion picture written by Oscar Winner, Barry Jenkins, to be directed by Oscar-nominee, Rachel Morrison, the cinematographer of Black Panther. In this episode, she talks to Rich and Gianni about her tough upbringing in Flint Michigan, her father's role in introducing her to boxing, her admiration for Serena Williams, and the challenges of training in multiple disciplines to prepare for her first MMA fight. 

Haley Rosen was a collegiate soccer star at Stanford University, and went on to play professionally both in the US and Europe. But after an injury-shortened career, she moved back to Silicon Valley to work in tech. But motivated by the dearth of coverage of women's sports -- 44% of athletes are women, yet they only garner 4% of sports coverage -- she kicked off an Instagram page called Just Women's Sports. The page attracted a following, and convinced Rosen it could be scaled into a business. The solo founder and her team have now attracted a rabid fan base and venture investors including Spark, Andreessen Horowitz, Greycroft, and yes, 35 Ventures. Rosen talks to Rich and Gianni about how the rising visibility of women's sports and athletes in 2020 helped fuel her business launch; her appreciation for Kevin Durant's enthusiastic support for the platform, and much more.

On this episode of Out of Office, Rich and Gianni talk to Acorns co-founder Noah Kerner, who has extensive experience in founding and growing start-ups. This episode will cover Noah's career trajectory, including how he and his team have grown Acorns including throughout the challenges of the last year. Previous guests / episodes in line with the overall ethos of this episode include Dan Fleyshman(founder, Elevator Studio), Gary Vaynerchuk, & Dave Grutman (Groot Hospitality), all of whom built their businesses as start ups.

Ionescu, the budding WNBA superstar, and Sabathia, the recently-retired MLB All-star are at opposing junctures of decorated careers. Ionescu is just starting her WNBA career after putting together one of the most-decorated resumes in college basketball history. The child of Romanian immigrants, she shattered multiple college basketball records playing for the University of Oregon, where she ended up a Pac-12 all-time assists leader (breaking Gary Payton’s record), and the only NCAA D1 player ever to record 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds. Named the best collegiate female basketball player in the nation, she was #1 pick in the 2020 WNBA draft, selected by the NY Liberty. Though injuries early in the pandemic-plagued season prevented her from realizing her first-year potential, she's ready to fulfill her promise as the league prepares for its '21 season. On the other side of the career spectrum is CC Sabathia, who helped the NY Yankees win a World Series in 2009, led MLB in wins in both ’09 and ’10, was a 6x All-Star, and struck out over 3,000 in a brilliant career. Now the host of the popular podcast, R2C2, with co-host, Ryan Ruocco, he's also an entrepreneur and philanthropist.  Rich talks to Sabathia and Ionescu about the pressures and joys of playing under the New York spotlight, the special relationship Ionescu had with Kobe Bryant, and how the WNBA Bubble revved up Ionescu's competitive juices. They also get into her career goals and Sabathia's post-career moves.  This episode was recorded on April 22 as part of a live Boardroom University event.

Annastasia Seebohm is the newly appointed CEO of Brilliant Minds Foundation. This marks her second CEO role under the age of 35. Brilliant Minds Foundation was founded in 2015 by Spotify founder and CEO, Daniel Ek, and has brought together the world’s most influential thought leaders at the intersection of humanity and technology.Prior to her current role, Seebohm was the Group CEO of Quintessentially. The first female and millennial to hold the Group CEO role, Seebohm was responsible for the strategy and day-to-day operations of Quintessentially, the world’s leading lifestyle group. She led over 1,000 employees across 50 cities, and spearheaded Quintessentially’s global growth. During her tenure, annual revenues exceeded $100 million. She’s been profiled in publications including Forbes, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, The CEO Magazine and Harvard Business Review. British GQ listed Seebohm as one of the Top 50 Most Influential People in the UK.Seebohm talks to Rich and Gianni about the “70/30 rule” she followed to achieve her dream of becoming a CEO before age 30, illuminates the importance of young entrepreneurs finding their “why,” and talks about the childhood experience that supercharged her maturity, enabling her to lead organizations from a young age.