The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kobe built empire far beyond basketball
LOS ANGELES — In the twilight of Kobe Bryant’s career with the Los Angeles Lakers, the 18-time All-Star shared a vision with billionaire Chris Sacca: When his time in basketball ended, he would become an investor.
“To the shock of a couple other people sitting with us, I replied, ‘Kobe, I’m sorry, but I just don’t take you that seriously,’ ” Sacca recalled in an email to the Los Angeles Times. “He laughed ... then said, ‘What would change that?’ ”
Sacca gave Bryant a list of books, videos, TED talks and podcasts to study about startups and investing, figuring that would be the end of it. “But over the next couple months he kept calling and texting me at all hours of the day and night want- ing to discuss his reactions to specific chapters and ideas and relate it to other stuff he was reading that I hadn’t assigned,” Sacca said. “Liter- ally at 3 a.m. he would be on his physical therapy treadmill and call me. His obsession with learning this stuff was so 24/7.”
The relentless work ethic that propelled Bryant’s 20 years in the NBA also helped drive his transformation into
a business mogul, author and Oscar-winning filmmaker. Bryant built a wide-rang- ing empire that includes a venture capital fund, multimedia production company, athletic training centers and books.
“What he was aspiring to do was great because he wasn’t just going to be slap- ping his name on things for vanity,” said Chris Silber- mann, chief executive of talent agency ICM Partners. “He was trying to do everything with a purpose. It was just like how he played — he had a plan, philosophy and a purpose around everything he did.”
In 2013, Bryant co-founded a venture capital fund with entrepreneur Jeff Stibel to invest in media and tech companies. They unveiled Bryant Stibel & Co. in 2016, months after Bryant played his last game as a Laker. Its high-profile investments have included legal services com- pany LegalZoom and Epic
Games, the maker of smash hit “Fortnite.” By September 2019, the firm reportedly managed more than $2 billion in capital.
Meanwhile, Bryant was investing on another front. In 2014 he announced he’d formed Kobe Inc., with plans to develop brands that would upend the sports indus- try. The first investment was sports drink BodyArmor. That initial $6 million investment grew to a value of $200 million after Coca- Cola acquired a minority stake in 2018.
In a hint of the diverse business ventures to come, Bryant partnered with Alib- aba, the Chinese online retail giant, in 2015 to collaborate on a social media platform, Kobe-branded products and the release of his Showtime documentary “Kobe Bryant’s Muse.” Bryant served as an executive producer on the film, which provided an inside look at his journey from childhood to the NBA.