Kobe Bryant launches $100 million venture-capital firm With Jeff Stibel

Post NBA-career Kobe Bryant has activated. Kobe not only looks different – he’s sporting a new beard these days – he’s also already started on phase two of his career, venture capitalism.

Monday Kobe’s  venture-capital partnership, Bryant Stibel was announced as the pair opened the New York Stock Exchange. The $100 million vehicle will invest in technology, media and data companies. The Black Mamba is partnering with entrepreneur Jeff Stibel. Per The Wall Street Journal, Stibel is an  investor who was introduced to Kobe by a mutual friend.

The two have been invested in 15 companies since 2013, but only after Mr. Bryant’s retirement from basketball have they decided to formalize their relationship and fund.

The previous investments include 13 companies including; The Players’ Tribune, LegalZoom, Represent– an apparel T-shirt company and Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba.

Professional athletes making the leap into tech venture partnerships is a topic I discuss in my book, PostGame Pass: access into “the life” available now on Amazon.

Announced @BryantStibel investment platform to the world today with my partner @Stibel and our team on the @NYSE pic.twitter.com/Yy2yF34INH

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) August 22, 2016

photo via Instagram