An idea of an innovative startup incubator

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Startup Investors: Can An Angel Hit A Homerun?
http://wisepreneur.com/entrepreneurship/startup-investors-can-an-angel-hit-a-homerun
Last month I was working on my computer, trying
to find an investor for one of my clients, while at
the same time watching the Soccer World Cup
2010, I had an idea! This idea concerns the
occupational retraining for the high-level
sportsmen, and I would like to share this idea with
Wisepreneur’s readers.
In many sports, the career of high-level sportsmen
is quite short. Before the age of 40, they have to
retire and find a new occupation. And this is not
easy! When you lived for competitive sports for so many years, it is difficult to find new sources of
motivation. And it’s known that some professional athletes suffer from depression after their sports
career.
As you may know, start-ups and small enterprises with technological research and development
(R&D) activities are promising either in term of business potential of growth, or in term of social
impact due to their breakthrough products (new technology, new drugs …) and job creation. But on
the other hand R&D is expensive, and these kind of companies have a big need for capital. Indeed,
R&D can cost more than 1/3 of the revenue of these companies (pharmaceutical & biotechnology
start-up can nearly invest 100% of their budget for their R&D!). Before having positive cash-flows,
most technological start-ups are under-capitalized and have greater risk of failure than other new
businesses.
What’s the relation between start-ups and the occupational retraining for the high-level sportsmen?
A possible occupational retraining is of course to start their own business and to create their own
new job. But I am always disappointed by the kind of business that former sportsmen are involved
in! Indeed, they open restaurants, night-clubs, bars & pubs. What a waste of personal branding!
Furthermore, these kind of businesses have low profitability, and have minimal social impact.
So here’s the idea that I wish to share with you:
At the end of their career, these professional sportsmen could invest as business angel investors
into start-ups with technological projects (high-tech, Pharma-biotech-medicine, clean-tech …). In
addition to holding stock of the start-up, these sportsmen could play an active role in the
development of “their” company. Indeed, due to their positive image, they could promote the start-
Ari Massoudi / Consultant Strategy of Innovation / www.strategy-of-innovation.com / www.linkedin.com/in/arimassoudi

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up either directly by supporting the marketing strategy, or indirectly by enhancing the intangible
value of the start-up.
Let’s dream together:
Michael Phelps, 16-times Olympic medals in swimming, is a partner and a member of the executive
management of AlzheimStop, a biotech start-up. He holds the function of Public Relation manager,
and he promotes a new drug against Alzheimer developed by his start-up. This would be much
more attractive than if it’s done by the scientist or engineer who has found the new drug, isn’t it?
Someone could say that this idea is not original first, because business angel investment already
exist, and second, wealth managers in private banks provide advices in investment strategy to their
clients among whom professional sportsmen with high incomes. Regular investors are people
highly implicated in business such as CEOs and senior executives of companies, or professionals of
finance. A client of a Private Bank is not directly involved in what and where his money has been
invested. The wealth manager invest in funds such as pension funds, life insurance, hedge funds,
private equity funds, funds of funds. This is a pure financial activity.
The purpose of what I propose is to support the occupational retraining of professional sportsmen
into a way that could have meaning, for them and for the society, and in the same time, to find
money for technological start-ups. The originality of the idea is: 1) to connect high-level sportsmen
at the end of their career to start-up project holders (scientists or engineers), and 2) by an
appropriate information and training, to transform these sportsmen into business angel investors,
active business partners and managers.
Ari Massoudi / Consultant Strategy of Innovation / www.strategy-of-innovation.com / www.linkedin.com/in/arimassoudi

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You may say that the last point already exist, it’s a MBA! But what I imagine is something more
integrated and adapted to sportsmen, in a unique place and over-managed by a dedicated business
incubator, such as a spin-off of a university. The mission of such an incubator could be:
• The sport department of the university will help the incubators to contact professional
sportsmen, former students/athletes of the university
• The science department will select best projects for technology transfer into start-up
businesses
• Economics and management faculties will provide adapted business training to former
sportsmen; they could also train scientists and engineers to become CEO
• The law department will support the creation of a fair start-up (stockholders’ agreement,
industrial property, partnership contract …)
• The economics and management department or business school of the university will
support the strategy, and the marketing will help to build an executive management team by
connecting the graduates holding a business diploma (economics, management, marketing,
finance …) to the scientist project holder and the former sportsmen
•… and all which will help in the success of start-ups
What do you think about this idea?
Ari Massoudi / Consultant Strategy of Innovation / www.strategy-of-innovation.com / www.linkedin.com/in/arimassoudi