In this episode, host Greg Glynn, is joined by Rob Connolly is a seasoned entrepreneur and the dynamic co-founder and CEO of Finlete, a pioneering sports tech company based in San Diego, CA.

With an impressive track record of founding and scaling startups, Rob has not only led two companies to successful exits but has also cemented his reputation as a visionary leader in the sports technology arena. His extensive experience in sales and business development forms the backbone of his approach to building and growing innovative platforms. At the helm of Finlete, Rob is revolutionizing the way fans interact with high-potential athletes. Finlete stands out as a unique platform that empowers minor league baseball players by enabling them to sell a small percentage of their future earnings directly to fans. This model not only provides athletes with fair market value for their talents but also builds a strong community of supporters who share in the athletes' journey both emotionally and financially. Under Rob's leadership, Finlete is redefining athlete support and engagement, making it more than just a platform—it's a movement. Driven by a passion for empowering athletes and enhancing fan experiences, Rob's vision for Finlete is rooted in creating meaningful connections and ensuring athletes have the resources they need to excel on and off the field. His innovative approach and unwavering commitment to the sports community are what set Finlete apart in the competitive sports tech landscape.

In this episode:

What is Finlete?

How does Finlete work?

Athletes Finlete is working with

How can athletes get started with Finlete?

Who can invest in Finlete athletes?

Why Finlete is looking for brand ambassadors and new NIL opportunities

How to get in touch with Finlete.

Links:

Finlete.com

PliableMarketing.com

Guest contact information:

Rob Connolly

Rob@Finlete.com

Host Greg Glynn sits down with Ryan Schachtner, a former college baseball player that turned a career and MLB dream ending injury into one of the fastest growing financial planning firms in the Southeast. While working with professional athletes, Ryan was encouraged to write a book to help guide future generations manage and keep their money. His book, The Foundation for Financial Excellence was released July, 2021 shortly after Name, Image and Likeness went live and quickly became an international best seller.

Ryan quickly noticed that the athlete development space needed some disruption and co-founded Success Beyond Game Day. The focus of Success Beyond Game Day is to help athletes, while they continue to develop athletically, build a parallel path to maximize success in life after sports. Through a custom assessment, a neuroscience-based platform and an online education community they are able to create a unique and relevant development path for every athlete. Working with colleges and teams from DIII to Power 5, High School, NFL and international soccer clubs their goal is to impact 1 billion athletes.

In this episode:

• How Ryan started his baseball career
• The shoulder injury that ended his baseball career
• Ryan shares how he selected a college to play baseball
• Why Ryan felt like he lost his identity after his athletic career was over
• How the COVID-19 pandemic led to his book, Success Beyond Game Day
• Why he credits name, image and likeness (NIL) court ruling for turning his book into an international best seller
• Ryan talks about the challenges for athletes at the end their career
• The importance of a parallel personality
• Ryan’s recent experience at the NFL combine
• Greg talks about personal branding and athlete branding and why it matters
• What his program does to help athletes become more mature and focus on longevity
• What Ryan thinks are the best opportunities for NIL
• The definition of the true NIL and story behind Katie Shanahan
• What Ryan is working on next, including working with the NFL
• The impact of the transfer portal on colleges and career development for athletes
• Ryan’s advice for today’s college athletes

Links:

successbeyondgameday.com

Social Media

@amust.win - instagram

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanschachtner/

Katie Shanahan: https://www.instagram.com/katieshanahannn/

Connect with Ryan:

ryan@successbeyondgameday.com

About Pliable Marketing:

PliableMarketing.com

Monique A.J. Smith, is a Leadership Strategist that guides Athletics Departments/Sport Organizations and Individuals who wish to advance in Athletics Administration/Sports Management careers through her company, Seeds of Empowerment LLC ®.

Smith, a Sports Management veteran of 30 plus years, was Adjunct Faculty at Hampton University teaching Sports Management Courses. In 2023, Monique published her 6th issue of Significance in Athletics and Sports Magazine that features Black Women sharing their ‘Specialized Knowledge’ in the Industry. All issues can be found it www.seedsofempowermentstore.com or Amazon. She is most known for her 10 seasons as the host of the internationally recognized weekly podcast "A Chat in the Garden with Monique A.J. Smith”, that spotlights Women of Color in Athletics/Sports.

In this episode:

• How Monique got into the sports industry
• How she turned her passion for sports into her career
• Advice for athletes to get local news coverage
• Why leadership is important
• Her opinion on name, image and likeness opportunities for college athletes
• Why educating influencer is important to reaching decision makers
• The importance of mental health for college athletes
• Why she think hometown NIL partnerships are some of the best partnerships
• Greg and Monique talk about local outreach to businesses to support athletes
• The role that compliance departments play in NIL
• The impact of state by state laws for NIL and why educating is so important
• Media training advice for athletes during interviews
• Why internships are so important for college students
• The sociology of sport and how NIL can change women’s sports
• Why she encourages women to intentional.
• The importance of a good NIL contract and marketing agent
• Why the NCAA should standardize NIL contracts

Links:

PublicFiguremask.com

Monique’s Podcast:

ChatintheGarden.com

In this episode, host Greg Glynn sits down with Samantha Card, a former NCAA Division 1 softball player, MBA graduate gone Fortune 100 company trail blazer, Amazon Best Seller and “level up” expert. She epitomizes the athlete who has “hit it out of the park” when she transitioned from her sports career. Samantha passionately crystallized her abilities, curated her knowledge, capitalized her assets and catapulted her athletic career finale into a mega corporate and life success before the age of 33. Samantha, once referred to as “Sammi from Miami”, is on a global mission to teach athletes, coaches and administrations how to develop a proactive championship routine from Day 1 that can be leveraged beyond game day. Sam prepares athletes to win in all aspects of life by identifying opportunities, taking action, and applying the life tools gained in competitive sports to business success.

Topics include:

• Why Sam started playing softball
• The importance of having a mentor
• How Samantha Card transitioned from athlete to entrepreneur
• The importance of failing
• Sam’s identity crisis after her sports career
• How athletes can use their leadership to get ahead in their career
• Why it is important to connect with experts in your industry
• The importance of finding a legacy and giving back
• Why Sam loves helping athletes, including helping athletes with mental health
• The importance of finding your why
• Greg shares the story behind Hannah Dukeman and Emma Eubank’s cleats to cure cancer
• The reasons why Sam wrote her book, “Success Beyond Game Day”
• How people can work with Sam and her company at Success Beyond Game Day
• How Sam uses AI and and technology to help athletes
• Why athlete branding matters for high school, college, pro athletes
• The cost of mind labs and the program for individuals and teams
• Defining your authentic self and why that is important for NIL
• What is next for Sam and her business, including corporate athleticism
• Advice for today’s college athletes; what is the why behind the you?
• The story behind how Natalie Beaudoin stepped up to support her community in Lewiston after the mass shooting.

Links:

Successbeyondgameday.com

Today’s guest is Darren Heitner, the Founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., an adjunct professor of Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, an adjunct professor of NIL at the University of Miami School of Law, a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association, and author of many books published by the American Bar Association (How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know). He has many articles published in Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law.

Heitner has been referred to as one of the foremost experts on name, image, and likeness (NIL) by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, a power player in NIL deals by Action Network.

In this episode:

• How Darren got started in the NIL industry
• Advice for athletes about contracts
• How he helped Haley and Hanna Cavinder get their first NIL partnership
• The impact of collectives and what could happen if athletes are deemed employees
• Why athletes need to be careful about using their school logos and marks
• What Darren sees as the future for NIL

In this episode, host Greg Glynn catches up with Jenna Berens, a professional football player for the Maine Mayhem. The conversation includes the path that Jenna took to play college basketball at Bates College and how she turned that into an opportunity to play professional football.

Jenna's story is a great example about how she used her career as an athlete to explore new opportunities on and off the basketball court, and football field!

In this episode:

• Getting recruited to play college basketball
• The appreciation she has for her dad helping her in the recruiting process
• Tips for athletes who are getting recruited and how to use your network of teammates and coaches to help with decisions
• Why Jenna chose to play basketball at Bates College
• Jenna explains what happens on an official college visit
• Jenna reflects on the opportunity to go to the NCAA basketball tournament
• How Jenna became a CrossFit instructor
• Jenna's path to women's professional football
• How the team is funded and why they need sponsors

Links:

Bates College

Maine Mayhem Football Team

Pliable's MissionE50

Connect with Jenna:

Instagram: the_jenna_berens

Email: jmberens2001@gmail.com

Today’s guest is Howard Halen, Inventor & CEO Genesis Performance. As one of Los Angeles’ most sought-after personal private trainers and fitness experts, Howard Halen has, over the past 25 years, been driven by a singular passion: helping people reach their individual fitness goals, achieve optimal health and transform their individual needs and desires into positive lifestyle choices and enduring self-commitments.

The HNS System was created out of what Howard saw as a growing necessity for both himself and his many clients. Developed, tested and perfected over the past five years, the system is an inventive response to his increasing frustration with the use of traditional foam rollers without support, which put extreme stress on the body’s core muscles. The system’s head and neck support allows those muscles to relax. The combination of the HNS System, foam roller and body weight enables the cylinder shape of the foam roller to perform penetrating deep massage that promotes self-myofascial release. Howard’s clients have been using the system for everything from physical therapy for lumbar and hip injuries to simple warm ups and cool down periods. The HNS System’s official marketing tagline is “Bringing Head and Neck Support to Foam Rolling” – but Howard adds, “Wherever there’s a foam roller, there needs be an HNS with it.”

Show links:

Genesisperformance.com

Social Media accounts:

Instagram: genesisperformancehns

Contact the guest:

833-436-7373 ext 1

Howardh@genesisperformance.com

Send a DM to @genesisperformancehns Instagram

In this episode, host Greg Glynn sits down with Neil Golson, Head of Commercialization at Ribbon about how athletes can build their athlete brand through fundraising.

• Neil talks about Ribbon and how the company is transforming fundraising
• Neil talks about his branding and marketing experience with major brands, like Coca-Cola and Tesla
• Why social media is changing fundraising forever
• The importance of engagement related to marketing
• The definition of a fiscal sponsorship and how it works
• How Ribbon helped Pliable athlete Sadie Armstrong start her nonprofit that benefits young softball players.
• Why nonprofits should be part of your athlete brand
• Neil talks about why professional athletes are using Ribbon
• How Sadie connected with Imprint, which helps entertainers and athletes start a nonprofit
• Examples of companies who are using side cart charities
• How the process works to get set up with Ribbon

Episode Links

Ribbon website:

https://getribbon.org/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ChooseRibbon

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/getribbon/

Pliable athlete Sadie Armstrong:

https://pliablemarketing.com/news/f/sadie-armstrong-softball-portland-high-school