This week’s Three Questions with… includes my 100th (and 101st/102nd conversation). I have an incredible appreciation for all of my friends colleagues, mentors and others that have participated. Darren, Paige and Evan know their brands really well and have each put themselves in business positions to flourish because of. Each are thriving…yet nowhere near finished their growth. Here we go…
Darren Rovell is a sports reporter (ESPN, CNBC, Action Network…and more), memorabilia collector, a partner in Tastemaker Capital and the creator/founder Kickstand. We have known each other since, welp, the 2001 NFL Draft. He continues to make moves ahead of the market and his take on twitter is surely engaging. As he notes below, stay tuned for April!
Mistake: In business was not trusting anyone but myself. I used to think it wasn’t doing everything, I was doing nothing. Not realizing, of course, that my spread thin best was actually not best. At Tastemaker, my brother Brian now takes on a lot of the day today. At Kickstand, my top lieutenants Elisa Baker and Jay McDonald are incredible and telling me when I need to be 100 percent on. It has changed my business and personal life.
Purpose: Work hard and live hard. I had mental health struggles in early 2010 that reset my entire life priorities. I work my ass off, try to play my ass off, dad my ass off and husband my ass off. We only got one of these!
Passion: I’m most passionate about my children. I think kids need their parents more than ever in this challenging world. I pick and choose how I do this. I love watching how my twin sons develop through sport (hockey) and I love to show my daughter my daily challenges with social media so she understands that not every comment carries the same weight. Professionally, I’m proud of Tastemaker and how it has become an amazingly successful VC. We are full steam ahead with Kickstand and are starting to see what it means to be differentiated in a crowded market. And finally, I’m going to be taking the biggest step yet in my journalism career this April. Stay tuned.
Paige Spiranac is the female brand of sports culture. She has cultivated a fan group of nearly 15 million golf and sports enthusiasts. She is incredibly self-aware, silly, talented on the golf course and as many know, willing to lean in. Her subscription business includes golf instruction, tips, collabs and many photo albums and videos of her world travels and hobbies. Most recently, Paige hit the links for a collab with Bryson Dechambeau.
Mistake: When I first started my career, I didn’t have a strong identity. I was 22 years old and thrown into this industry almost by mistake. I didn’t know who I was as a person yet so I listened to others on what my brand should be and the direction I should go in. It never felt right and I took on deals I didn’t love. It took me years to learn who I am but also the direction I want my brand to go in. Now I have a strong sense of self and that drives every decision I make. I know my brand, my online identity and my audience. I’m unapologetically me and that has transformed my business.