Symplicity Conversations - Making Student-Athletes Money with NFTs | Varsity Gems

Making Student-Athletes Money with NFTs | Varsity Gems

08/03/22 • 24 min

If you’ve been following college sports, you’ll remember that the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved the “Name, Image, and Likeness” (NIL) policy in June of 2021. This allows student-athletes to make money for their name, image, and likeness. From signing endorsement deals, to selling products, to running clinics — they are now able to generate funds by creating their own brand, which was previously illegal.

In this episode of Venture unscripted., Josh Barker, CEO of City Innovations, sat down with Thomas Coke, CEO of Varsity Gems to learn how his company combines NIL policy with NFTs, how to handle a two-sided market, and 7 pieces of advice that every entrepreneur should follow when creating a startup.

Click here to read the recap blog.

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How Can We Practice Innovation in Sustainability? | Biomimicry 3.8

Originally recorded in April 2020.
Nature and business have become more intertwined than ever. Not only does it provide a source of inspiration, but it is also a resource that is in need of protection as population size and consumption grows.

In this episode of Venture unscripted., Josh Barker, CEO of City Innovations, sat down with Nicole Miller, Managing Director at Biomimicry 3.8 to talk about the role of corporate social responsibility, how to pull creative ideas from the natural world and how we can use the environment to impact innovation.

Click here to read the full Biomimicry 3.8 podcast recap.

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Changing Travel Photography | Look@

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Luckily, you no longer have to go through the pain of missing out on your favorite vacation spot — Look@’s selfie sculpture will do it for you.

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Click here to read the podcast recap.

Symplicity Conversations - Making Student-Athletes Money with NFTs | Varsity Gems

Transcript

Josh (00:01):

Hi, welcome to another episode of venture unscripted today. I've got with me, Tom Koch. So he is the entrepreneur and residence at grand valley state university and the CEO of varsity gems. And he is worked on a lot of different ventures. So I'm pleased to have a conversation with him tod