SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 02: (L-R) SC30 Inc. President Bryant Barr and SC30 Inc. Founder ... [+] Stephen Curry speak onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2019 at Moscone Convention Center on October 02, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch)

Our earning potential is a very short window, but how can you leverage that into opportunities that set you up for post-career? Stephen Curry told a TechCrunch Disrupt panel session on his entry into the investment world earlier this month. Its a question many athletes grapple with after their playing days are done. In recent years, though, more and more players have gotten involved in areas like investment and technology earlier in their careers, a movement spearheaded in part by Currys former teammate Andre Iguodala.

The genesis of SC30 Inc.

To answer this very question, Curry and his team set up SC30 Inc. last year, bringing together all his off-court interests. Bryant Barr, a former teammate and roommate of Currys at Davidson, heads up SC30 Inc. Barr told me on a call recently that after he moved to the Bay Area to study at Stanford, the company was born from a series of conversations over three or four years around how could Stephen think about his off-court business from a much longer-term, more strategic perspective. So instead of just thinking about his playing days and his career, how could he think about the next 20 or 30 years?

SC30 Inc. includes Currys work to build his own brand through projects like the Underrated Tour. Then theres his burgeoning media production company, Unanimous Media, which is responsible for movies such as Breakthrough, Emanuel and Jumpshot, and programming such as his recent Stephen vs The Game series on Facebook Watch. Then there are his philanthropic endeavors through the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, which he and Ayesha Curry launched in the summer.

The final pillar of SC30 Inc. is investment. But this is Stephen Curry were talking about, a man who has revolutionized an entire sport with his long-range shooting ability and managed to ruin the game, to quote the phrase SC30 Inc. has picked up and run with. He may be at the start of his investment journey, but its already clear that hes not just about a normal investment strategy.

Just as Curry has changed the game of basketball, his team are thinking about how they can change the world through his presence in the investment space as well. Barr sets out the aim underlying all of the work of SC30 Inc. as not just to make money so you can sit on it and have nice things and continue to build wealth, but what could you do with that wealth that drives an impact in a really material way?

The partnership with Guild Education

That aspiration has been realized in their latest investment in Guild Education, a venture-backed tech company that partners with businesses, colleges, and students to offer education as benefit and help more people go back to college. If it sounds like theres a tie in with Currys philanthropic work, thats because there is, as Barr concurs it was clear right off the bat that there was clear alignment with the foundation. It was mission-aligned quite perfectly.

But Guild is set specifically as a business and seeks venture capital for a reason, as Rachel Carlson, the companys founder explains. For Guild, the impetus for that is that there are 64 million Americans today who need what we do. They either need access to complete their college degree or they need to earn a skill-certificate the only way were going to be successful in making a dent in that problem is by rapidly scaling. So thats why weve sought out being a venture-backed company.

For SC30, Inc. its important that there is a return to be made, as Barr sets out. We want to make sure its a good financial investment, and if its not theres no way were going to invest. We made a decision very early on that were not going to invest in things just because theyre brand-accretive to Stephen. Thats great if thats true, but first and foremost we need to believe that we can generate our target return here. But the added value of the alignment with the foundation meant that investing in, and partnering with, Guild is a home run according to Barr.

A step into impact investing

Its a step into a new world of impact investing. Guild has made SC30, Inc. think differently already, as Barr admits. What Guild has started to make us think about is where are there other opportunities for investment that align with our philanthropic interests? I dont think social impact investing needs to just be completely philanthropic in nature. Guild is a fantastic business. Theyre crushing it right now. Were very excited about what the future holds for them. We believe its going to be a great investment for our overall portfolio. But it is incredibly helpful and exciting to have something that aligns so much with what were doing philanthropically and allows us to really lean in on it from a value-add perspective.

Carlson is at the forefront of this world. I think differently about investment. When were fundraising at Guild were thinking about how do we bring people around the table who share conviction in our double-bottom line. One of those lines is our eventual profit line The other is your mission. How do you ensure your margin reinforces your mission, and your mission reinforces your margin?

One of the most important elements in answering that question is how you measure the return both financially and in terms of social impact. At the moment SC30, Inc. has concentrated on the financial return, but Barr says thats actually starting to change. Hes been out meeting with other investors to learn more about this space. Barr is exploring the intricacies involved. How do you balance the two, and what are the certain KPIs and metrics that youre looking at to understand if youre really driving impact or not... were continuing to develop a hypothesis, test it, and go back to iterate and evolve. As we start looking at businesses like Guild and investing in them to go beyond just the financial success how do we align purpose and profit?

With Guild, theres a clear methodology. The company is certified as a B-Corp. Its a rigorous process where the company measures and reports on impact metrics in the same way they report on their financial metrics. Carlson sets out what that looks like for Guild. Key indicators for us are how many students are successfully progressing through their programs in order to graduate, our loan avoidance rate our primary employers offer either fully-funded degrees whereby the employee can go back to college debt-free, or dramatically reduced where the employee pays a small amount so we measure how much debt were helping avoid for our student population. We measure other metrics directly with our universities related to underrepresentation such as graduation rates for a single mom.

With Guild the data isnt just collected and reported on though. Carlson explains that the companys business model is that they only get paid when students are successful. In effect we put all of our revenue at risk. And so measuring those outcomes is actually paramount as they are key performance indicators that will let us know if our business is going to be successful.

Adding value

Just as Guild is adding value to SC30, Inc. by helping them explore this path, so too is Curry able to add value beyond a normal investor. Barr stresses that Stephen is not simply a celebrity, customer-acquisition vehicle. We are looking to truly add value as an investor.

Carlson pinpoints Currys authenticity and connection with their students and potential students as something that is already paying dividends. With our students its constantly challenging the status quo, its saying just because youre a working adult, just because youre in your 30s or 40s and havent gone to college yet, just because youre a parent, just because youre low income doesnt mean youre not capable of achieving a college degree or achieving your higher education goals and aspirations. And thats something thats an authentic position that Stephen takes in his philanthropic work, but also as role model, as an athlete. Theres been this connection with... our students path to challenging the status quo when college today is designed for wealthy 18-year olds.

Developing the point, Carlson elaborates the difference between Curry and a more traditional set of investors. As a tech company, the reasons we normally get pointed towards the East Bay or Silicon Valley is because of tech Luminati, or famous technical founders. Whats interesting is that those folks dont necessarily create role models for our students in the way that Stephen is capable of. His background, his ability to overcome those obstacles, and then his commitment both to topics like gender equality and education its special that hes investing. If you told me youve got to find ten investors that meet that profile I dont know where Id start.

Changing the tech and investment world

One element that both sides stress is the common mission to change the worlds theyre operating in. Guild is one of a small number of female-founded venture-backed companies, while Curry has long been a champion for gender equality. In fact, this bond helped build the partnership in the first place, as Carlson explains. We share a passion for the work that Guild is doing but we also share a lot of commonalities in terms of our position in the venture capital and impact landscape as a female CEO and a black investor.

The statistics dont lie. In 2018 just 2.2% of the $130 billion total in venture capital money invested went to female-founded companies. All-male teams got 76%, or $109.36 billion. Companies with at least one female founder received $15.76 billion, or 12%, of last years venture capital. Even if the picture is improving, with women now making up a record-high number of CEOs at top-grossing companies, its starting from a low base. That high is only 6.6%.

Changing that is a major priority for SC30, Inc. as Barr explains. We want to find more female founders to invest in. Were actively looking at how do we increase the number of female-founded companies that were adding to the beginning of the funnel. But one thing thats equally as important is making sure that were investing in teams that are prioritizing that gender-equity across the board Even with our male-founded companies its how are you thinking about females on your board, how are you thinking about women on your executive team?

Indeed SC30, Inc. just did a data collection exercise across all their portfolio companies, totalling around 1000 employees. That showed that the profile was 46% female. Barr says that this is just the start. As we look at companies that we want to invest in, its not just what are they doing, its how theyre going about doing that.

So can SC30 Inc. be pioneers for other athletes in the impact investment world, as Iguodala has been for the tech space? Barr admits theyre early on in the journey. Id be lying if I told you that we had all the answers and its crystal clear on our end. But the north star for us is to be purpose-driven and to align purpose with profit. Judging by what Curry has done on the court, you wouldnt bet against him changing the game off it too.

Read the rest here:
Can Stephen Curry Revolutionize The Investment Game? - Forbes