Archive for Football

Taylor Lewan

To people familiar with the NFL or Michigan Football, the name Taylor Lewan is not new to you. Lewan, a former First round pick and current Tennessee Titans tackle found his start in entrepreneurship a good time after he began his NFL career. On top of being almost a perennial Pro-Bowler, he has begun publishing almost weekly podcasts that include himself, former teammate Will Compton, and numerous guests which have included the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Larry the Cable Guy, Brian Urlacher and many other popular football and pop culture figures. The name of the podcast is “Bussin’ With the Boys”. The reason for this is simple: the podcast takes place in an old school bus, and it is hosted by the boys (Lewan and Compton). The podcast has become ultra successful as Barstool Sports eventually started sponsoring the Boys, widening their audience and influence. Lewan’s podcast is constantly near the top of the charts and they even started selling merchandise and clothing with his brand on it. The reason I believe Lewan is a good example to use for a young entrepreneur is because he did not try to reinvent the wheel. Podcasts have been a rapidly growing market for many years and Lewan noticed this and thought his platform as one of the League’s best players would be a good opportunity for him to not only have fun but maybe make a little more money.

Beef Jurgens

Cameron Jurgens is an NFL center. He plays for the currently undefeated Eagles. He plays back up for one of the best centers in the league, who he hopes to replace once Jason Kelce retires. Cameron Jurgens got the opportunity play in the NFL because of his elite play for the Nebraska Cornhusker. He was a third team all big ten selection. His tough play earned him the nickname “beef” Jurgens. He is huge guy at three hundred and two pounds which probably contributes to the earning his nickname. This name gave Cameron an idea.

The nickname is a constant advertisement. He realized this and decided to start his own Beef Jerky business. With the new NIL deal allowing NCAA athletes to make money off their image and likeness, he was able to start making money in college. He started wearing his merchandise to post game conferences and speaking on the business when he could slide it in. He realized the better he played the more attention he got and the more advertising his business got.

Once he left college for the pros, his opportunities only rose. He went to NFL combine and got national attention. He was one of the fastest offensive linemen at the draft and that got everyone to turn their heads. His nickname started to spread to the national media. Cameron took full advantage. He started to offer his jerky for free to the analysts and sports casters. They are the ones looking for a story to talk about. All over national media people were raving about how good his jerky is. Some analysts who did not get any started to ask him on live TV for some jerky.

Cameron Jurgens impressed me. He was able to use his gifts and abilities in one completely different are to make him money in another. He clearly had good situational awareness and maximized what opportunities he has received.