The Bond The Bond

Launched in 2020, ACE allows fans to connect directly with their favorite celebrities for a fee to receive exclusive content such as short and personalized video messages. The company operates in Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and is also expanding into other countries in Asia. Dene found a marketplace gap in Asia and has been growing the business ever since. With full disclosure, Octagon is a proud partner of ACE, firmly believing they have cracked the code in a key region in the world. He has recently added a business offering for corporates to interact directly with local talent and the increase of attention and businesses revenue continues to go up and up.

A three-part trading card podcast with Panini executive Jason Howarth, Loupe Founder Eric Doty and active trading card buyers Marshall Osborne and Josh Ong. We dig into the current craze and what is different now so that there is long-term success and not just a fad. There is a lot of learning throughout the conversation (especially for me) about friction points being solved for consumers, how to understand the value of each card, grading, ripping, breaking, junk wax, PSA population count, ebay, what sport is undervalued and what to expect next.

Darren Heitner joins me on the pod discussing the booming athlete legal business, including right of publicity, trademarks, copyright and patents. Admittedly, he even corrects me in the conversation for a misuse of the words. He has one football player now who is applying for 19 different trademarks. We also dove into NBA Top Shot and what people are actually owning. Stay for his immediate legal recommendation for all athletes. Darren is the Founder/CEO of Heitner Legal and is a go-to-source for athlete/legal work. Check him out at @darrenheitner.

Andy Loughnane is the President of Austin FC, the newest MLS expansion team that will begin their first season in a matter of months. Andy shares what the last 24 months have been like with boots on the ground, putting shovels into dirt for a new stadium and building a fan base during COVID. He gives insight into the fan experience he so hopes to deliver on and team goals of year one. The Club will be the first professional sports team in Austin. I love him expressing the need and competition for attention and love in a fan. Stay to the end to hear how much soccer he will be able to watch on night one versus making sure 20,000 rabid fans are having the time of their life.

Variety’s Brian Steinberg and ITB’s Michael Jacobson join me for a post-Super Bowl advertising recap. We dig into creative choices and which influencers were worth the dollar spent. 40+ commercials used talent ranging from Peloton Emma to Martha Stewart a lot of others in between. There is a lot to chew on here. Brian has covered the business of advertising, media and TV for Variety for almost a decade after time at Advertising Age and the Wall Street Journal. Michael Jacobson leads the influencer/celebrity procurement (strategy/negotiation) business at ITB.

Chad Knaus is the new Vice President of Competition at Hendrick Motorsports. He is a 30 year veteran of NASCAR and the only crew chief in history to win five consecutive NASCAR Championships with #48 Jimmie Johnson… and seven titles in total. We explore leadership from a crew chief perspective and the Head Coach and QB relationship he had with Jimmie. We dig into how he earned respect at the track, what he would do differently if he got to start all over again and new traits he is learning in his executive role at Hendrick. Make sure to listen to his phone tree team building he created during COVID too.