Latest / Unstuck Pod / Think Beyond the Paycheck (Uri Rosell and Jamie Schneiderman)
Transcript
- Jamie Schneiderman: Hi, everyone, and welcome to the Unstuck Pod. really excited today to have Uri Russell today with us, talk about his background, his experience in life as a professional athlete, but also more importantly, how he's made a great transition from that into the business world. So rather than me try to talk about it, I'm gonna pass it off to the expert. Uri, welcome. @urirosell: Thank you so much, Jamie. Appreciate that you gave me a call to be here. Jamie Schneiderman: Well, I'm glad that you're here. This is this is great. This is fun. So so tell us or tell everybody who's listening a little bit about your background, where you came from, well, where are you from and then where you came from and everything that you've done and and let's go from there. @urirosell: Yeah, so for context, I'm originally from Barcelona. And I came to United States when I was 19 because I was a professional soccer player, played 13 years at the highest level. I did the academy at FC Barcelona for the ones that know about soccer football. And from there I was signed by Sporting Kansas City. So I went from Barcelona to Kansas City. It was a little bit of a shift, but it gave me the opportunity to be in a great soccer project. I was the first Spanish to win the MLS with Sporting Kansas City 2013. And then because we did such a good year, the following year I was signed by Sporting Lisbon, one of the three big clubs in Lisbon. I got the chance to play Champions League, Europa League. And from there, was like, I want to go back to United States. I love it here. And ended up signing with Orlando city, played four years there, then went back to Kansas city and I played one year with LA galaxy and, then every time. Jamie Schneiderman: All right, so all right, so you're so he's a soccer player and again a football soccer player. but there's way more to to you and w and way more to what you've done. And and I think what I'd like to know is start to tell me about, you know, despite the fact that you were this very successful professional athlete that had played acro around the world, you know. You still had an interest in getting involved. Where was the first place that you got involved from a business or in your mind, from a business perspective? @urirosell: Yeah, so one of the good things was that I knew what I wanted to do after my playing career since an early age. So I started doing soccer games with myself, promoting my name, leveraging what I was playing. And with that, I had like in a small way to... to prove myself that I can do it because there were a lot of things involved in a game, even if it looks like very simple, know, there's from the marketing, how you position the game, you got to hire coaches, you got to hire facility, you got to all the liability stuff. And then putting all this together, I was like, I really enjoy this side of things. So then when I was playing, I was very intentional on the position that I was, meaning that I tried to learn as much as I could from the people that I want to learn. And, and when you're an athlete, the reality is that when you knock the door and you are not looking for a job, you just want to learn. They most likely would say yes. So since, since I was 20, 21, I started doing this and learning from different avenues of the business. And since now, still like we have great relationship with those people. and on the other side, I remember, when I was in Orlando, we have this conversation at preseason where the players association would come and say, this is what we do as a union. And one of the topics was the commercial side. I'm not sure if you guys know, but in United States, the collective rights of the players are owned by the players association. And in Europe, in Spain, in... in different leagues over there, they don't, the clubs own it. So for me, was like, this is very interesting, the commercial side, how you guys do it. And I started there, you know, starting asking questions to the PA and all the sudden I end up being on the executive board member, the first foreign player ever to be it. And I think until now, still, still, that's the way. But, but it really interested me how, you know, all these commercial side, the business side and, and, and from there, When I retired, was like, now I have a pretty good understanding of the soccer ecosystem in the United States. I understand well the player association, I understand well the league, and I have great relationship with all the guys. Not only the ones that I play with, but also the foreign guys that are coming, which usually are very well-known players. And some of them end up talking to me because I was one of the first ones when I arrived. and asking me questions about it. So was like, how can I put all this together into something that is related to the business? And then I started in a marketing agency. It's called Drew Agency. And what I was trying to solve, it was a problem that I had when I was playing here, which was our agents, the ones that negotiate a contract with the club would come. negotiated a deal with LA Galaxy for two, three years, and then we go back to their markets, which mine was from Barcelona. So there was no chance that they would come and find me brand deals because either they don't have the time, their job is to move players around and get just the sporting side done. They didn't have the time or potentially they don't even want to put the time to go and knock doors to the brands to get brand deals. so that I started doing it myself. And when I started doing myself, I was like, okay, can, can we do this with this brand? Can we do that reaching out? And I was like, there's a lot of foreign players that potentially are in the same position and they are bigger names than myself. So then I started to, to work with them. done deals with Sergi Busquets, which is one of the biggest names, Jordi Alba. and last year I've done more than. than 30 players from there starting to scale with content creators as well. Now I'm getting to the music side of things too and trying to position DRAW AGENCY as the a butique one based more on the access rather than a roster. And as a brand, they really appreciate that because it's not like here is my roster of 15 guys and you're trying to sell. those 15 guys, no matter what's the objective of the brand, it's more like, okay, as a brand, what do you guys are looking for? And then I can look at my list of 400 contacts and say, okay, which ones makes more sense for these? And then I have the direct access to propose what they're looking for and then we'll figure it out. But that's kind of my journey, how I started, I see the opportunity and where I am now. Jamie Schneiderman: No, I think that's I think it's incredible. So I'm I'm I'm so obviously you have the real you have the relationships. You have some of the doors that are open to other players. I get that. And and that makes sense, especially for like you said, foreign players, players that are well known, like like sort of like the guy in the behind you with his with his jersey behind you. Probably he's not calling on you as much. I think peep there's probably a few a few play you know @urirosell: Correct, correct. Jamie Schneiderman: Yeah, but but I don't but I'm not making light of it. And the names that you're sharing are obviously fairly significant, very significant players. w what I'm curious about is also the challenge, the the learning curve around the the the reaching out to brands and the things you can do and and where you go there. How how have you has that just been learning by experience and trying? Do you find that you have a naturals natural skills or understanding around this? Are there people who are helping you specifically as you go. H what does that look like? @urirosell: Yeah, I I am blessed that I have good people around me and those relationships that I've built through the years while I was playing. And now I know if there are certain problems, I can go back to them and ask for advice or recommendations. But also, like on top of that, I feel like as a soccer player, when you've done it for so long, even if you prepare yourself, which I did, I took some courses as well. The reality is that if you haven't been in a corporate environment, there's a lot of processes, lot of softwares, a lot of ways to do it that these bigger agencies do that I still at this point don't know. I think those have been more my struggle is like, how can you create a workspace, a workflow, a structure that really makes your job easier? this point now it's where I spend more of my energy is like how can I make it more efficient? How can I put these processes that you know some of the agencies if you when you get out of college start working there you actually see it. So for me that's been my chance from going to play to building your own thing. It's been more on the instincts rather than joining an agency and seeing it from the inside out and that was kind of my my winning when I started, was like, should I join and then understand how it works and then do mine? But also like, I feel like the most important thing, which are the context at the access, that's something that I already have. So I was like, I'll try to find a way where I can learn the other side. And I'm still in that process. And as I go, I see a lot of challenges, but still like, know, step by step trying to figure it out and Now I'm at that point where I'm trying to scale and I'm trying to get more leads on brands and how you do all of that. It's fun. Jamie Schneiderman: Okay. No, and and and so so tell me the the sports the ex sorry, the extension around sports and and working with c with companies and working with players makes sense. Well tell me more about the music. So where are you headed with music? What does that look like? @urirosell: Yeah, so right now I am managing what DJ we just started not long time ago. And what I like about this is that there's a whole strategy behind it that is hard with soccer players because soccer players or athletes, their main job is to be athletes. then whatever you can do on top of that, it's a win. But like with... with DJs and musicians, they live out of like good strategy, how you position them on the PR side, how you can make collaborations with other artists that will take you to the next level. So outside of making great music, I think there's a lot of opportunities to create a good strategy even on the content side that I'm really enjoying it and... And I built some good relationship with other agents that they have pretty big names that I'm learning too. So I feel like this is a side that I'm learning and I want to be more relevant with. And on the other side, I still can bring the opportunities, the brand side, the brand deals. So yeah, that's where we are now. Jamie Schneiderman: I love it. So you're obviously from Barcelona. You've you've you moved here, you you were back in Portugal, you you've you sort of chose to come back back to sorry the United States, which you like. So is the business and the and the brand opportunities mode or that work focused in in the US? Is that really @urirosell: Correct. Jamie Schneiderman: where you're foc okay. So so I'm I'm curious. So so recently, you know. How did the World Cup, you may have known noticed who won. I'm not sure if you if you happen to notice sorry, just joking. The the the the but but How did the World Cup impact your your business and the attention, especially in the US market, on your clients, on you know, soccer in general, on everything? How how did that change things for you? @urirosell: I think it will, it's changing and it will keep changing because I think brands that maybe didn't pay much attention saw how global the sport is and how, if you add the fact that soccer is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States and there's a lot to be untapped. I think brands, they figured it out and some, thanks to the World Cup, speed the process up. Definitely, I feel like this will just keep going and still we are far from where we would like. The fact that I'm working here more than Spain for example, obviously because of my past and my experience and knowledge that I have here, which I understand really well and that positions me differently than if I go back to Spain after 10 years, still like those relationships are not there. But also the size of the market. feel like here in United States brands, they really have the power to invest a lot of money and we are targeting a huge population. Most of my roster of clients or my access, think what differentiates me the most, only because I have a lot of access, but also because they speak Spanish. And I feel like... Now, when I'm talking to brands, they want to target those Spanish speakers. And the reality is there's a lot in the United States. So I felt like here is the perfect place. And I'm in the perfect timing to explore that. And with the World Cup, definitely accelerate this. Jamie Schneiderman: Inter very interesting. I mean, I I think that's a fast you you really got a lot of things working well, not to mention the fact that it must have been enjoyable when Spain won, but but but but I but I think in general, like the idea that you know, Spanish speaking, very large Spanish speaking population in the US and a lot of what places that the brands extend to. Okay, so so help me understand. So you you've it you know, this is an evolution for you. You've been growing and building what you've got from, like I said, professional athlete to, you know, MLSPA and and kind of learning your way there, but really along on the agency side. what are some things if you look back over the last few years that you maybe wish you had done differently, right? Knowing what you know now, wish I had done this. What have you learned from that perspective? How how are you doing things differently as you go forward? @urirosell: Yeah, I I think I would have structured it better and tried to find people who have done it before to help me understand how the whole agency works. Now I'm having conversations with people who are within the industry and it's fascinating the things that they are doing that I don't even knew about it. So for me, I probably would have focused more about How can I leverage even more the access, which is the difficult part, but understanding even more how agencies work, because there's agencies that they don't even have talent. So I feel like just for that, it gives me hope that I can keep growing and finding ways. how can you add to your agency a vertical where brands can do paid ads? Right. And, and now how can I help brands do their social media content? So, finding the right. Partners that I can enhance these, how can I, add value on the PR side and finding those companies that, that you trust that, that can, can help you on those sides rather than hiring in house. And, and so that's, that's, that's the questions that I, that I'm having right now that if I, if I done it. A year ago would be in a better place right now for sure. Jamie Schneiderman: Okay. No and it's, you know, it takes time. Always everything you build takes time. It doesn't happen overnight. what about for clients, right? So you you you were in their shoes, you know, not long ago. you're representing them. What what kind of advice would you give to your clients as they're thinking about not just obviously their playing careers, but everything around that? @urirosell: Yeah, I mean, if we're talking on the marketing side, think what I live as a player and what I live now, it gives me a more holistic view where I see the bigger value, meaning that there's deals that you can make more money, but maybe won't impact as much on your personal brand or in your future where you want to be. So I always ask, what are their goals in five years, you know, what are their interests? And based on that, then I can create good matches for them, not only because of the money, but also because where they want to be. And I think when you pair those things, there will be opportunities that come that they may not even make money. And I don't make any money, but I know that it gets closer to their objectives. As an example, I did a deal with chess.com for one of my clients. He is the DP of Sporting Kansas City. Huge, huge, huge chess player, right? So his goal was like, how can we get involved? How can I get involved myself with chess.com? That's something that I play every day, every hour, every second of my life. So we end up doing a collaboration with chess.com and with the most influential chess content creator, Levi Roseman. And we did the whole shooting at the stadium. They brought him, they did a match together. And at the end, you know, he's involved with chess.com. create their own bot. Now you can play against him. So those are the relationships that sometimes are less monetary, but they impact the most on their goals. And I always try to find... this kind of opportunity as well, not just only like where I can make money and he can make money, but also looking at the bigger picture. And then on the brand side, the fact that I play professionally, I think I can speed things up very fast because there's a lot of things that a player can and cannot do. There's a lot of things that player wants or they don't want to do. And I already know because I've been in their shoes. So It's very smooth and way less friction if you go to a bigger agency or other agencies that they don't have that experience because there will be a lot of things and a lot of layers. Maybe they have to talk to their agents because they don't have the access and all of sudden it's like, can take forever. If they come to me, I've done deals with like two days or one day, because we have all these things covered. Jamie Schneiderman: I mean, I think it's great. And and by the way, have you been able to go back to the same brands with different players and other like have you been able to leverage that on that side as well? So for for growing things as you go forward or is it always somewhere new depending on the on the client? @urirosell: No, for example, my biggest client is Tops owned by Fanatics. Last year I've done a bunch of them. This year I'm doing a bunch of them. Brands really appreciate when you work with them. I think that's been the hardest. Trust me that I can deliver, I can execute, I can be fast and I can be cheap in a way. When they try, they see the value. Now the retention, it's there not only with Tops but but other brands as well. So I think we are in the right path. It's just a matter of time, I guess, where other brands see the value, see how we work, and we go from there. Jamie Schneiderman: No, awesome. So, so tell for everybody who's listening and you know, maybe they want their brand involved. They want to get hold of you. How how do people reach you? How do they get hold of you? @urirosell: Yeah, I mean, they can go to the website, LinkedIn as well, Drew agencies, DRU agency, or I can send it to you. want to put on the bio as well. Jamie Schneiderman: We'll put the we'll put yeah, we'll put links in the description. Yeah, for sure. @urirosell: Yeah, and I feel like the good thing about these agencies is that because there's so many different, not just players, but former players from artists to have comedian friends. mean, it's just so big that I can really tailor for what they're looking for. And if we're talking more about athletes or creators, is that just the credibility that... that an athlete can give you to your brand if you're having an energy drink, if you're having even a bank, if you're having a consumer goods product. It's not only like the eyeballs that are the impressions that can give you, but also the repetition, the brand association that an athlete gives you. It changes from some of the content creators and some of the other types of... job lines. Jamie Schneiderman: No, for sure. And I think for you more than other people, it when you go in and you're representing someone to a brand, you you can say you you you're you're talking from experience, right? So so they also can get a sense for, like you said, both sides, what's the impact? How does it impact the brand? What is it gonna mean for everybody? I I think it's a it's a you've you've put yourself in a very unique position and I'm Kind of excited to see where it goes, not just on the athlete side, but as you said, with music, entertainers, others, and and kind of w where can you extend the business. So fascinating, awesome. love it. so listen, thank you so much for your time, Marie. this is great. I really appreciate it. And I think it was very cool to hear what you're doing and how you've turned, you know, what you did before into a really a great business. So awesome. And I wish you continually successful. @urirosell: No, I appreciate Jamie and I have a podcast as well and I know how difficult it is to get all moving. So congratulations to you as well Jamie Schneiderman: Thank you. @urirosell: for being consistent, for finding the time to share stories like these to the rest of the audience. And I respect you for that because it's not an easy thing to do. Jamie Schneiderman: No, it's it's hard to find the time. But I I you you clearly are finding time for all sorts of things as well. So so I get it. So anyway, thank you. And and to everybody who's watching and listening, appreciate it. And until next time, thanks.