Fandom looks different for every fan.
Some fans buy merchandise.
Other fans buy season tickets.
But every fan would more than likely want to buy shares in their favorite players.
Vestible is making this possible.
Founded by Parker Graham and Yves Batoba, two former student-athletes, and teammates at Oklahoma State University, they’re paving the way for an innovative form of fandom that lets fans make money when athletes do well.
In this interview, we talk about the challenges of launching and growing Vestible, how the platform works from a high level, and why they feel they can pull this off long term.
Hello, who are you and what is the name of your company?
Parker Graham & Yves Batoba: We are Parker Graham and Yves Batoba, two former athletes and teammates at Oklahoma State.
Initially, our paths both took us to the NFL (Parker was a player for the Baltimore Ravens, and Yves was in the front office for the Miami Dolphins).
In 2021, during a phone call about athlete empowerment and the new markets that were forming in the investment world, we came up with an idea that would ultimately become Vestible.
We believed that a marketplace should exist that correctly monetizes the full value of an athlete’s economic impact, while also allowing fans to be the main driver of that value.
Instead of a crypto play or private equity model, we went against the grain and decided to build a marketplace that not only allowed investment into athletes’ careers but also democratized access so that fans and investors from all backgrounds could ultimately participate.
How difficult was it getting the platform off the ground and what were some of the roadblocks?
Parker Graham & Yves Batoba: As with anything new, being first to market is extremely difficult. While we aren’t the first company to use our regulation, we were the first to use it in the way that we do.
Because of this, the biggest roadblock was getting approved by the regulators.
Dealing with athletes, institutional investors, a mixture of advisors, and personality types also brings its own set of challenges.
It took us time in the market building relationships to make the “people” side of the equation turn from a roadblock into a tailwind for us, and that work is really paying dividends (pun intended) for us now.
How is the company doing today and what is the long-term vision?
Parker Graham & Yves Batoba: As long as we execute our strategy, the company is poised to be the leader in space.
Our launch athlete’s primary offering just closed, and the secondary market for his shares will open up within the next 30 days.
We will learn a lot in that phase and understand what users want from a company like us as we scale to our next few athletes this quarter.
From a high level, can you explain the technology behind the platform and how share prices fluctuate?
Parker Graham & Yves Batoba: Vestible is an app where users can invest in the careers of athletes and get paid a portion of their income for doing so. Investment opportunities on the app come in two phases:
1) Primary Offerings, and 2) Secondary Trading.
A primary offering operates similarly to an IPO in the traditional stock market.
Users open up a brokerage account on the app beforehand and invest in an athlete’s stock at the primary offering price (say $10).
Once the offering has enough money (typically after a minimum threshold is met) the primary offering is closed for a 30-day lock-up period.
After 30 days, secondary trading is open for any investor to sell their shares or for new investors to buy their shares in the open market. In this phase, pricing fluctuates purely based on market demand for that individual athlete’s security.
Other companies have tried this idea and failed or are currently trying it – what differentiates Vestible from others? Furthermore, why do you all believe this will be sustainable long term?
Parker Graham & Yves Batoba: There are a lot of things that differentiate us from others, but two of the biggest are that 1) shares trade freely in our market and are not determined by performance, and 2) we as founders are former athletes, ie. we understand this issue at a deeper level than our peers.
As former athletes, we’ve been in our client’s shoes, we’ve helped others in their shoes, and we’ve created a platform where both they AND the investors can win.
Too many others in our space try to take advantage of athletes by finding ones they can sign to bad or lopsided deals. We’re here to break that mold and build what should’ve been built in the first place.
When we prove that, the sky’s the limit.
What happens if a player gets injured or cut?
Parker Graham & Yves Batoba: That all depends on what the individual athlete’s contract, guarantees, and bonus structures look like.
At the end of the day, if they get paid as a professional athlete by a team, a portion of their income will be going to their investors who hold shares on the Vestible platform.
How does NIL factor into Vestible? Do you envision student-athletes being able to utilize the platform as well?
Parker Graham & Yves Batoba: With all the changes happening with the NCAA right now, we are focused more on the professional level of sports.
We do envision student-athletes being a part of our platform at some point, as long as the models make sense for both the athletes and investors.
What are some of the challenges you all foresee with scaling the platform?
Parker Graham & Yves Batoba: The biggest challenge, as with anything new, is educating the masses.
This type of platform has never existed before at scale, and we are dealing with investment dollars which is very different from buying a nonregulated asset.
We are constantly iterating so that we present what and how we do what we do in an easily digestible way.
How big do you see this growing and what other sports is this concept applicable to?
Parker Graham & Yves Batoba: If this works for one athlete in one sport, it can work for any.
As long as we get investors excited about the asset class and the model is right for both sides of the market, the possibilities are pretty endless.
Are you all currently hiring and/or raising capital? If so, where can people find out more?
Parker Graham & Yves Batoba: Both! Reach out to us at info@vestible.co
