We asked each of the Forty Under 40:
What advice would you give to students who are hoping to work in the sports industry?
Seth Bacon: Put in the hours, develop strong relationships and don’t be afraid to take risks … success will follow.
Derek Belch: If you don’t have a thick skin, grow one pretty quickly! Sports, while incredibly fun and rewarding, is one of the most challenging and demanding environments in which to operate. If you can make it in sports, you can make it anywhere.
Ilan Ben-Hanan: Your youth is your competitive advantage. You can get on a plane at the drop of a hat to go anywhere in the world, and your work ethic should be inexhaustible. Highlight those qualities to get your foot in the door.
Jimmy Bruns: Do anything and everything you can to just get your foot in a door … and then smile and work harder than anyone else.
Lisa Campos: Get your foot in the door by volunteering or through an internship and then work hard.
Daniel Cherry III: Never sacrifice your personal passion for politics or profit. Always know your worth. Continue to expand your network by never saying “no” first. Being young and cool is not a skill set.
Jason Cohen: Understand the entire ecosystem, sales to marketing to operations and always respect the game.
Sakiya Daniel: Stay humble, work hard and realize that the learning curve is endless.
Will Dean: Be clear on your goals; it’s a competitive world and you need to know exactly what you want.
Rob DeAngelis: Build your résumé, NOW. Try to do several jobs or internships in sports before you graduate and make sure to stay in touch with everyone you meet along the way. Read our trade publications to connect back with relevant check-ins. Don’t say in an interview you want to work in sports because “... you are a fan.”
Bill Fagan: Respect the commitment you are making as the industry is competitive. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
Cole Gahagan: Start with a team. It will teach you about the long hours and you’ll get to know a lot of different aspects of the business.
Rocky Harris: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, but learn from them, and don’t get caught up in who you aspire to be someday. Embrace and enjoy who you are today.
Jeff Ianello: To be successful, this is not a job, but a way of life. Do not strive to be like everyone else, strive to be better.
Martin Jarmond: The closer you are to the generation of revenue, the more secure and comfortable your life will be.
Katherine Johnson: Be willing to do anything to get in the door. I don’t know if millennials are as willing to do that.
Nick Kelly: Don’t step on an anybody on your way to the top, because you don’t know who you will see on your way back down.
Elena Klau: Lean in on data — learn the hard skills of statistics and research. These skills will be invaluable and prepare you for a wide variety of jobs in the industry that will likely be available when you graduate, but don’t even exist yet today (e.g. player management data scientist, ticket management data scientist, etc.).
Brandon Lloyd: Follow your position, understand the role, and find a great mentor.
J.B. Lockhart: Follow your passion is good long-term advice … but focus on learning technical skills, working hard and finding mentors early on.
Olek Loewenstein: Focus on the product, the content and the experience. Those things will always be the most important elements for your fans and your clients regardless of how the industry shapes itself.
Matthew Nussbaum: Network your tail off and be prepared to grind.
David Oxfeld: Get internships. Rolodex and contacts are important. Arguably, who you know is more important than what you know. Also, it’s important to figure out what you are good at/passionate about and develop a skill set. A skill set is transferable [to] teams, agencies, leagues, etc. Don’t get so set on what segment of the industry you want to work in, figure out what you are good at and develop that skill set.
Dan Parise: Your first few years will cement your reputation for the rest of it.
Anthony Perez: Focus on opportunities that will develop your skills and knowledge, even if it’s outside the sports industry. You will find the right opportunity in sports along the way.
Ashwin Puri: Put your head down and grind early in your career and network, network, network. It will all pay off.
Alex Radetsky: Find out how big [the industry] is and figure out where you fit best and where your passions fit.
Ann Rodriguez: Start small — go somewhere where you can have a real impact and get a lot of exposure. Work hard, do a great job, and then aim for bigger brands and/or roles.
Jeffrey Roth: Find a good mentor and latch on.
Connor Schell: Create your own path. Be curious and don’t stop.
Brandon Schneider: Networking is key, differentiate yourself, and always think about what is best for the company as opposed to what is best for you.
Vishal Shah: Many different avenues to get into sports … continue to read, listen, ask, talk about the industry and its impact … remember you are the fan (i.e. customer), so your opinions are automatically valid.
Gretchen Sheirr: Be willing to start in sales; it’s the best way to learn your product and fan base.
Tobias Sherman: Never lose your passion and excitement. You get out what you put in.
Justin Toman: Make sure you really love it, because it is more of a grind than you think.
Jeremy Walls: Maintain a strong work ethic, a positive attitude, a posture of learning and high character. Follow leaders that have a track record of developing people … not titles, money or geography.
Danny White: Make sure you know what you’re getting into it. It’s highly competitive, and you’ll likely make very little money and have to move all over the country early in your career. Having said that, if you are passionate about a career in college athletics, and you are comfortable with a job that is really more like a lifestyle, it can be an unbelievable ride!
Chip Wile: Meet as many people as you can every time you have an opportunity. The sports world is a very small ecosystem and you never know how you are making an impact. Work hard and pay your dues. Learn the business from every angle so you have a good foundation for success.
Mike Zabik: Nothing competes with work ethic. If you want something bad enough and work hard enough at it, you will probably achieve it.
Tim Zue: Breaking into sports is so competitive, so you need to be prepared to face rejection multiple times. Don’t be easily discouraged. Instead, learn from each of those rejections and apply that knowledge to the next opportunity. Often your “break” will come when you least expect it, so keep putting yourself out there. As Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”
