Entrepreneurial duo Gregory van der Wiel and Funs Jacobs invest in NBA players
Biggest investment of the entrepreneurial partners to date
Toronto, 14th December 2018 — Gregory van der Wiel and business partner Funs Jacobs have made a major investment in North American company One Legacy, which represents various NBA players. One Legacy represents players from the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic. The entrepreneurial partners Van der Wiel and Jacobs founded branding agency Bare Knuckle earlier this year and are also both involved in investment fund Block Party. With this investment the duo aim to firmly root themselves in the North American sports industry.
One Legacy is a new sports management agency that represents basketball players from the prestigious American NBA league, among others.
Mike George
One Legacy is headed up by Mike George. George is a renowned name within the basketball industry. As one of the deciding reps at Excel Sports — which according to the authoritative business magazine Forbes is one of the top three sports management agencies in the world — he gained a reputation as a successful agent with a strong network across the basketball industry. At the start of this year George decided to go independent. George is enthusiastic about this new collaboration: ¨The most important reason for me to start working with Gregory van der Wiel and Funs Jacobs is the wealth of experience they bring in sport, branding and entrepreneurship. What´s more, we share the same outlook on this business and we want to work together to build an agency that allows all sorts of athletes to take their careers to the next level.¨ Funs Jacobs, together with business partner Gregory van der Wiel, will be brand strategist; in addition to his other activities at One Legacy Jacobs will also be playing the role of creative adviser. He will be taking a leading position when it comes to the agency´s branding and marketing & communications. Jacobs: ¨It is a big challenge to, together with Mike George, take One Legacy forward. However, with his impressive track record and our experience we are convinced we are going to make a difference.¨
Bare Knuckle
In addition to being a footballer and successful entrepreneur, Gregory van der Wiel — together with business partner Funs Jacobs — bring the newly established branding agency Bare Knuckle to the fore with the rebranding of One Legacy and its players: ¨After all the experiences I´ve had with brokers and agents I am keen that, with One Legacy, we are building towards the agency of the future. In other words not just an agency focused on the sport alone, but one that goes further, in the areas of investment, branding and other business opportunities.¨
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