Kayvon Thibodeaux plays for the New York Giants, but he wants to be a Titan.
Not a Tennessee Titan, but a titan of business.
That’s one of the reasons the star defensive end has decided to become a venture partner with The Collectiv, a community-powered venture capital fund focused on early-stage sports tech companies and emerging leagues. Thibodeaux is part of a consortium of athletes, sports executives and industry leaders who are invested in the debut fund, which aims to raise $20 million in the next six months.
“It’s about alignment for me,” Thibodeaux said in a video interview. “When you come into a business, you can get your money back, but you can’t get your reputation back … For me being an athlete and aligning with the [diverse] personnel that’s going to be involved in this is the exemplar of what more athletes can do and should do.”
Thibodeaux is just 23 years old and not close to the peak of his NFL career. But he is already considering life after pro football and building his private investment portfolio. The former University of Oregon All-America wants to take advantage of his time playing in New York City; he already has investments across various industry sectors such as real estate, beverage, hospitality and restaurants, including a stake in Meatpacking District’s Meduza Mediterrania.
But this partnership with The Collectiv creates an opportunity that allows the budding entrepreneur to play an integral role in identifying investment opportunities while taking a crash course on the nuances of the venture capital ecosystem. Thibodeaux’s not just being used to recruit other pro athletes and bring fund awareness, but he will also be counted on to provide strategic advice and forward-thinking insights into the evolving sports industry.
“It’s one thing to just be an investor and write checks, but it’s another thing to actually be involved,” Thibodeaux, also an investor in NFL Pro Era studio StatusPro, said. “I’m at the point where I want to have a certain level of expertise in the field so now we’re here and culminating into the next business.”
Thibodeaux will be reviewing potential investments and portfolio news during the NFL season, when his on-field demands are high, and participating in various meetings in the offseason. The LA native plans to lean on advice from past stars of those Giants team to achieve his business goals—namely, retired Pro Bowlers Justin Tuck, a private wealth advisor at Goldman Sachs, and Osi Umenyiora, an angel investor and NFL ambassador, who have both been in contact with Thibodeaux since he was drafted fifth overall in 2022.
“It goes back to having access to high-level individuals that have done it and want to give back,” Thibodeaux added. “I’m trying to be part of a culture that allows me to receive information and makes it OK for me to lean on those who came before me.”
‘Investing in What They Know’
The brain trust behind The Collectiv says that Thibodeaux represents the ethos of the fund, which aims to democratize access into deal flow for industry leaders and other stakeholders. Other venture partners and advisors to The Collectiv include C-Suite leaders from the NBA, NFL, MLS, MLB, NCAA and UFC, as well as executives from leading tech companies such as Microsoft, Nike, Amazon, Apple and Meta.
“It’s about investing in what they know,” The Collectiv co-founder and managing partner Ashley DeWalt said in an interview. “All the various folks that make up this ecosystem historically have been excluded. Our ‘why’ is being able to provide that opportunity, hence the name The Collectiv, and that’s the power of the fund.”
DeWalt, who leads one of the top sports-tech accelerators for underrepresented founders at Austin-based nonprofit DivInc, wants to not only help the Collectiv investors benefit from the multibillion-dollar industry in which they’ve created but also use the platform to learn more about venture investing.
“We’ve created this flywheel where we’re not only giving access but also educating, which will lead to generational wealth,” he said. “Not just for the 1% but for everyone in the industry.”
Mercury Fund, a Houston-based early-stage VC firm with $1 billion in AUM, is a key partner in The Collectiv, with Mercury co-founder and its managing partner Blair Garrou serving as a senior advisor.
“There’s a lot talk about NIL, which is great,” Garrou said in an interview. “But that doesn’t educate the athlete on the investments to make or what’s next, typically leaning on a business manager or agent. The earlier that we can reach them and do that they’ll be able to make more informed deals. They’ll have a longer second career after their first career.”
The fund has already made initial investments in the U.S. Sail GP global sailing team, live video production startup Videon, predictive analytics and micro-betting technology platform nVenue and conversational AI platform ON.
Collectiv’s diverse investor base looks to help accelerate growth in its four portfolio companies while it targets other startups in artificial intelligence, fan engagement, stadium operations and sports betting. DeWalt hopes Thibodeaux and other athletes, coaches, trainers, analysts and execs will leverage the fund as a starting point in their entrepreneurial journeys.
“While everybody is zigging that way, we’re zagging this way,” DeWalt said. “That’s what makes us differentiated.”
