In February 2023 acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay is filming her latest movie, Origin, a daring adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. With Origin, DuVernay is pioneering a method to finance the endeavor-through a combination of investors and grantors-that is unheard of for a film of its size. A group of charitable institutions and individual donors have brought in around $35 million needed to acquire the adaptation rights, develop and produce the film; Array, DuVernay's company, which she describes as "a narrative change collective dedicated to the disruption of inequitable systems in Hollywood's film and television industry," has invested another $5 million. Is Origin on a path to success? What challenges await the filmmaker and her team further down the road, as their focus shifts from producing to distributing and marketing the film? And is DuVernay, with this new financing model, changing the game in Hollywood?
In May 2023, professional fighter Francis Ngannou is facing a choice: re-sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the world's premier mixed-martial-arts (MMA) organization, or opt for a contract with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), a growing but still relatively small disruptor in the space? Since his first fight in the UFC in 2015, Ngannou has quickly risen to prominence in MMA, becoming the UFC heavyweight champion. But uneasy with what he sees as the relatively low compensation and the highly restrictive nature of the contracts between the UFC and its fighters, he has elected to let his contract expire. The PFL promises him a more lucrative contract, an equity stake in PFL Africa, support for Ngannou's foundation, and the freedom to pursue boxing matches. However, the PFL is far less established than the UFC, and a move away from the dominant organization likely comes with a loss of exposure and acclaim. Is leaving the UFC and signing with the PFL the best move for Ngannou? If so, how should he approach the negotiations with the PFL? And how can he best combine an endeavor in boxing with his proposed activities for the PFL?
In June 2023, David Beckham, co-owner of Major League Soccer team Inter Miami CF, is hoping to find a way to bring Lionel Messi, widely regarded as one of the best players the world of soccer has ever seen, to his team. But Messi-a seven-time winner of the Ballon d'Or and fresh off a fairy-tale-like FIFA World Cup victory with the Argentine national team-is in high demand, and Inter Miami do not have the means to enter a bidding war, so Beckham and his partners will have to be creative. They have been working on an offer for Messi that involves a deal that runs until the winter of 2025, is worth between $20 million and $25 million in salary (including bonuses and other incentives), and that offers him an equity stake in Inter Miami after his retirement from professional soccer. Will the offer he and his partners have been preparing be sufficient to make Messi choose Miami?
In January 2022, superstar-athlete-turned-entrepreneur David Beckham is deciding on a proposal that has the potential to significantly change the trajectory of his business career: Authentic Brands Group ('Authentic') has offered to engage in a strategic partnership that will see that company co-own and manage Beckham's brand and Beckham become a shareholder in Authentic. The proposed deal will yield a significant payment for Beckham in exchange for a 55% stake in his company, David Beckham Ventures. But as he will no longer own a majority stake in his commercial activities, it will also come with a handover of majority control. Is a joint venture with Authentic the right move for David Beckham and his team?
In June 2022, Mohamed Salah, one of the world's best soccer players, and his lawyer and advisor Ramy Abbas Issa were in ongoing discussions with top English Premier League club Liverpool FC about a new playing contract for Salah. Arguably the Arab world's biggest sports superstar, Salah's contract was due to expire next summer and so this was the time to try to secure a big contract from his current club. But renegotiating with Liverpool had been a lengthy and increasingly tense process, and the two parties were still far apart. Salah for the first time had to face the possibility that his long-term future might be with another club. Were Abbas and Salah right to continue to push Liverpool for a better deal-even if Salah, who would turn 30 in a few days, already was one of the highest-paid players in the world? What was the right mix between fixed and variable compensation-specifically, was it wise for Abbas and Salah to entertain Liverpool's push for a higher share of performance-related compensation? And could and should Abbas and Salah bring his image rights to the table to try to break the deadlock?
Wednesday November 16, 2022 was a historic day in the ascent of Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, to the top echelon of YouTube creators. That day he became the YouTuber with the most subscribers ever-a total of 112 million. The meteoric rise of the 24-year-old Donaldson, long "obsessed with figuring out how to make videos go viral," as he put it, had not only made him one of the entertainment world's most popular creators, but also enabled him to launch a variety of other businesses. Donaldson's businesses now generated more than $100 million a year. He had also emerged as a formidable force in philanthropy. How big could MrBeast's presence on YouTube become? Did he have the right strategy for further growth on YouTube-while sustaining the ever-increasing levels of spending-and with his other businesses? And would MrBeast's unique approach to philanthropy stand the test of time?
Toto Wolff, the team principal for Mercedes-AMG Petronas--arguably the most impressive team in F1 racing history--has led his organization to unparalleled success. Mercedes earned the Constructors' Championship (for best overall team performance) every year from 2014 through 2021, and over that time frame it won nearly 70% of the Grand Prix races it competed in. To understand what made that possible, Harvard Business School's Anita Elberse spent time with the team in 2021, conducting interviews and watching what went on behind the scenes before, during, and after races. She found that Wolff shapes the culture at Mercedes to a remarkable degree. Elberse's takeaway? What you say and do as a leader has a surprisingly powerful effect on the organization you run. In this article, drawing on her observations of Wolff's management style and practices, Elberse presents six lessons that can help any leader cultivate a winning team: (1) Set the highest standards for everyone; (2) put people front and center; (3) analyze mistakes continually--even when winning; (4) foster an open, no-blame culture; (5) trust superstars but maintain authority; and (6) relentlessly battle complacency.
On March 18, 2021, Brian Rolapp, chief media and business officer at the National Football League (NFL) presented the results of a months-long effort to renegotiate rights deals with the NFL's current partners in television-the media conglomerates behind the networks CBS, FOX, NBC, and ESPN-to a small committee of NFL team owners. Those agreements were worth a staggering $9 billion a year-a 75% increase over the current deals. The committee had swiftly accepted the new deals, clearing the way for the agreements to be submitted for formal approval by the full group of NFL team owners later in the month. But Rolapp and his team did not have time for a victory dance: they immediately focused their attention on the one remaining major package still to find a home: the NFL's Thursday Night games. Technology giant Amazon was a front-runner, having offered $1.2 billion a year. That figure would bring the total value of the NFL's media-rights deals to more than $110 billion over eleven years-by far the richest set of deals in the history of sports. Should the NFL finalize a first-ever deal of its kind with Amazon, for the Thursday Night rights?
In December 2021, Toto Wolff, team principal and chief executive officer of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team (the 'Mercedes team') is preparing for the start of the 2021 Formula One ('F1') season's last Grand Prix, in the United Arab Emirates. Everything the team has fought for this season is on the line. The Mercedes team is in an excellent position to win an unprecedented eighth consecutive Constructors' Championship, the award for the best overall team effort in F1. Meanwhile, driver Lewis Hamilton is tied with rival team Red Bull's Max Verstappen in points, and with another victory can clinch a record eighth Drivers' Championship, the award for the season's best driver. Win or lose today, the Mercedes team under Wolff's leadership has every reason to claim the title of most successful team in the history of F1, the world's most prestigious motor racing competition-and, with its remarkable seven-going-on-eight-year winning streak, perhaps in all of sports. Will Wolff again lead the Mercedes team to a win? What is the secret to his and his team's success? And with a new set of challenges on the horizon for next season-most notably, a major rule change governing aerodynamics that could upend the teams' competitiveness-how can Wolff and his team ensure that Mercedes stays at the top?
Should FIFA host its biggest event-the FIFA World Cup-every two years instead of every four, as it has been doing since the event's inception in the 1930s? In September 2021, Gianni Infantino, the president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), addresses representatives of the 211 national associations that are members of football's highest-level governing body, from a conference room in FIFA's headquarters in Switzerland. The members have convened to discuss proposed reforms spearheaded by former coach Arsène Wenger, FIFA's Chief Football Officer, who is seated next to Infantino. News of the planned reforms already have sent shockwaves through the world of football. For instance, the president of football's European confederation, UEFA, has referred to a biennial World Cup as a "killer" and vowed to boycott the idea. The president of the Spanish league, one of football's top three domestic leagues, has dismissed the plans as "a threat not just to domestic football leagues but to the overall tradition of world football." Are the proposed reforms-all part of a 'Future of Football' project designed to reshape the sport-the right bet for FIFA? And if so, what can the governing body do to guide the process along the right path?
In May 2020, Andreessen Horowitz secures an agreement with Clubhouse, one of Silicon Valley's hottest startups, to lead its 'Series A' funding round. One of the factors that insiders saw as pivotal in the race to be Clubhouse's VC firm of choice was Andreessen Horowitz's ability to secure celebrity appearances on the app, most notably by stand-up comedian and actor Kevin Hart, a limited partner in the VC firm's Cultural Leadership Fund. After being responsible for what would turn out to be a key moment in the race between competing VC firms, Hart - with his production company HartBeat Ventures - now was first in line to invest in Clubhouse. "I'm an entrepreneur at heart, and venture capital is a world I'm now in love with. And I love the fact that HartBeat Ventures has a chance to align itself with a powerhouse like Andreessen Horowitz," said Hart. "Things make sense when they are supposed to, and joining the Cultural Leadership Fund was a move that made sense. Of course, as we gain success, we can do more and we can want more." How exactly does Andreessen Horowitz and its Cultural Leadership Fund creates value for Black cultural leaders like Hart? And does it provide a compelling proposition for them in the long run as well?
In May 2020, Chris Lyons, a partner at leading venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz receives the news that his company has reached a verbal agreement with one of Silicon Valley's hottest social-media startups to lead its 'Series A' funding round, in a deal that values the startup in the nine figures. Lyons has been instrumental to Andreessen Horowitz's efforts to secure the deal: he created and led The Cultural Leadership Fund (CLF), a partnership between the VC firm and some of the most influential Black leaders. Launched in August 2018, Lyons' fund had amassed an impressive network of Black executives, athletes and entertainers-including Carmelo Anthony, Chance the Rapper, Sean Combs, Common, Kevin Durant, Quincy Jones, Kevin Hart, Marshawn Lynch, Nas, Shonda Rhimes, and Will Smith-who had signed on as limited partners. Andreessen Horowitz, meanwhile, agreed to donate 100% of its management fees as well as its share of any profits realized by the fund to non-profit organizations dedicated to advancing the position of Black people in the technology sector. "We are doing good, and the Cultural Leadership Fund is a competitive advantage for us," noted Andreessen Horowitz's co-founder Ben Horowitz about the small fund's significance to the wider company. Have Lyons and his colleagues at Andreessen Horowitz found a formula for success with the Cultural Leadership Fund-one that not only creates value for the firm and its portfolio companies but also, and more importantly, for its cultural leaders and for other Black individuals hoping to advance in the tech industry? How can the VC firm best capitalize on its strong ties with the entertainment, media and sports world's biggest stars? And how can Lyons, already thinking of a second act, build on the first fund's eye-catching start?
Chip and Joanna Gaines, who have shot to fame as stars of the hit television show Fixer Upper, are preparing to launch their own television network. It is April 2019, a year since the home-renovation show Fixer Upper's fifth season on cable channel HGTV ended, and more than one-and-a-half years since the husband-and-wife duo announced that season would be their last. At the time, entertainment company Discovery Inc. was in the process of acquiring, in a $12-billion deal, Scripps Networks Interactive, HGTV's parent company. Now, hoping to find a way to bring the duo back, Discovery's chief executive officer David Zaslav has proposed setting up a joint venture between Discovery and the Gaineses. Under the deal, the latter will receive an ownership stake as well as certain guaranteed payments, be given creative control over the 'DIY Network' which they plan to rebrand as 'Magnolia Network,' and have a sizable programming budget at their disposal. Meanwhile, the two entrepreneurs are also running a thriving set of other businesses under their 'Magnolia' brand, that covers retail and hospitality-including their 'Magnolia Market at the Silos' complex and 'Magnolia Table' restaurant in Waco, Texas-as well as brand partnerships, books, and a magazine. Is launching Magnolia Network the right move for Chip and Joanna Gaines-and for Discovery? And what can both parties do to ensure the new network will be a success?
"We're in business together, and whether we lose a few million dollars or make a few million dollars, let's do this. If you think you can pull it off, I'm behind you." Michael Rapino, chief executive officer of Live Nation, the world's leading live entertainment company, expresses his support to Pharrell Williams, one of the music industry's biggest stars, and his long-time manager Ron Laffitte. It is December 2018, and Williams just pitched Rapino an idea for a music festival in Virginia Beach, Something In The Water. Williams is engaged in many endeavors - he is not only a chart-topping musician, but also a fashion designer, film and television producer, brand builder, and business consultant - that are brought together in his company, I Am Other, which is in a joint venture with Live Nation. Although Live Nation generally does not shy away from making big bets on its artists, Williams' festival idea is risky and has an unusually aggressive time table. Is Rapino right to lend his support to Williams' proposed festival? Are partnerships like the one it had formed with Williams' company I Am Other the way forward for Live Nation? And how can the company that dominates the live music space best continue to create value for artists and their managers?
In July 2019, AFC Ajax's chief executive officer Edwin van der Sar finalized one of the biggest transfers in soccer-that of Matthijs de Ligt, only 19 years old but already one of the sports world's brightest stars-from AFC Ajax to Italian powerhouse Juventus FC for a €75 million fee. A few months earlier, Ajax had sold another young star, Frenkie de Jong, to Spanish champions FC Barcelona for a record €86 million. Once Europe's most feared team, Ajax had lost its prominence to teams from Europe's bigger leagues since the mid-1990s but gained a stellar reputation as a feeder of young talent to clubs in those leagues. Now, just as Ajax seemingly was making its way back to the highest echelons of European soccer-in the 2018-2019 season, Ajax managed to advance to the semifinal of the Champions League, Europe's most elite club competition-the club would lose two players who played a crucial role in its comeback. Did van der Sar have the right strategy to find long-term success? Could Ajax continue to develop soccer's next superstars-all while challenging Europe's elite clubs?
Bang Si-Hyuk ('Hitman Bang') is the founder and co-chief executive officer of Big Hit Entertainment, the company behind BTS, a 'K-pop' band that has found unparalleled success around the globe-a remarkable feat given that most of their songs are in Korean. It is March 1, 2020. With its latest album, the band has now scored its fourth chart-topping album in the U.S. in less than two years. The band's popularity has been extremely lucrative: by some estimates, the BTS ecosystem accounts for a staggering $4.9 billion of South Korea's GDP. While K-pop has been dominated by three large companies-SM, YG, and JYP-since the mid-1990s, BTS Bang arguably has created a K-pop phenomenon that is more global than any act the 'big three' have ever overseen. And whereas K-pop is traditionally associated with long-term, exclusive contracts between companies and their acts that pay the talent relatively modestly and give them little control, Bang seeks to foster a more balanced relationship with his superstar act. Is BTS well-positioned to sustain its success? Can Big Hit replicate that success with the select few other acts in its portfolio? And what does that say about the future of K-pop, and the manner in which music companies will manage the relationships with their talent?
It is July 2019, and the business of esports and gaming is booming. Tyler Blevins-better known as Ninja-has risen to stardom playing the immensely popular shooter game Fortnite. He has become the most followed streamer in the world and, helped by his management company Loaded (a division of esports technology and services company Popdog), has become the first esports player to cross over into the mainstream. So far, Ninja has worked with Twitch, owned by Amazon, as his exclusive partner for live streams. However, with that contract coming up for renewal in the next month, other platforms were hoping to lure Ninja away. Mixer, a much smaller service owned by Microsoft, was leading the charge. Leaving Twitch would come at a significant risk: the few star gamers who had attempted to switch platforms in the past had failed to convince most of their followers to come along, and had quickly seen their hold on the market disappear. But Mixer was a promising alternative. How should Ninja approach the choice between platforms? Was it time to leave Twitch and jump to a different platform? And how could Ninja best position himself for long-term success?
In October 2019, National Basketball Association (NBA) team the Milwaukee Bucks are about to tip off their first home game in the 2019-2020 NBA season. Peter Feigin, president of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Jon Horst, the league's youngest general manager, could look back at a very successful prior season. In fact, just five years after a new ownership team led by Wes Edens, Marc Lasry, Jamie Dinan and Mike Fascitelli came in after the Bucks experienced one of the worst seasons any NBA team had ever seen, the Bucks finished at the top of the standings in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Star player Giannis Antetokounmpo played an instrumental role in the team's ascent. Superstars of his caliber, however, often do not stay in smaller markets like Milwaukee. In fact, many superstars switch franchises while at the peak of their abilities, electing to team up with another superstar (or even multiple stars, forming what had become known as 'super teams'). The summer of 2019 in particular saw a number of stunning moves by big names. Now, Feigin and Horst are leading the charge to try to buck the trend. Do they have the right approach to keeping Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, and away from other teams plotting to attract him? And what else can they do to ensure the Milwaukee Bucks will not only rise to the top of the league, but also manage to stay there?
"Barcelona backs out of proposed LaLiga match in Miami." It is December 2018, and Daniel Sillman, chief executive officer of sports and entertainment company Relevent, is tasked with finding a way forward after a significant setback. Relevent had found success by convincing some of Europe's highest-profile soccer clubs to play pre-season matches in North America as part of its annual International Champions Cup (ICC), held during the summer months. Building on that success, Relevent is now seeking to bring at least one official LaLiga match to the U.S, each season-an effort that is a key pillar of Relevent's new, fifteen-year partnership with the Spanish soccer league, aimed at promoting the LaLiga brand in North America. However, the match that Relevent had selected to take place in Miami in January 2019, between FC Barcelona and Girona FC, had become a source of tension, drawing protests from the Spanish football federation, the Spanish players' association, and the president of worldwide governing body FIFA. Today, FC Barcelona's leadership team had announced the club would withdraw. Would Relevent find success in bringing a LaLiga match to the U.S.? And, more generally, did Relevent have the right approach to growing the LaLiga brand in North America?