Entice
By Julian Serra, Buzz Rubenstein, Isabelle Pilson, Shubhi Jain, Sou Min Shin, & Anjali Sukhavasi
Executive Summary
On July 1, 2021, the National College Athletes Association (NCAA) adopted a new policy – Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) – that allows athletes to be able to earn money based on the monetization of their name, image, and likeness. This practically means that athletes can partner with brands to conduct marketing campaigns, and actually earn money for it. This new source of income for student-athletes is an hugely unregulated addition to a personal finance space that is already tough for student athletes to manage.
Pain Points
Student Athletes
Currently, the NIL space is chaotic. There is no expert in the field, there is little clarity around the types and value of deals, and the regulations are constantly shifting. On top of that, brands hold power in the relationships with student-athletes, and student-athletes – overwhelmed by strenuous academic and athletic schedules – experience a scarcity mindset, making it even difficult for them to launch NIL careers and learn about personal financial well-being.
Schools and Athletic Programs
Additionally, schools struggle to support their student-athletes, lacking the necessary knowledge and resources and finding themselves consistently behind in the fast-paced and dynamic landscape. They also have difficulties recognizing the institutional benefits from working with NIL programs.
Our Goals
Our primary focus is to provide student-athletes with financial education and wellness in a practical environment, allowing them to implement their learnings in the real world. We strive to equip student-athletes to understand and own their personal finances. We also want to facilitate and bolster student-athletes' NIL experiences, helping
connect them with brands for advertising and brand deals and empowering them to dictate the terms of their engagements. In doing so, we aim to shift the power dynamics in favor of the athletes. This uniquely positions us to become the end-to-end resource for financial health and wellness for student-athletes.
Our Solution
For students
Our NIL solution is a revolutionary marketplace where student-athletes control and propose the types of deals that make sense for them, learn about personal financial well-being, and solidify these lessons with peer mentorship. Our solution offers valuable resources to support student-athletes' success.
Financial Education
Financial education is a core focus of the platform, as student-athletes must reach new educational milestones in order to gain access to further income opportunities. These educational resources help student-athletes make informed decisions when negotiating with brands and spending their hard-earned money.
Peer Mentorship
We connect athletes to educational mentors and alumni while also providing materials and required modules that offer insights into typical deal structures, compliance issues, and other essential aspects of NIL agreements.
Athletes engage in one-on-one coaching sessions with experienced professionals and are provided with the infrastructure to reach out to other student-athletes with similar goals.
These conversations help student-athletes navigate the NIL landscape, build personal brands, maximize earning potential, and improve their understanding of personal finance. Mentorship adds an additional layer of support to help student-athletes thrive as well as an important relational and community-centered component.
For schools
Our solution will be sold to schools as a tool that enables NIL deal sourcing, diligence and compliance and also provides much-needed practical financial education to the students. Schools will then have their athletes use the marketplace as their one-stop shop for any financial or NIL related topic. Also, this partnership increases institutional brand exposure and recognition by positively influencing the school’s reputation and aligns with schools' central mission of educating students.
Marketplace Puts Student-athletes First
Student-athletes can directly connect with brands to explore advertising and brand deal opportunities – as opposed to existing marketplaces, where students “apply” to opportunities put out by brands. Unlike in other NIL marketplaces, student-athletes gain control over their own financial destiny by shaping their own deals and establishing their value in the market. Athletes set up profiles and dictate the market by expressing their NIL goals, core values, and overarching purpose as young changemakers.
Considering student-athletes' demanding lifestyles, our platform addresses the many barriers to entering the NIL space, making it accessible to athletes from various teams and backgrounds. With resources, communication interfaces, and mentors in one space, athletes now know where to start and, with our platform, can succeed in and learn from NIL.
Conclusion
Our NIL solution is the marketplace that prioritizes education, incorporates mentorship, and puts student-athletes in control of their advertising and brand deal opportunities. By connecting student-athletes directly with brands and educational resources, we empower them to shape their own financial destiny. Our NIL solution provides the necessary tools to student-athletes and schools to navigate the NIL landscape successfully.
In June 2023, the Redesigning Finance students presented their work to a panel of experts working in the finance and student athletics sector.
