Erling Haaland's First Equity Investment

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Friends,

Since joining Borussia Dortmund in a deal that will cost the German club almost $100 million in total — think transfer fee, agent commission, weekly wages, and more — Erling Haaland has quickly become one of the most dominant strikers in European soccer.

Standing at 6-foot-3, Haaland uses a unique combination of athleticism, strength, and pace to score goals almost at will. Since joining the Bundesliga league in January 2020, Haaland has 53 goals in only 56 matches.

Put simply, despite being just twenty years old with less than two full seasons of top-tier competition under his belt, Haaland has positioned himself to be the future of European soccer for many years to come.

The best part?

His success on the pitch has quickly translated into opportunities in business.

Today, Erling Haaland has officially announced his first investment as a professional athlete, becoming an equity holder in sports recovery technology company Hyperice.

Founded in 2010, Hyperice has spent the last decade ruthlessly pursuing one simple goal — to efficiently aid athletes, both professional and recreational, in their quest to rest, recover, prevent injury, and perform at their best during athletic events.

That quest has led them to design, manufacture, and sell a wide variety of technological tools, including percussion massage guns, dynamic air compression boots, thermal/ice compression sleeves, and vibrating massage rollers.

Full disclosure: I have a few of their products, and they are amazing.

Despite originally setting out to raise $30 million last October, the California-based company ended up raising a $47.8 million Series A round. That valued the company at $700 million.

Not only did CNBC call the oversubscribed round “one of the most high profile rounds in health tech,” but it included a plethora of professional athletes that are active users and ambassadors of the product.

Athlete investors include:

• Patrick Mahomes

• Naomi Osaka

• Christian McCaffrey

• Anthony Davis

• J.J. Watt

• Fernando Tatís Jr

Even more interesting, since it was Hyperice’s first time raising significant money, the economics of the business are fantastic.

After recording about $100 million in revenue in 2019, Hyperice doubled last year — doing “well over” $200 million in revenue. They remain “highly” profitable and have been using the $47.8 million in Series A funding to expand their existing retail footprint both domestically & internationally.

Now, with the addition of 20-year-old superstar Erling Haaland to their cap table, that plan has been accelerated.

Haaland’s official title will be “global face of football,” and Hyperice believes his commitment to the brand will help promote their products in recently entered global markets, specifically Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, and the UK. 

In my opinion, Erling Haaland is quickly becoming the next global sports superstar.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, with an estimated 3.5 billion fans globally — that’s literally half the planet — and Haaland is one of the best players. That level of success brings marketing opportunities, endorsements, and ultimately, money.

Only time will tell how successful Haaland ends up being in business & investments. Still, given the potential size, scale, and reach that his athletic accomplishments can provide him, he certainly has a lot of opportunity in front of him.

Have a great day, and we’ll talk tomorrow.

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