Dustin Heise 0:00

Nick, so good to have you here today. Thanks so much for taking some time. Yeah. It's uh in these moments where we're moving a million miles a minute just to get some quality time to just have a good chat. It's greatly appreciated. Today's guest is Nicholas Lord, co-founder and CEO of NoCap Sports, a company helping shape the future of college athletics in the NIL era by building infrastructure for athletes, universities, and brands. A former athlete turned founder. He's been at the center of one of the biggest shifts in modern sports business. Thanks so much, Nick. Good to have you here, man.

Nicholas Lord 0:32

Yeah, appreciate you having me. Excited to be here.

Dustin Heise 0:34

Yeah, well, it looks like you've been on the early days and really moving at a million miles a minute with no cap and especially building in the NIL well before most people fully understood what it would ultimately become or is becoming.

Nicholas Lord 0:51

Yeah, I mean, I I I first had the you know intuition to start a business, but in 2020, before the NIL rule change even, you know, was a thing. So it was worth looking into and just seeing over the years how much value athletes have created for this industry and this ecosystem and having been able to see, you know, I've benefited from that. I knew if that if that shift happened, there was going to be a monster opportunity to help commercialize that that business. And that's what we made the jump into figuring out how to how to navigate this space and how we could play a role in in driving it forward.

Dustin Heise 1:24

You mind just sharing a little bit about like where you guys have found a little bit of your niche or where your expertise is really leaning in on right now to help colleges, brands, and and and those that you're you're moving in this next era?

Nicholas Lord 1:36

Yeah, man. Um yeah, we our business has shifted quite a bit over the last few years. We started as a as an NIDL marketplace, helping athletes connect with brands for sponsorship deals. Still have that component of our business today, but our business is has evolved quite a bit and adapted to where the industry was going. And really where we sit today is you know very embedded within athletic departments, helping them think through and implement new revenue strategies to align with where the industry is is going. So we're looking at how do you your procurement ecosystem, things you're already spending on, like how can we come in and and create cost savings, better optimize, create new revenue streams through those things that already exist. That's where a lot of our business sits today. And then also, you know, we like to sit as a as a partner to these universities and helping them vet out and and think through new strategies that they can add on top of what already exists as well. That's really where business is today. It's a little consultative, but at the end of the day, we're taking the strategies that we think through and build and actually doing the implementation of them, helping the university scale them and and ensure that they see the most value out of those those strategies.

Dustin Heise 2:47

Now I know that under, you know, kind of the mindset of sport as an asset class, I'm sure that they're coming to you with a little bit of insight. And I'm imagining that you guys and and yourself in particular as a sparring partner, helping them to see what revenue potential you know they've been able to think about that maybe they hadn't before. Where are you really seeing the unlock? Is it on the real estate side that they see like the land and the opportunity within that and stadium, or is it around the the media side where you know they're finding that is the asset class? Where have you where have you been dabbling in the most recently?

Nicholas Lord 3:21

Yeah, I mean, uh there's so many different ways you could go about you know revenue generation. I I think there's just so much untapped potential at these universities that that exist today. And you could go any direction and probably find a lot of revenue and and opportunity where a lot of our focus is specifically is is on the alumni base and alumni base specifically of business owners. What we're trying to capitalize on is the billions of dollars of B2B spend that's going through these alumni businesses that where people are either the owners of those businesses or are decision makers in those businesses. So that's where a lot of our focus is. Uh, we're also doing a lot on the procurement standpoint. So you're looking at all the different contracts these universities currently have in place. Who are you using uh for different things, all the boring stuff, things like waste management or you know, food service or whatever it may be. Are you out truly optimizing those contracts today? Are they just transactional relationships or are they true partnerships? So that's where a lot of our focus is today. But through that, you know, we've built a lot of relationships with universities where we're kind of involved in the whole gamut. So we're seeing everything, a lot of the things you talked about that we're not even you know in the day-to-day on, but things like real estate, I think is just a monster, monster opportunity for uh these universities. They're already sitting on tons of real estate that they're likely not monetizing today. So how do you optimize that that real estate? What can you do on that land on that you do own? And then how do you create donor benefits for donating land to the university and allowing university to kind of uh hold that land or you know, optimize it?

Dustin Heise 4:52

Well, we could ideate all day long, no trouble there. I have no doubt. I'd love for you guys to focus your energy on optimization and you know, finding ways with what currently is happening and where they can look at areas of refinement and things of that nature. But as you've continued to grow alongside your partners and your co-founders, as a former athlete, you know, what do you think you know that athletic mindset or that drive that you've been able to bring to the table has helped in you as a founder or you as a business leader to help in whether it's been some of the glass chewing that has had to happen or or that that deep drive or dig deep that's that's existed? What where have you you tapped into that former athlete in you?

Nicholas Lord 5:32

Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest thing is just resilience, especially in a in a market that you know is still in its infancy in my in my opinion, and changes by the day. You got to be willing to adapt, and um you're gonna get knocked down a multitude of times, especially if you're a startup going against much larger companies, legacy companies that have now developed entire strategies around college sports and NIO. The athlete in me is is definitely the resilience piece. And it's you know, we've been knocked down a bunch of times. We've failed at a lot of things, we've had we have a hall of failures uh at at our comp things we've we've tried and and didn't go through with. So but the thing I think the key thing about all that is each and every time from that, we use it as a learning and we've turned that into kind of fuel to what we've been able to build today. So I think a lot of companies, you know, and why it's so hard to build a build a startup, they go through those those twists and turns early on and you know fall on their face a couple times and and some people aren't able to you know get back up. But I think athletes, you know, have that that in them from their their history of being in being an athlete and are able to kind of push through that.

Dustin Heise 6:35

Heck yeah, man. I think the uh the way that NIL and the way that the that sport in general is continuing to evolve so rapidly, you know, you guys are are certainly on the front end of of learning in so many different parts of that. What do you hope stays true or actually never changes from what you're seeing in sport? What do you what do you expect that as a fan or as a person involved in supporting sport, what do you hope actually stays true or or or never changes in in this uh in this evolution that we're gonna continue to see?

Nicholas Lord 7:05

Yeah, I mean, I I hope that athletes continue to get paid what they're worth. Love that.

Dustin Heise 7:10

Yeah.

Nicholas Lord 7:10

For the value that they that they create. Uh I think that's the the biggest thing that they're the I would say the key drivers of of the revenue that's being created. It's the product on the field that drives these fan bases to buy into these teams. So, you know, I hope that athletes still continue to receive the maximum amount of benefit possible from the value that they're creating.

Dustin Heise 7:29

Do you think that the athletes today are like what percentage are you see that is actually benefiting now already? Where is there still a gap? Who who hasn't optimized this or even started to perpetuate the momentum here?

Nicholas Lord 7:45

Yeah, I mean, you know, I think there's a big gap there for sure. I think there's a lot of different ways athletes are making money, however. So you have you know the typical revenue sharing agreements and you have then, you know, traditional third-party NIL opportunities as well. So I wouldn't be able to put a number or percentage on the athletes are uh how many athletes are are capitalizing to their fullest amount today. But I do think that there's a lot of earning opportunity that hasn't been maximized yet.

Dustin Heise 8:11

Yeah, for sure. Is no cap interested in being part of that of education and as well as like trying to get that sector evolved and and up and under your wings, so to say, or are there others that that's really where their specialty lies? Or, you know, because I heard you know where you guys are really leveraging or certainly optimizing, there's so much more to be done there. So I know you can't do everything and be everything to everyone. Um where would you point athletes to that that currently don't really understand their full value or their value proposition?

Nicholas Lord 8:40

Yeah, I think where where we want to sit today is we want to be, you know, the reason why athletes earn at the end of the day, we want to create those dollars, create a more sustainable ecosystem and drive more revenue and efficiencies in the college sports landscape. And as a byproduct of that, athletes will earn more. So we've kind of moved away, you know, initially it was it was, like I said, an athlete marketplace, but we saw a much bigger problem in which college sports from an economic standpoint operates. How can we solve that problem? And then if we're able to solve that problem at the end of the day, athletes are gonna end up benefiting more.

Dustin Heise 9:22

100%.

Nicholas Lord 9:22

Bigger pie.

Dustin Heise 9:23

Yeah, that's why how spot on. Hey, when you think about where college sports headed next, you know, what gives you the most optimism?

Nicholas Lord 9:32

Oh man, I would say that I'm generally optimistic about college sports in general right now. I just think there is we're at such a unique point in time, and NIL and the evolution of it has really sparked a lot of new thinking, new innovation, and just willingness to change. I think college sports didn't change for a long time. And you talk to a lot of people, and that's you know what they they say. It's it's been the same for decades. I think what's happened in the last couple of years has kind of sparked a real change in the way of thinking and in the way of looking at opportunity in this space. So I think we're just at the beginning of of where college sports is gonna evolve to. Um and I think keep rising up for all stakeholders in this space if if we're able to do it.

Dustin Heise 10:20

I'm with you, man. I mean, I also see that you know, as you guys continue to evolve this and as it evolves, there is a place for everybody. There is an opportunity for everybody to see themselves in it. And I think that you guys are are are definitely guiding the way in a really unique and and and interesting format. If you think about the optimism on the other side, what what concerns do you have right now, you know, in the same vein?

Nicholas Lord 10:45

I think there's just a lot of unknowns about where the space is going, a lot of different opinions. You know, obviously we have a lot of politics involved as well with college sports, you know, or avoiding things that you probably should be doing that will move the space forward. You know, I think a big topic recently is is collective bargaining. There's been a lot of athletic directors that have spoken outwardly about looking at that as a solution, not say it, not sitting there saying, you know, collective bargaining is absolutely the solution to everything, but I think looking at it as an option is really important um to see what could be possible there. Maybe it's on a you know sport by sport basis, who knows? But I think we just gotta be open to things like that for where the the industry is going because there are there's just a lot of opinions and a lot of voices, and it's hard to know who to trust and and who not to trust. So I do think there needs to be some sort of governance.

Dustin Heise 11:43

Yeah, I love that. I completely agree. The next steps for for Nicholas, you know, where do you see yourself in a year from now? And where do you see no cap in a year from now? Like, what's the biggest opportunity in front of you guys that you're gonna double down on? And what do you see as uh in one year from now, if we able to get together and you know, we look back, where's the dial move the most for you and for no cap?

Nicholas Lord 12:05

You know, I think we're just gonna double down on what we're doing today. I think the way we're building the business is is the right way and it's relationship driven and it's doing it with with good people. So it's it's about continuing to build out our team to the best of our ability, bringing in people that really want to create change and and growth in this this industry. We're gonna double down to what what we're already doing today and and continue to be open to change and adapt to where the market's going because it's gonna change again. 100%. It's hard to predict where we'll be in a year from now, but we're gonna make a lot of progress, I know, and and I think we're gonna be able to continue changing the trajectory of where the economics of college sports sits today.

Dustin Heise 12:45

Love that. I'm gonna tack on to it a little bit though. As you look at the roadmap and five years down the road, I'll ask the same kind of question. Have you guys thought about you know what the five-year outlook might look like and the work back plan of of how to get there from that perspective? And I'll ask it even as much, Nick, to your own. Where does Nick Lord sit in five years' time? You know, as you have a look ahead and and see yourself as a leader in sport.

Nicholas Lord 13:12

Our mission at at the company is a bold one, and it's how do we become the most indispensable company in college sports? Love that. And you're gonna continue pursuing that that mission. And I think to get there on a day-to-day basis each and every day is how do we get 1% better for our partners and how do we, you know, continue to bring new innovative solutions to market. And you know, college sports is such a relationship-driven industry, so continue to invest in the people that are in this space, and you know, that's gonna allow us to get to that uh you know, eventual North Star mission that that we've kind of outlined. And then for me, as a leader, I think it's just continuing to to learn on a on a daily basis and continue to build out a rock star team um to to help drive us towards that that mission. It's all about the people at the end of the day. So ensuring you're surrounding yourself with you know the right people, people that are bought in to what we're building and people that are a lot smarter than me. So uh that's the goal.

Dustin Heise 14:11

I love the humility and and the gratitude that you expose. I really appreciate it. Yeah. Yeah, stoke, man. Thank you. Appreciate it.