How This MLB All-Star Turned a Baseball Career Into an Entrepreneurial Journey Shawn Green made his name in the MLB, but today he's better known for his business acumen.
By Robert Tuchman Edited by Jessica Thomas
Key Takeaways
- Lean on others' expertise to showcase your own.
- Don't be afraid to take chances.
- Listen to your customers' needs.
Recently on How Success Happens, I had the pleasure of interviewing two-time MLB All-Star Shawn Green, who is also the co-founder of Greenfly, a platform for gathering and distributing short-form content for the NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA and 500 other major sports organizations. Green co-founded Greenfly in 2014 and has since turned the company into a full-scale enterprise solution — which recently underwent a multimillion-dollar acquisition of Miro AI. I was curious to learn how Green took his career from professional athlete to tech entrepreneur and how the sports media landscape has developed over the decades. Here are three of the most valuable takeaways from our full conversation, which you can listen to below.
1. Lean on others' expertise to showcase your own
Green's focus on building a strong team of experts has fueled Greenfly's growing success. In 2013, Green knew he needed a partner to make the idea of Greenfly come to life, and that's when he turned to the now-CEO of Greenfly, Daniel Kirschner. They've since surrounded themselves with some of the best minds in the business, bringing together a vast array of experience from across the industry to support Greenfly's vision. Building and expanding the team has allowed Green and Kirschner to position Greenfly as a leader in the space and create trusting relationships internally as well as with its customers.
Timestamp — 6:15, 30:30 and 39:00
2. Don't be afraid to take chances
Greenfly's ability to acquire Miro AI was derived from its willingness to take a leap of faith early on. By having a mindset that empowers them to expand, Green and Kirschner were able to bring this acquisition to life, allowing them to deliver even more revolutionary technology to the sports industry. Acquisitions can be complex, but they saw the opportunities Miro AI would bring to enhance Greenfly's capabilities and market position. Taking this chance has allowed Green to showcase Greenfly's commitment to long-term growth and sustainability in the short-form content industry.
Timestamp — 19:15 and 33:00
3. Listen to your customers' needs
When Green was in the early stages of starting Greenfly, he learned it was important to listen to his existing customers' needs. While on the journey of excitement and uncertainty of starting a company, he realized taking a customer-centric approach would help him create relationships with other sports leagues that could also benefit from Greenfly's technology. The feedback he received from existing customers gave him valuable insight into the preferences leagues had when gathering and distributing content and how to tailor and fine-tune Greenfly's product.
Timestamp — 18:30
