This sponsored insight features David Abrams, Founding Partner of Velocity Capital Management. Velocity is a newly formed firm that focuses on investing with founders to build best-in-class sports, media, and entertainment companies.

Our conversation covers David’s background, long experience in distressed investing on Wall Street and at Apollo, and personal investments in sports-related businesses that led to serving at CIO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. We then turn to the formation of Velocity, the firm’s focus, deal sourcing, diligence process, value-added ownership, and example of its investment in the X-Games.

Show Notes
01:31 Wall Street in the late 1980s
02:57 David’s background
08:41 Investing in European distressed at Credit Suisse
14:41 Building a business inside Apollo
17:41 Operating experience and lessons learned
25:23 Joining HBSE
28:27 Formation of Velocity
30:13 Velocity’s focus
32:59 Opportunity set in sports ecosystem
34:22 Sourcing deals
37:22 Due diligence process
40:15 Value added ownership
41:38 X-Games investment example
46:24 Team and advisors
48:25 Capital raising environment
49:50 Closing questions