← B2B Breakthrough Podcast
B2B Breakthrough Podcast
Same Player, New Game: How Tony Parker Went from Athlete to Entrepreneur
00:35:26
In this episode of B2B Breakthrough, Ciara Cristo chats with Tony Parker, four-time NBA Champion and Founder and President of Infinity Nine Group, for a dynamic conversation on transitioning from sports to business. Tony shares his insights on the importance of resilience, adaptability, and mentorship. He discusses his ventures, including real estate, his basketball academy, and his investment group, Infinity Nine. Reflecting on his work with Alibaba’s Athlete365 program, he highlights equipping athletes with tools to succeed post-retirement. The discussion delves into balancing AI innovation with human creativity, navigating entrepreneurship’s challenges, and Parker’s vision for 2025. This episode showcases Tony’s passion for empowering others to pursue dreams with
Loading summary
Transcript127 lines
- [00:02]
Tony Parker
I always use that phrase with the kids in my academy. I always say, like, dream big. And if you tell your dream to somebody and he doesn't laugh at you, that means you don't dream big enough. And so I always use that phrase, like, don't be afraid to do anything. Like, you should at least try and what's the worst case scenario? Like, you didn't make it, but it's in failure that you're gonna have your biggest wins or biggest victories in life.
- [00:27]
Ciara Christo
Welcome to the B2B Breakthrough Podcast. We're here to bring you all the best knowledge, insight and strategies from e commerce experts, successful business owners, and the team@alibaba.com that you'll need to grow your business and achieve your next big breakthrough. I'm your host, Ciara Christo. All right, I'll be real with you all. Athletics are a little bit of a.
- [00:48]
Sierra
Blind spot for me, but I think.
- [00:49]
Ciara Christo
We can all appreciate the mindset of a champion in any category. And today in the hot seat, we're learning from one of the greats. Four time NBA champion and legend of.
- [00:58]
Sierra
French basketball, Tony Parker.
- [01:00]
Ciara Christo
As the founder of Infinity9 Group, Tony is a passionate investor and entrepreneur with a dynamic portfolio spanning real estate, sports, entertainment and more. In his latest endeavor, he's come on board as an Alibaba.com ambassador to hold a masterclass in the International Olympic Committee's Athlete365 business accelerator program. We'll explore how he's applying the same focus and strategy that defined his basketball career to building and nurturing successful businesses. Tony, welcome to B2B Breakthrough.
- [01:29]
Tony Parker
Hi, Sierra. Thank you. That was a great introduction.
- [01:33]
Sierra
Well, we're really enthusiastic and happy to have you with us, so we're not holding anything back.
- [01:38]
Tony Parker
It looks nice. Where you at? It looks very nice because me, I'm underground, but you with your view and I can see the beautiful sun, it looks very nice. You really have a really tough job, Sierra. Very tough to be you.
- [01:52]
Sierra
It is. I was just saying it's hard to be me here in beautiful New York City.
- [01:57]
Tony Parker
Good for you.
- [01:58]
Sierra
Thank you. I mean, you're joining us from Paris, is that right?
- [02:01]
Tony Parker
Exactly. I'm in Paris right now and we had some snow five days ago, so it's kind of crazy.
- [02:06]
Sierra
You're getting in the holiday spirit already over there.
- [02:09]
Tony Parker
Exactly. We already started Christmas, so I like Christmas, my favorite vacation. So I love that time of the year.
- [02:14]
Sierra
Oh, yeah. I mean, Christmas in Paris. How can you go wrong? It sounds incredible.
- [02:18]
Tony Parker
It's starting to put all the lights and starting to be that Christmas feeling, and you start hearing the songs and the stores. So I like that time of the year.
- [02:27]
Sierra
Oh, I envy you. It's not really feeling like that here in New York yet. So we'll catch up to you, I'm sure.
- [02:32]
Tony Parker
Looks like you're in a Bahamas or something.
- [02:36]
Sierra
I wish. All right, let's start getting into some of the good stuff here. Over the summer, we had a really great campaign kickoff with you, and you were so gracious to join us for the Olympics campaign that we did in Paris with this concept of same player, new game. And, you know, before we go into the particulars of how you built your empire, I'd love to hear from your perspective, what does that concept mean to you? What does same player, new game evoke for you?
- [03:05]
Tony Parker
That basically, I have to take what I've learned in my first career and apply it in my second career. That's what I have in my head when I hear that phrase. And first of all, it was just a huge honor to be considered and to be an ambassador for Alibaba, one of the biggest companies in the world. When they explained to me what they wanted to do and what they wanted to accomplish to help the athletes to perform at the highest level in their second life, I was all in. You know, it's very scary, you know, for an athlete, when you've been living for the same way for 40 years and we tell you what to do, you know, what time you have to wake up and what time you have practice, and then you have to gain, like, your whole schedule. Basically, everybody does everything for you, and then suddenly you wake up and you can do anything you want. It can be, like, very, very scary. And, like, you don't know what to do because you've been doing the same thing your whole life, and so it can be very scary. And so I think a lot of the athletes, you feel like a little bit of, like, you dying, you know, like you. Like you 40 years old and. And you can't play sports anymore. It can be very, very scary. And most of the athletes, we don't know what to do. I was very blessed. I knew exactly, like, what I wanted to do, and I prepare myself. But most of the athletes who get in into that situation takes time. And so I think it's very important that we can have stuff like what Alibaba is proposing to make sure that we can guide them and help them in that second career. Because when you retire at 37, 38, 40, you still very, very young, and you get the whole life to live.
- [04:43]
Sierra
You kind of already identified what that difference is. Having that choice paralysis and not knowing what to choose next. But what is the common ground between athletics and pivoting into something like entrepreneurship where you can evaluate new opportun for yourself.
- [04:59]
Tony Parker
The good thing in sports, you know, it brings a lot of good values, you know, and work ethic, discipline, be on time. You know, you just, you just work hard. You know, as an athlete, the competition is so fierce that you have no choice. If you want to make it to the highest level, you're going to have to work like very, very hard. So that's stuff that we can take and have in our new life. As a entrepreneur or building your company, those stuff definitely going to going to help you. And I can see it now that I run my own company, I have my academ and my academy. You know, we try to prepare, you know, the students, you know, to be ready for life. 2% of them, they're going to go play at the highest level and they go play professional sports. But 98% of those kids, they're not going to make it and then they're not going to become a professional. And so that's very important for me to make sure we prepare them and we try to create in them a new passion because their first passion is to become a professional athlete. I want to give back, I want to share my experience and I want to give back to the new generation. And so with that deal, it creates opportunities, you know, for my kids to try to find a job and make sure that when they get out of the academy, they're successful.
- [06:09]
Sierra
That's really cool. Does that serve as a motivation for you in pushing your business forward?
- [06:14]
Tony Parker
Yeah, definitely. The average for an NBA career is four years. So it's very, very short. You have 350 players in NBA. You have 16 new players coming in every year with the draft. So you have 60 players who get fired every year. And so the competition is just very, very hard. To have a long career like I did, you know, to play 18 years in the NBA is very, very rare. I listened to the advice of my parents and I try to prepare myself. So at 23 years old, I decided to meet Magic Johnson, who's one of the best example that we have after basketball. He's been very successful after basketball. And one of his advice was like, create your network now while you playing. Don't wait until you retire. Because when you retire, everybody forgets you real fast. And so that's what I did. I Didn't go to school very long, you know, 18 years old, I was already playing professionally, so I didn't have all those degrees and stuff like that. So I had to learn from nothing, you know. So I was very lucky to have a great businessman that took me under their wing. And I was like a sponge, you know, I would learn everything, examine everything, and try to prepare myself for after basketball, because I didn't know, you know, how long I was going to play. So that's one of the best advice that I had for Magic. And it definitely worked out. It was better to go to dinners with CEOs instead of playing a fortnight every night, you know.
- [07:39]
Sierra
Well, yeah, I mean, it certainly paid off. No one's forgotten you. We're still very. You are still very top of mind. We were just, you know, reviewing some of those statistics because the average retirement age and. And it does vary by Sport is between 27 and 32. It's very difficult to find what that next step is. So programs that you're talking about are so crucial. I want to talk a little bit about the Athlete Accelerator Program from the International Olympic Committee because it provides a bunch of these services that really help athletes transition. So what is different in your eyes, what is the unique benefit of a program like this compared to other programs out there?
- [08:21]
Tony Parker
This program is going to give you the tools to make it, because like I said earlier, most of us, we didn't go to school for a long time. So a program like that is huge. And you can benefit from all the network, from the ioc and they want to put everything together for athletes to be successful. And so it's a blessing to have a program like that because it accelerates everything. It accelerates your learning and the experience, you know, that you need to be successful in business. And so that's why, for me, it didn't exist in my time, you know. So athletes of today, they're very lucky to have something like that in place.
- [09:02]
Sierra
Yeah, I think mentorship is one of the primary benefits of this program.
- [09:07]
Tony Parker
Exactly. That's what I was saying. Like, I was lucky to have business people who took me under their wing, but it's not going to be like that all the time. So to have a program like that and where you can have, like you say mentorship, you can participate in seminars, like, all this stuff that that program is going to propose is so valuable for your knowledge to be successful in business. It's the first time ever that a company like Alibaba creates, you know, a program like that. And that's huge. If you think about Alibaba, their E commerce expertise, the AI tools, like everything that is so diversified in that group is huge. To have a company like that that cares enough to put the time in creating a program like that.
- [09:48]
Sierra
What has been your exposure to some of these tools before this program and what have you learned since?
- [09:56]
Tony Parker
For me, it's a little bit different because I was already in business. You know, I created my group, you know, Infinity Nine Group. And the way me I started, I was like, I'm going to start with what I'm passionate about. I wanted to give back to the community and I wanted to give back to the younger generation. So I started with basketball. And so I bought a team in 2014, a men's team. That's how I started. And then I bought the Women's team in 2017. And then in 2019, that's when the academy opened. And so that was a way for me to give back. And then slowly but surely we decided to create a group because I was like, had interest, you know, in wine and champagne. And so that's why we decided to create a group. And so we had the four section. You know, in a group we have sports. That's my investments in basketball. Now we have horses and we have ski resorts, stuff like that. Then education. So we have the Academy in Lyon and the Academy in Paris that's going to open in September 25th. Then we have Ardu. And so slowly but surely, as I'm getting older, we try to focus, you know, our investments and stuff that can have a big impact in our society.
- [11:06]
Sierra
That's incredible. So I want to focus for a minute on your academy and some of the mentorship role that you take. What is something that you've learned in your process that is top of mind for you as you begin relationships with the people that you're mentoring. What are those initial lessons you like to share?
- [11:21]
Tony Parker
If I had to choose, one thing is the mental side. I think the mental part of being an athlete or being successful in business is the biggest thing that kids ask me. My approach in basketball, my approach in the business. And I learned that very young. I always say the mental side. I don't know if it's something that you can work on. Like, to be honest with you, I think it's something that you have or not, you know, that having that motor, you know, to want to be great and stuff like that. I don't know if it's something that you can work on. But for me, when I was a Kid, I always say, like, maybe I have kids that's stronger than me. Maybe you have kids that are taller than me, maybe faster than me. But if it's one thing they're not going to be me is the mental side to work hard and that when the lights come on, I will make the right play and make the right shot. You know, that you need, you know, to win games because it's very easy to be a champion at practice. But where people judge you in is when it's game time and you have all that pressure and the way you're going to handle that pressure is going to make you successful in sports and same in, in business.
- [12:23]
Sierra
Yeah, I mean it seems like you've overcome a lot. I mean that first hurdle, we see that after athletes retire, like we said, between the ages of 27 and 32, roughly 45% of those post, you know, athletic folks are experiencing anxiety and depression. And that's, that's a huge hurdle when starting a business.
- [12:44]
Tony Parker
Yeah, it's a huge number too. It's a huge number, but it can be very depressing. Like I told you earlier, you feel like you're dying, you know, like, like your first life is over and the way you're going to handle that is going to help you prepare for the next, your next life, next chapter in life.
- [13:01]
Sierra
How do you help athletes in that position overcome that? What is advice that you can impart to conquer that anxiety and depression?
- [13:10]
Tony Parker
My first thing would be like, don't let basketball be the only thing you do in life. But it can't be your only passion. You have to diversify, you have to have interest in different stuff. When I was playing, I will do music, I will start my business and all that kind of stuff. And people always ask me, why are you doing this? Well, like, why are you playing? And like, because why I'm playing. Everybody wants to hang out with me, everybody wants to do deals with me, everybody wants to be sponsor of my team. Just like Magic told me, you know, create your network while you playing, you know, and so that's what I did.
- [13:43]
Sierra
It sounds like Magic really established this strong drive in you.
- [13:48]
Tony Parker
I like his book, 32 Ways to Be Champion in Business. I like his book, it was good. But a book is good. But I think it can't compete against a program or talking live to somebody and asking your questions and asking why you scare. I think the worst in life is not to try. I always use that phrase with the kids in my academy. I always say like, dream big and if you tell Your dream to somebody and he doesn't laugh at you, that means you don't dream big enough. And so I always use that phrase, like, don't be afraid to do anything. Like, like, you should at least try. What's the worst case scenario? Like, you didn't make it. It's in failure that you're going to have your biggest wins or biggest victories in life.
- [14:31]
Sierra
I love that phrase. If no one's laughing at you, you're not dreaming big enough. That's fantastic. That's something that I wish I knew earlier on. Is there anything that you wish you knew at that stage? Sounds like you had the right mentorship early on to get in the right groove.
- [14:46]
Tony Parker
Yeah, my dad was great. Yeah, my dad was a basketball player, so he was great for the mental side. And my mom was great to keep my feet to keep grounded, you know, don't be too high on yourself when everything's going well. Don't be too hard on yourself when everything is bad and you find that happy medal, you know, to go through life through the up and downs and you have that happy middle that make you happy, you know. And I think with both of them, it was a good, a good mix because I grew up with both cultures. I grew up with both mentalities, you know, an American mentality and a Europe mentality. I always say, like, I try to take the best of both worlds.
- [15:20]
Sierra
I mean, it's.
- [15:20]
Ciara Christo
It's a good mix.
- [15:21]
Sierra
That's, that's fantastic. With this competitive mindset you've had in your athletic career and as you've transitioned to an entrepreneur, how do you respond to failure?
- [15:31]
Tony Parker
I always try to find something positive. Even if something bad happens, I will always try to find something positive in it. And maybe I will not know the next day, maybe the next week or the next month, you know, but at some point something's going to happen. I'd be like, ah, that's why that happened. Like, I always try to put everything in perspective. And at the end of the day, like, I believe in karma, I believe in treating people well. And I'll come back to you, you know, what goes around comes back around, you know?
- [16:01]
Sierra
Absolutely. So, I mean, in that vein, when you first started with Infinity 9 group, you mentioned that your entry point was investing in athletics and investing in, you know, buying a basketball team. So what really inspired you and motivated you to take that first, first step to actually put your money where your mouth is?
- [16:19]
Tony Parker
I think I always had it in me. I think I always liked creating stuff, starting from scratch and you build something. Like, when I bought my men's team, I always told the mayor of the city that I want to buy the women's team, like, right away. I want to create a team where the men and the women are successful and equality and all that kind of stuff. And in 2019, it was first time ever in French history that that same year, we won the championship with the men and the woman that same year. So that was a pretty cool accomplishment.
- [16:50]
Sierra
You're ahead of the times, too. I mean, this year, women's teams across the world have had an incredible showing.
- [16:55]
Tony Parker
It's getting better and better.
- [16:57]
Sierra
What were some of those early learnings from those first acquisitions? What is something you took away from that that helped propel you forward?
- [17:04]
Tony Parker
Just keep believing what you believe is right. When I bought the women's team, some people in my company, they were, like, against it, you know, they didn't want me to do it. They thought it was like a waste of time. And I told them, if you don't want to work for the women's team, but then you can leave my company, basically, because I'm only going to keep people who's going to do both. I went even further with that concept with the sponsors. You know, if you want to invest in my men's team, then you have to put the same amount to my women's team. And slowly but surely, we had all the big sponsors doing the same thing. And it was good because, you know, when I first bought the team, people were not paying to go watch the game. It was for free. And I was like, what you mean free? It's like, no, it's free. They don't buy tickets for a woman game. And I was like, yeah, but they do the same practice as us, you know, they spend the same hours, they spend time to get better. They do the exact same thing as the men, but they don't want to pay. So I was like, okay. I was like, we're going to start, and if they don't want to pay, but then they don't come, you know? And so I started with 2 Euros. It was 2 Euros, $2 to go watch the game. And people thought I was crazy. Like, tony, you can't do this. And like, no, I was like, if they want to come see my women's team, you're going to pay. Because at the end of the day, they do the same thing. They practice hard, so we're going to do this. And at the beginning, they were complaining, but they were coming. And at the end of the Year we played the best team in France, women's team in the semifinals, and it was $30 to go watch the game. And the president of the region, he called the assistant, say, Yeah, I want 10 tickets and I want everything for free. And he was like, no, if you don't pay, you can't come to the game. And he was like, well, I'm not coming. He's like, okay, no worries. The arena will be packed anyway. And he hangs up. And five minutes after, he calls back, and he bought the 10 tickets for $30. And so it's pretty cool to see the evolution of the fans and the way we packed our arena for women's.
- [18:57]
Sierra
Basketball game, that's amazing. It's like you establish this ethos and expectation that continues to build and foster this appreciation and evaluation of what is so impactful about this franchise. How has that lesson carried into some of your other investments and your other businesses in your roster? What have you taken from that?
- [19:17]
Tony Parker
For me, it's just having a vision, you know, just have your vision and believe in your vision. Starts with you. You have to show an example and then bringing people together. And if people see the way you believe in it, you know, people will follow you. You just have to lead by example. I'm a big believer in teamwork. You know, I come from a team sport. Everybody is important, you know, in the team. It's very important to treat everybody same way and to put them in position where they can succeed, you know, and give room for them to succeed. And I think that's how you lead.
- [19:49]
Sierra
People in terms of your team structure and delegation. How do you budget your own time between your different business interests?
- [19:57]
Tony Parker
Wherever they need me, Sierra, I'm very lucky, very blessed. I have great people, you know, around me. I'm never afraid to have people even smarter than me. And, like, you have to surround yourself with people that are very smart and just know yourself, know your quality, know your. The areas where you're not as good, and make sure you. You surround yourself with the best. And if you do this, then you'll. You'll be successful with your company.
- [20:24]
Sierra
Wise words to live by. Absolutely.
- [20:26]
Tony Parker
I love to have great energy, you know, in our group and enjoy life, you know, it goes so fast. Whatever you do, you know, just be passionate and just love what you do and people will feel it.
- [20:39]
Sierra
As you're building your investment group more and more, what do you look for from your team? What do you look for in a new hire?
- [20:46]
Tony Parker
I want people that have the same motor as me, and so that's what I'm looking for. I want people like, I don't have to tell them to be on time. I don't have to tell them to work hard. They know already because that's the quality you need if you want to be successful. And so I'm looking at people where they do the simple stuff. We send you a text on your phone, just answer, call back. Sometimes it makes me laugh. The new generation, they're on the phone all day long and they never answer. It's so funny.
- [21:13]
Sierra
So that's an immediate red flag when you're looking to expand your team.
- [21:16]
Tony Parker
Definitely, yeah. If you don't answer back in the day or don't call back. A big red flag.
- [21:21]
Sierra
All right.
- [21:22]
Tony Parker
Simple stuff. Be on time, answer your phone.
- [21:24]
Ciara Christo
A little.
- [21:25]
Sierra
Common knowledge goes a long way. Common sense.
- [21:27]
Tony Parker
Exactly.
- [21:28]
Sierra
So now, speaking of expanding, what do you look for as you diversify your portfolio? What strikes you as attractive in a new business?
- [21:36]
Tony Parker
Right now? I'm more in solidifying everything right now because we've been growing a lot the last four or five years. So right now, I'm not buying anything or not doing anything right now. I'm just trying to keep everything we have and grow or the organic way. That's what we focus on right now.
- [21:54]
Sierra
That's one of those topics that we talk with entrepreneurs about a lot. And how do you scale sustainably, how to scale at a pace that will really benefit the business in the long run? So how do you make sure that you're not expanding too far?
- [22:09]
Tony Parker
It's hard. It's hard. And I guess you. You learn as you go along, and you'll make mistakes, that's for sure, and try to learn from them and try to find that right balance for that company to grow.
- [22:21]
Sierra
Can you share an example of a mistake or a hurdle that helped you learn?
- [22:26]
Tony Parker
Well, I guess our women's team, I was paying big salaries, you know, for a woman, you know, and I thought we were going to grow faster with the fan following. I thought it was going to go faster, and it didn't. And so we had to scale back a little bit to let our team grow organic way and not go too fast. Because obviously you have to invest, but you don't want to create a model where, you know, everybody is tired of advancing and then everybody's leaving.
- [22:56]
Sierra
You know, I want to shift back to talking about athletes coming into entrepreneurship. We talked about that champion mentality being something that helps propel businesses forward. I want to kind of break down where it really benefits someone to have that experience and where they may feel more of a struggle, where an athlete may feel more of a struggle starting a business than someone who came up through a more traditional route, like through corporate experiences. What does that breakdown look like?
- [23:23]
Tony Parker
I think where athletes can be very worried or scared is because that's my personal opinion. We stopped school very early. We never had somebody who teach us how to do that. And so when you learn from other people who's been there, I feel like it's very helpful, you know, especially when you're an athlete, to try to avoid as many mistakes, because you're going to make some for sure, but you don't want to make too many. So I think having a program like that can help you save time and help you avoid the big mistakes.
- [23:59]
Sierra
Do you have any other mentors or role models who helped you once you actually kicked off your business? Not so much in the beginning phase, but as you moved along.
- [24:09]
Tony Parker
People in France has been very, very successful in their business. I try to surround myself in areas where I want to get better. So let's say I wanted to buy a sports team. The Lyon soccer team is one of the best teams in the world. The soccer team. And the president. He's been the president for 34 years and just sold it last year. When I'm the most successful in the business and sports, he definitely helped me a lot about how to manage a sports team. His name is Jean Michel Hollas. He was one of the people who helped me in the wine world. Michel. He's one of the most wealthy person in France. He helped me because he's been in the wine business for 25 years. He helped me. Took me under his wing and helped me how to, you know, own a vineyard and how to do this, how to do that. And it comes back to what we talked to earlier. Sierra is like, surround yourself with great people who's got great knowledge. And yes, you have your vision. You have. Maybe you think about how you. How you want to do it, but it's a reason why people are successful. It's a reason why those people is at their top of the game. And so I think it's very important, if you have access to that, to do meetings with them and learn and ask questions.
- [25:23]
Sierra
Yeah. And part of that is identifying your own blind spots to acknowledge where you may need support. Do you feel self aware in those moments where you can say, I don't know how to go about this, or is it something where you rely on your community to say, you may need some support? Here Let me refer you to this person.
- [25:41]
Tony Parker
Yeah, exactly. I feel like you have to be humble. Humble enough to just know that you don't know everything. It's impossible to know everything. And if you can challenge yourself and realize and have the intelligence to say, okay, you know what, I'm not that good in an area. Maybe I should surround myself. That's a big first step. Yep.
- [26:00]
Sierra
What was one of those biggest blind spots for you?
- [26:03]
Tony Parker
When I bought my first basketball team, it was the finance. You know, you think you know finance and you think you know this or this because you made a lot of money or you did a lot of finance meeting, you know, with your financial. But when it comes to a company, it's totally different. And I had to say, you know what? Should take somebody who is like a director of finance who really knows, you know, how we should do this or do that or save money or tax or all that kind of stuff.
- [26:29]
Sierra
Did you stumble upon that before you took the leap?
- [26:33]
Tony Parker
Oh, no, don't worry, Sierra. I knew after two weeks, I was like, oh, I'm gonna take a director of finance.
- [26:38]
Sierra
Okay, great. So you learn fast. You figured out who you needed to get in place. That's huge. So I mean, you found the people that you needed to lean on to keep your businesses healthy and thriving.
- [26:51]
Tony Parker
Exactly. Started with my lawyer. Every time I want to meet somebody or get some help or stuff like that, I will go through my lawyer, my agent, and then in finance, my financial advisor is three people that's been with me 20 plus years and they great resources when I need.
- [27:10]
Sierra
So a part of your network, part of the people that you're surrounding yourself with are the folks at Alibaba and the International Olympic Committee and the accelerator program. What was it that was initially interesting and attractive to you about this program that made you say, I definitely want to be involved. This is something that I think is going to be beneficial to our community.
- [27:33]
Tony Parker
First of all, the ioc, it's a huge, huge network that you can have access and not everybody can have access to that Alibaba, the fact that they want to do something like that, I was like, wow, I definitely want to be a part of it. If we can have a chance, you know, to affect actually slice. For me, that was a no brainer. I'm very proud to help them with that.
- [27:53]
Sierra
There's workshops, there's seminars, there's one on one coaching.
- [27:57]
Tony Parker
It's a lot of stuff like we talked about, like you said, you know, seminars. That's huge one on one meetings. It's so many stuff in there that can be very, very helpful for an athlete if he wants to start his own business. He can listen to us, he can listen to you. Sierra. It's big.
- [28:13]
Sierra
Oh, thank you. One of those tools that we're starting to introduce into this program and is newer to Our roster@alibaba.com is integrating AI in the sourcing process to help product based businesses.
- [28:28]
Tony Parker
Exactly. Cutting edge technology, those AI tools I think is the future. It's no secret right now. Everybody knows that the AI is the future and Alibaba is invested in that big time. So. So you imagine everything that you can take advantage of is going to be huge.
- [28:47]
Sierra
What has your experience with AI been to date?
- [28:50]
Tony Parker
We know it's coming and it's. How you going to use it? The most efficient in the company that I invested in. We looking at it right now, but it's coming. You're going to have to use it and you're going to have to expand and hire people that have a lot of knowledge in those areas.
- [29:09]
Sierra
Is there anything that frightens you about it? I know it's kind of a controversial topic for some people.
- [29:15]
Tony Parker
It's like iRobot, you know, like the movie.
- [29:17]
Sierra
Yeah, exactly.
- [29:19]
Tony Parker
No, because I'm always for, you know, improving or getting our lives better and all that kind of stuff. Modern, all that kind of stuff. I don't think you should stay, you know, in the past. You know, some people, they always stay in the past and they don't want to change anything. Me, I'm like, you have to adapt. And I think it's the way I was brought into this world, you know, with my parents, you know, changing cities every year and going to new schools every year and constantly adapting, you know, to different stuff. I think I just. Yeah, I'm used to it now.
- [29:54]
Sierra
Yeah, absolutely. It's something that I'm still struggling to contend with myself. You know, I think there's identifying the space between the creative implementation of AI and technology and the business side of it to make sure that it's well balanced and, you know, there's still room for the human touch.
- [30:12]
Tony Parker
Human touch. The human creativity.
- [30:14]
Ciara Christo
Yeah.
- [30:14]
Sierra
It's something that we can't sacrifice along the way, but you know, where we can implement it, it gives us more time to use our creative brains and to engage in our own passion projects.
- [30:24]
Tony Parker
I totally agree with you and I think you're gonna have to find a happy middle.
- [30:28]
Sierra
Yeah. And some of these tools that we talked about we started to debut at the Olympics this past year. Can you Tell us a little bit about your experience at the Paris Olympics this year.
- [30:38]
Tony Parker
Yeah, my experience at the Paris Olympics, it was pretty cool. It was amazing, like, the stuff that you can do. I did so much stuff. I was like, is it really going to work? And, like, is it possible that you do something like that? And it was a cool experience. Your way of living and your habits is going to change a lot of different stuff, that's for sure.
- [31:00]
Sierra
Yeah, absolutely. Now, you shot this commercial with us earlier in the summer and. Yeah. So tell me a little bit about that campaign and what it meant to you to be a part of that.
- [31:09]
Tony Parker
The campaign was fun. You know, obviously Alibaba, every time they do something is going to be big and nice, and it was definitely a cool day. I was working with great people and the commercial was just cool, fresh, you know, and modern. And just to see myself being in huge in the airport with Alibaba. Yeah, like I said earlier, it was a huge honor. It's one of the biggest companies in the world. They do a lot of stuff, you know, for our life and. And to have a better life. And so it was just great for me to partner with them and to have the whole world every time they land. They saw Alibaba in my little face. That was pretty cool. I have so many people text me and email me about that campaign. I was very proud.
- [31:55]
Sierra
We were so happy to have you be a part of it. I mean, part of what you were saying earlier is making sure that athletes are continuing their careers beyond the sport and are staying relevant and top of mind for everyone, and you've certainly done that. And part of that campaign that was so cool for us is seeing the global reach like you mentioned, and being part of a bigger than yourself global community of entrepreneurs, did you have any opportunity to connect with the other folks from the campaign and other entrepreneurs on the ground?
- [32:27]
Tony Parker
Because of that campaign, I was able to meet some big people. The first who comes in mind is the CEO of Airbnb. That was pretty cool. And he wants to do huge things too, like Alibaba. I love. They dream big, just like my phrase here. Like, I love meeting people like that. But, yeah, because of that campaign, I was able to meet a lot of different business people. And it's the beginning, you know, you're just putting the seeds, you know, and you'll see where it goes.
- [32:53]
Sierra
This is not a fair question for me to ask you, but I'm going to ask it anyway because I'm curious. As someone who is neither an entrepreneur nor an athlete. I want to know from you which is more difficult. What is the bigger challenge?
- [33:07]
Tony Parker
What's more difficult? But by far entrepreneur.
- [33:11]
Sierra
What about it?
- [33:12]
Tony Parker
Because basketball. I was born to play basketball, so I didn't feel like it was hard being an entrepreneur. I had to learn. I had to. Definitely meeting people and homework and all that kind of stuff. Even if I always feel like I was born to do this too. Meaning, like I had it in my DNA. It didn't come as natural as being a basketball player. That was a bad question, Sarah. That was a bad question. I'm joking.
- [33:37]
Sierra
I told you it wasn't fair, but I wanted to ask it anyway. The last thing I want to chat with you about before we wrap things up here as we're nearing the end of 2024. What is exciting you about 2025? What's on the horizon?
- [33:53]
Tony Parker
2025? I don't know. I think I will stay open and maybe you'll have great surprises. I don't have nothing in mind right now. That is going to be huge and 25, but who knows?
- [34:05]
Sierra
All right. This is the year to sustainably grow.
- [34:08]
Tony Parker
Exactly. Solidify.
- [34:09]
Sierra
The year to solidify. I like it. I like it. Sound advice.
- [34:14]
Ciara Christo
Before we sign off, I've got some good news for our athlete turned entrepreneur friends. We have more content and resources to support you on your entrepreneurial journeys. Coming out all the time. To stay in the loop, follow athlete365 and l.comofficial on Instagram and sign up for the new business accelerator program through the link in our bio. We'll provide e commerce expertise, cutting edge AI tools and so much more. So get in the game. The program will officially start on December 9th with virtual boot camps open to all athletes and will be held in English, French and Spanish.
- [34:48]
Sierra
All right, well, this has been a really cool conversation and I appreciate all of your insights. Thank you for inspiring us.
- [34:54]
Tony Parker
Thank you, Sierra.
- [34:56]
Sierra
Thank you. I really appreciate it.
- [34:57]
Tony Parker
Take care. Bye bye.
- [34:58]
Sierra
Thanks, Tony.
- [34:59]
Tony Parker
Bye.
- [34:59]
Sierra
Bye. Bye.
- [35:00]
Ciara Christo
B2B Breakthrough is produced by Alibaba.com to find out how Alibaba.com is empowering its customers with the tools, services and resources they need to grow their business. Visit Alibaba.com and then make sure to search for B2B Breakthrough on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your podcasts.
- [35:18]
Sierra
Make sure to follow us so you.
- [35:19]
Ciara Christo
Don'T miss future episodes. On behalf of the team here@alibaba.com, thanks for listening.