How to build a billion-dollar sports team from scratch, with Golden State Valkyries’ Jess Smith

Jeff Berman (0:00)

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Jess Smith (0:26)

WNBA is 31 years old, right? So it's taken a lot of ups and downs to get it here. But what you're seeing that's different is investment. When so many people are asking, why is it working? You have to have capital. You can think you're going to do great things. And if you don't have capital, you're going to miss the mark.

SPEAKER_3 (0:43)

Someone who is at the forefront of the revolution happening right now in women's professional sports.

SPEAKER_4 (0:47)

Please welcome the newest WNBA team president.

SPEAKER_3 (0:50)

Jess Smith. Jess Smith.

SPEAKER_4 (0:51)

Jess Smith, the president of the WNBA Golden State Valkyries, Jess Smith.

Jeff Berman (0:56)

When you showed up on day one, what did you do?

Jess Smith (1:00)

Panicked. Like, I'm the momentum. I have to figure this out and direct us where to go in a year and a half time until we tip off.

The most fun part of that equation is the generational fandom. Here in the Bay Area, I have two young girls, they're five and seven, and they will know nothing different than a Chase Center that's packed for the Warriors and packed for the Valkyries.

Jeff Berman (1:21)

Hey folks, Jeff Berman here. Before we dive into today's episode, I'm talking with a very special guest. My friend, Jamie Batmer, Chief Investment Officer of Creative Planning, one of the largest independent wealth management firms in the country, a sponsor of Masters of Scale and a truly exceptional company. Jamie, welcome to Masters of Scale.

Jamie Bammer (1:41)

Hey, thank you so much for having me.

Jeff Berman (1:43)

Jamie, when someone's evaluating who to work with to help them, not just make investment decisions, but manage their family finances, what are the keys for someone figuring out who the right partner is?

Jamie Bammer (1:58)

It's like oars in a canoe, right?

And if someone's working with a CPA somewhere, an investment team somewhere, and a state attorney somewhere else, so they're not rowing against each other, but they're definitely not rowing in unison, so you can go as fast as you can possibly go. And really that's it. So optimize all those dynamics, right? The genesis of creative planning was bringing it all under one roof, right? That's the story of creative planning.

Jeff Berman (2:23)

At Masters of Scale, we have conversations with a lot of founders who feel wealthy when their company's valuation takes off. In so many levels, it feels like security, but when we look at it from a step back, it's also risk, right? There are massive tax implications when you IPO or get acquired.

Jamie Bammer (2:43)

They've been focused on that, you know, right? Just grinding every day, making their business better. People think, okay, this liquidity event is here. I'm about to have this windfall. Let's get on it. No, no, no. These are all things like anything. You fortify the defenses years in advance. The longer runway you have, the more you put the odds in your favor. The data says you don't try and outsmart it, you try and optimally own it, right? It's through these tax dynamics, the estate dynamics. That's what we're hyper focused on. On average, one year later, an IPO is down 31%.

I mean, think about that. Think of Wall Street hung up a sign that said, this investment, on average, will lose a third of its value one year from now. No, these IPOs are typically exit points, not entry points.

So the idea is getting ahead of that, putting the odds in your favor, fortify all those things on the front end. There's never an end to the line. You never set it and forget it. That's the type of people you want to work with. It has to be living and breathing on your behalf.

Jeff Berman (3:42)

Jamie, thank you so much for joining us. Now on to the show.

I've been looking forward to this conversation for a while. We have a very special guest on Masters of Scale today, Jess Smith, who runs the Golden State Valkyries, the fastest growing sports franchise in America, going from $50 million expansion fee to a billion dollar valuation in about two and a half years. Absolutely extraordinary growth in a category that's exploding as well. Jess, welcome to Masters of Scale.

Jess Smith (4:17)

Thank you. It's an honor to be here and talk about this.