Ryan Nece (Next Legacy Partners) - Learning from Achievement and Adversity

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
This is the Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Series, brought to you by Stanford eCorner and the Stanford Technology Ventures Program.

**Emily Ma** (0:07)
Hello, everyone. My name is Emily Ma, and I'm an adjunct lecturer for the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. Welcome back to the Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Series, the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, hosted every Wednesday. Today, I'm so thrilled to have Ryan Nece with us. Huge round of applause for Ryan.
Okay. So, a quick bio here.
Ryan Nece is the co-founder and managing partner of Next Legacy, a multi-strategy venture platform investing in established venture firms, emerging venture firms, and select technology companies. Next Legacy's model is built on trusted relationships and disciplined capital stewardship while expanding access to technology and private markets for communities such as professional athletes. The firm sits at the nexus of venture capital, entrepreneurship, sport, and philanthropy giving Ryan and his partners a unique vantage point within the innovation economy. Next Legacy believes that best-in-class returns drive the greatest charitable impact. While most funds on its platform operate with standard venture economics, all returns from the firm's flagship fund are donated to philanthropic causes. A former Super Bowl champion, Ryan transitioned from professional sports to entrepreneurship, founding and scaling multiple businesses before co-founding Next Legacy. Based in Portola Valley, California, he brings a distinctive combination of leadership, operating experience, and networked up to the venture ecosystem.
Okay. I'm so thrilled. I've been waiting for this chat for two months, but we're going to start from square one.

**Ryan Nece** (1:46)
Okay.

**Emily Ma** (1:46)
Okay.
Let's go back. We're going to go back. By the way, Ryan's mom is here in the audience with us, which is amazing.

**Ryan Nece** (1:57)
Oh yeah, round of applause.

**Emily Ma** (1:58)
Round of applause.

**Ryan Nece** (2:00)
She's the oracle of the family.

**Emily Ma** (2:01)
That's right. That's right. Okay. We're going to go back to when you were a wee lad.

**Ryan Nece** (2:05)
Yes.

**Emily Ma** (2:06)
Wee lad. You were the son of two amazing parents, one of whom is a Hall of Famer in the NFL. Imani. Imani Lad.
Tell us what it was like to be so curious in learning from your father showing up as he did on the field, in the spotlight, day in and day out.

**Ryan Nece** (2:33)
Well, first, let me say thank you. Emily, thank you for allowing me to be here. Thank you for giving me the opportunities. I know this is the last class, and so I'm really grateful to be here. All the things that you've accomplished with this class, with this program, with the podcast, really incredible. So thank you for the honor to be here with you. So I'm excited to really appreciate the opportunity. When you think about that question, it really is an important one because it is a lot of the foundation of who I am today. Having the opportunity to be in the presence of greatness on a day-to-day basis and watching how it operates outside of the spotlight was a privilege. And watching the way that my father approached his craft, his dedication to being the very best, you know, that helped shape me into thinking that an impossible was possible. And what's amazing is I quickly learned through my father that it, you know, success comes at a cost, and success comes at making tremendous sacrifices. And most people in this room probably could articulate their dreams, their goals, their aspirations, what they want to achieve. But very few may have the opportunity to truly express what they're willing to give up to achieve those things. What pain they're willing to endure.
And I got a chance to see my father endure a lot. And I'll give you an example.
You know, a lot of people don't know that my father, they know that he had, you know, won four Super Bowls, is in the Hall of Fame, arguably one of the greatest NFL players of all time. People know that. They don't know he's a second-degree black belt. He studied that craft. He studied martial arts. And the things that he learned through that helped train his mind as much as it did his body. So much so that I remember going to one of his training sessions.
And as I was at this training session, he had a sensei and his sensei was taking him through a normal routine and a normal exercise. And the sensei had this bamboo stick in his hand as he was walking around.
Talking to my father and he said, what's the number today, Ronnie? And he said, I think he picked eight or seven. I don't remember the exact number. He said, great. And so he's going through his training. And then all of a sudden he said, are you ready? And the sensei took that bamboo stick and swung it like he was trying to hit a home run and hit my father with that bamboo stick multiple times the number that my father picked. And to watch him wince, I never saw my father cry, to watch him endure that pain to take on those blows was mind-blowing for a young man at a very young age. I goes, what is happening right now?