Carmelo Anthony dribbles his way into venture capital investment

As reported by William Aden of the New York Times, professional basketball star, Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks has been now repositioning himself as a venture capital investor.

In a period wherein there simply is not enough black talent in tech or in the investment spaces, Carmelo is forging a new professional future for himself and for those who admire him.

Melo dreams of Tech

His initial interest in technological innovation and product development was in the wearable tech sector. As a National Basketball Association (NBA) professional, he had already engaged with the wearable products different players have used to measure their training and play.

Carmelo reminds us that you can use one chance in order to attain future opportunities

However, Anthony began to wonder how such devices would benefit the average Jane or Jamal.

As he met and began brainstorming with Stuart Goldfarb in 2014, Anthony’s friend and former communications executive, they both realized that only the most basic and increasingly obsolete wearable devices were available on the mass market.

After realizing the impact that wider access to more evolved products could have on health and wellness, Stuart and Carmelo launched Melo7 Tech Partners in 2014.

An Investor is Born

Interestingly, Melo’s first capital investment with M7 has been in a seed round with Hullabalu, a childrens illustrated story application. This range of investment interest includes both media and consumer tech products.

Melo7 Principals and Investors, Stuart Goldfarb and Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo, who is a 50/50 financial partner with Goldfarb, is a great example in how one can grow and evolve with time. Despite not having finished his university studies, he continued to learn about issues that interested him and remained intellectually curious.

Beyond Hullabalu, Melo7 investments include big name start ups such as Makers Row, Seat Geek, Walker and Company Brands and Lyft.

A view Melo7 Investments via Crunchbase Investments

While a growing number of professional athletes have entered the tech investment space with mixed results, one can be confident in Carmelo’s patience and sense of delayed gratification…after all, he’s been a lifelong member of the New York Knicks.

So tay tuned for this story folks. Although it will a long one, the ending will be well worth the wait for us all.

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Medvis Jackson is a web designer at Hindsite, curator at Kulchah and avid cricket fan. You can follow him @medvisjackson for his random thoughts.

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