Virat Kohli: From being an individual who gave the world so much in terms of on-field tenacity and global fan-following, the man now embarks on a business venture that might fascinate the world as much as David Beckham and Roger Federer have enthralled it. Last week, Kohli announced that he had joined Sporting Beyond – a consultancy firm co-owned by none other than Ravi Shastri – that marks a new chapter of his life outside cricket. It is a strategic turn for Kohli as now a team of experts guides him in investing in many different sectors.
Kohli’s Diversifying Investment Portfolio
Kohli seems to be aware of some of the factors, such as emerging markets and changing consumer trends. These have led him into diversified investments in insurance, plant-based meat, social networking startups, athleisure brands, and gym chains. He is a co-owner of football and motorsport teams and an investor in a coffee brand, meaning that he wants to build a very broad portfolio of investments.
This diversification is Kohli’s step towards modernizing consumer need and his intention to exploit his presence in those industries by using the brand.
With Sporting Beyond, Kohli is looking to refine his portfolio with the support of Shastri and the consultancy network of specialist advisors.
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Sporting Beyond: A Strategy Beyond Talent Management Agency
Sporting Beyond is no ordinary talent management agency. In contrast, according to Jaiveer Panwar, who is a director at the firm, they are not agents of Kohli and instead offer consultancy and advisory services across all his business interests. They connect Kohli with clients in this country and outside, providing him with leads on properties that are valuable in sport. This nuanced role is designed to assist Kohli in his quest to achieve an empire, similar to those of Beckham and many other sports legends.
As Panwar would note, Sporting Beyond is not one of those companies that simply keeps talent aligned with brands. It will particularly focus on developing in-house sports-related intellectual properties and has only just begun to break into creating live and non-fiction sports content. That push falls in line with Kohli being a media-savvy kind of figure, thereby positioning him to influence sports’ media landscapes.
New Business Venture with Shastri Associated
It resonates with the dynamic that Shastri had with Kohli during his cricketing days. Their collaboration gives Kohli industry insights and specialist resources from Shastri through Sporting Beyond, and this transition into entrepreneurship becomes seamless. Exposure to sports broadcasting by Shastri can complement the content partnership of Sporting Beyond with Banijay Asia and give Kohli opportunities to explore media production routes as an area of growth for his brand.
The Emergence of Athlete Entrepreneurs: The Next Generation of Sports Legends
Kohli, who started as a cricket captain, will turn into an entrepreneur. He has the company of some of the great names in the annals of sports: Beckham and Federer, for example-athletes used their stardom in sport as power to business success. Kohli here is likely to become the part of this elite list with his net worth estimated at more than Rs 1,000 crore. At one end, he is now poised as brand ambassador and, on another end, as decision-maker in ventures outside of cricket.
Kohli’s new phase is the growing trend of sportsmen using their brand and relations to build upon business prosperity, and with that, to be in the forefront long after retiring from sports.
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