Rich Paul watches a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 23, 2020.
Alan Berezovsky | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Robin Hood Financial services firm Klutch Sport Group is partnering with Klutch Sport Group, the company of LeBron James agent Rich Paul, as it looks to expand into sports, entertainment and media, the company announced Thursday.
As part of the deal, Paul will serve as a strategic advisor to Robinhood. He will work closely with Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev to identify new partnership opportunities in sports and entrepreneurship.
“We are huge Robin Hood sports fans; We know our customers do too. Tenev told CNBC. “Working with Rich and the Klutch Sports team, this is really a way to bring the Robinhood brand to a broader audience and work with athletes and organizations that are aligned with the needs of our customers.”
Paul founded Klutch in 2012 and represents some of the biggest names in sports, including James. The group has expanded in recent years to connect teams, leagues and industries with global brands and build partnerships.
Paul is a member of the Board of Directors of United Talent Agency live country.
“I look forward to helping guide Robinhood as they expand into new markets and spaces,” Paul said in the statement.
Klutch said the company has been connecting Robinhood executives with teams, owners and athletes as it looks to expand beyond tech and finance.For example, Klutch helped facilitate a three-year jersey patch deal October game between Robin Hood and the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association.
This cooperation has already achieved initial results. According to Tenev. He said Robinhood’s brand awareness has increased throughout the Washington, D.C., metro area since the partnership was announced.
During NBA All-Star Weekend, Robinhood partnered with NBA players Draymond Green and Trae Young and WNBA player Aja Wilson (all represented by Klutch) around the company’s gold investment marketing.
Robinhood is also working with jewelry brand Ben Baller to create gold chains to help guide people to events.
Tenev said he was drawn to Klutch because the Robin Hood story resonated with Paul’s background.
“He built his business and his brand from scratch by selling vintage jerseys at the Akron Airport,” he said. “When you think about what Robinhood represents, it represents opportunity and entrepreneurship.”
Trading and investing platform Robinhood says it has brought tens of millions of first-time investors to the market. The company bills itself as a more accessible investment option and says its users are more racially diverse than those of existing brokerages.
Tenev also talked about the recent surge in cryptocurrency values, in part due to clients investing in ETFs that previously could not hold cryptocurrencies.
“You’re starting to see it become more mainstream and more deeply integrated into the traditional financial system,” he said. “I think Robinhood can play a leading role in accelerating the development of cryptocurrencies and traditional finance, bringing them together and making them more useful over time.”
The trading platform’s shares are up nearly 30% this year.
Correction: Rich Paul will join Robinhood as strategic advisor. A previous version of this story misstated his position on the company.
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