Former San Francisco 49ers player Colin Kaepernick secured $4 million in funding from a round led by Alexis Ohanian’s investment firm, Seven Seven Six. The funds are intended for a new venture, enabling innovators to realize and disseminate their ideas. Kaepernick’s NFL career concluded in 2017 after he made headlines due to his protests against police violence and racial disparity.
Since his departure from the NFL, Kaepernick ventured into various entrepreneurial avenues, including collaborations with skincare company KINLÒ and publishing a children’s book, ‘I Color Myself Different,’ in April 2022. Derived from Kaepernick’s experience as a Black adoptee in a white family, these initiatives aim to create discourse on racial and social issues.
Kaepernick’s current venture aims to offer a platform for inventive individuals, helping them shape and implement their visionary assignments.
Kaepernick funds platform for creative talent
The venture addresses several hurdles, such as lengthy production timelines, high costs, and limiting creative control, which Kaepernick previously encountered.
Once creators finish their work, the platform will provide additional assistance with publishing, distributing, and arranging printed editions directly from the site. It also allows creators to design and sell merchandise related to their intellectual properties and serves as an effective marketing tool to widen their viewership.
Kaepernick’s objective for the platform is to overcome common obstacles many creators face, including securing funds and establishing themselves in the market. The platform aims to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity while boosting visibility and representation for creators who often remain unnoticed or undervalued due to systemic barriers.
With this venture, Kaepernick hopes to offer a launchpad for creators to kickstart and materialize their ideas. He anticipates the initiative to introduce new modes of storytelling and perspectives, pushing the boundaries of conventional creativity. Kaepernick expressed excitement over the potential industry changes this venture could instigate and is confident that it will enable diverse stories to be heard and acknowledged.
