Athlete CEO

The difference between a good performance and a great performance is the result of how you show up.

Are you at your absolute best? Have you set yourself up for peak performance?

Very few of the mental skills are designed to help us up-regulate. Most of the skills are focused on slowing down, being present, and calming yourself.

But, what if you could wake yourself up, become hyper-focused, and create an edge at the right moment?

Listen in as Josiah Igono, PHD Performance Psychology unlocks the powerful skill of Arousal Regulation.<...

Your presence is everything – it dictates your performance, how you’re viewed, how other respond to you, and even how you feel about yourself.

Our brains our wired to protect and to predict, so the way we comport ourselves – whether it’s on the mound, in the boardroom, or in daily interactions – makes a difference in how others will respond, think, and feel.

As athletes, the truth is that we want to have a dominant presence on the field. We want to be confident and take up space. We want to be big. This comes from a con...

As an elite performer you’ve worked hard to get where you’re at. The work to stay at the top comes with immense pressure and a grind to continually improve. Also, success can make it hard to get clear, direct feedback, and it can attract people who don’t have your best interests in mind.

How do you continue to reach for greatness without folding to the pressures of perfectionism? How can you work to build an inner circle of people with your best interests in mind – who can give you direct and candid feedback that will hel...

Do You Spend More Time In Reflection or Strategy? | Josiah Igono, Erik Averill | Athlete CEO: Peak Performance

Living in an “always on” and “permanently connected” world, our everyday experience is littered with a proverbial fire hose of information. We can get any question answered in the blink of an eye on Google, learn how to build a house on YouTube, and keep up with the daily activities of our friends and family on apps like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or TikTok.

It can be overwhelming to sort through this information overload to actually learn something, and even...

It’s often said, “it’s lonely at the top.”

As venture capitalists, business executives, and professional athletes at the highest level, there can often be a mentality that you should just focus on performing and avoid feelings of burn out, toxic stress, or loneliness. 

However, we’ve all seen examples of - or felt ourselves - this mentality not being sustainable over the long term.

In this episode of the Athlete CEO, Erik is joined by Ander Maurer, licensed therapist and emotional wellness coach specializing in leadership, trauma and emotional health. Andy utilizes cu...

How can some players overcome mental hurdles and self-doubt to hit that game winning home run, make that difficult catch, or sink the perfect putt? Why do we see so many first-round draft picks ending up a bust? 

At AWM Capital, we believe one of the greatest drivers of your wealth is your human capital and one of the goals of the Athlete CEO podcast is to help you learn new ways of tapping into your full potential. That's why each month we’re joined by Josiah Igono, Ph.D. of Performance Psychology and founder of All Thi...

“2020 was a little crazy.”

That is the understatement of the year.

A global pandemic, volatile markets, athletic seasons paused then modified. Many companies who had set their “20/20 in 2020” vision campaigns ended up having to scrap much of their planning and pivot in what looks to be a new normal moving into 2021.

Yet despite the volatility, AWM Capital, as Managing Partner Brandon Averill puts it, has “grown from an organization to a company.”

In this episode of the Athlete CEO, we get the opportunity to turn the focus around to the two who typicall...

We’ve all been there – taking the field at the big game, stepping into the boardroom for an important meeting, coming home after a long day to rambunctious kids who demand your attention, or heading in for the massive exam.

It can be easy to get overwhelmed and shut down, to lose focus, to have 10,000 thoughts suddenly racing through your head that draw your attention away. 

How do you push past these mental hurdles? How can you be wholly present and focused on your intended results? 

In our Peak Performance episodes, Erik Averill, co-fou...

At AWM Capital, we believe that the greatest driver of your net worth is your human capital. So much hinges on your ability to perform – on the field or in the board room – over the course of your career, so it’s pivotal to continually work on improving your mental and physical game.

When it comes to performance coaching, Josiah Igono is one of the best. Having most recently left his position as Director of Peak Performance for the Texas Rangers to focus on building his own business, All Things Performance, Josiah will be joining us every other...

1:50

GoWild is not just a “Facebook” for Outdoorsman.

“If you post a hunting adventure [on social media], you can get trolled you can get death threats...it’s crazy. We wanted to build something that catered to this audience in ways that social media just didn’t.”

10:00

Moving from the marketing side of business to the founder side can be difficult, what led Brad Luttrell to where he is today?

17:06

Is there anything that Brad can remember from his past that was really helpful to get him to where he...

Athlete CEO Podcast  

Optimizing Your Human Potential

Joe Schmidt Ep. 4

Guest: Joe Schmidt, Former Notre Dame football captain, investor in Excel, a venture capital firm and he now runs strategy, sales and partnerships for Ethos Life.

Twitter @joeschmidtiv  

On the fourth and final part of our interview with Joe Schmidt we discuss how Joe puts his high athletic performance into his real life, the four pillars that Joe has broken his life into, and the greatest advice he’s gotten from a mentor. 

4:02

What cultivated Joe Sch...

Athlete CEO Podcast  

15 Minutes and a Cup of Coffee

Joe Schmidt Ep. 3

Guest: Joe Schmidt, Former Notre Dame football captain, investor in Excel, a venture capital firm and he now runs strategy, sales and partnerships for Ethos Life.

Twitter @joeschmidtiv  

1:47

Brandon Averill on building up your network through Joe Schmidt’s advice by asking for 15 minutes and a cup of coffee. FInd people, meet them and build your network.

2:57

You don’t always know where your next opportunity is going to...

Athlete CEO Podcast  

Venture Capital and the 99.9%

Joe Schmidt Ep. 2

Guest: Joe Schmidt, Former Notre Dame football captain, investor in Excel, a venture capital firm and he now runs strategy, sales and partnerships for Ethos Life.

Twitter @joeschmidtiv  

1:51

Brandon Averill on AWM Capital and how their approach to investment mirrors that of Accel Ventures, which is focused on long time outcomes. The deal flow that pro athletes might see has already been picked over by professional investors.

3:07

Erik Averill on one of the most...

Athlete CEO Podcast  

Skin in the Game 

Guest: Joe Schmidt, Former Notre Dame football captain, investor in Accel, a venture capital firm and he now runs strategy, sales and partnerships for Ethos Life.

Twitter @joeschmidtiv 

2:01

Brandon Averill on Ethos Life disrupting the life insurance model and the need for disruption in the insurance industry.

2:58

Erik Averill on the transition for Joe on moving from being an investor to an operator within a company and how much skin in the game changes the approach.

4:20

AWM Insights Financial and Investment News Podcast

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Athlete CEO with Erik Averill and Brandon Averill

Separators of Success

Guest: Craig Domann

Twitter

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LinkedIn

Website: https://360sportsrep.com/about-360/

Podcast: https://www.promindsetpodcast.com/

3:00

There are seven key ingredients that someone needs to be successful:

6:15

What are good habits, and how does someone modify them if they do not have g...

Investing in Tik Tok US? 

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Justin Dyer: LinkedIn

Investment in Tik Tok US is starting to make headlines; Erik, Brandon and Justin give you The Average Joes vs. Pros on Tik Tok impact in public + private markets.

:40 - 1:16

Apple’s app store charges are back i...

Athlete CEO Podcast  

Ask for 15 Minutes and Coffee

Guest: Joe Schmidt

Twitter @joeschmidtiv  

https://www.ethoslife.com/life/ethos-life-insurance/

1:37

What exactly is Ethos, and what exactly are you doing there?  

Ethos LIfe is a next generation life insurance company that flips the archaic way of buying and selling life insurance on its head. There is a massive coverage gap with people who should have life insurance, but don’t because the process is so archaic. The goal of Ethos is to help an...

Last week, we discussed the Federal Reserve’s recent meetings where they signaled a willingness to allow a rise in inflation over the next 10-20 years. We received a lot of good feedback and follow up questions, and as a result are following up in a part two this week where we can address a few of the implications for investors.

Our managing partner, Brandon Averill, is joined again by our Chief Investment Officer, Justin Dyer to discuss:

• With the Fed signaling that they would likely allow inflation to rise over the next 10-20 years, are...

Athlete CEO Podcast 

Advice All Pro Athletes Need 

Former NFL TE and Super Bowl Champion Zach Miller knows firsthand how unprepared athletes are for money management and even more unprepared to enter the workforce after their playing careers. That’s why he’s decided to pursue wealth management as a career after the NFL. His goal is to help equip athletes with the same knowledge he wished he had when he played. Many in the financial business have given up on pro athletes, that’s why Zach Miller has not.

Guest: Zach Miller

Twi...

You might be familiar with the terms “inflation” and “deflation,” but do you know how they positively and negatively impact us as investors? About 2 weeks ago, the Federal Reserve held a virtual conference where they said they would be willing to let inflation run higher over a certain period of time to make up for lower inflation we’ve experienced in the recent past. So, over the next 10 years they could target a higher inflation rate than has previously been seen.

To understand how this might impact us as investors, Brandon Averill, managing partner of AWM Capital, is joined...

Recent headlines are reporting massive drops in tech industry giants like Apple, which dropped last week by a little over 9% - roughly $150 billion of market value, and Tesla is down again this week after a similar fall last week. Have they reached the bottom? As we have said before – there is no crystal ball to determine that.

However, there are investing concepts that are critical to understand to better weather volatile seasons like 2020 has turned out to be that will help you shore up unnecessary risk and capture the gains you deserve. AWM’s Chief Investment Officer Just...

Athlete CEO Podcast 

How to Coach and How to Be Coached

What makes Derek Jeter who he is? What made him great? Coach Dana Cavalea is the former Director of Strength & Conditioning and Performance for the New York Yankees. He joins Brandon and Erik Averill on Athlete CEO to discuss what goes into a “Championship Mindset” and why mental balance is a key for success regardless of business or profession.

Guest: Dana Cavalea

“Habits of a Champion”

Twitter

https://danacavalea.com/

2:12

Define...

With an estimated $44 billion worth of startups like Snowflake, Unity Software, JFrog, Sumo Logic and Amwell going from private to public right now, is it time to try and strike it rich by investing in the next unicorn company during its initial public investment (IPO) phase? If you only got your investment advice from the mainstream media, you might assume that this is the best way to create massive wealth, but  as you might have guessed, it’s not quite that simple.

The private to public or - IPO - step in the lifecycle of a business is...

Last Tuesday, the S&P 500 hit a record high after a sudden and unprecedented decline in the earlier months of the year. Much of the growth has been attributed to 5 big tech stocks, which we covered on a recent episode. As we’ve seen these 5 big tech stocks diverge, it’s made many investors ask if valuations even matter anymore?

While these companies are enjoying their highest valuations ever, we see examples like Apple where their stock price has roughly tripled since early 2019, but so too has its Price to Earnings (PE) ratio. In this week’s episod...

On this episode of the Athlete CEO, Erik dives into the debt side of Venture Capital with Founder, Operator, & current Chief Investment Officer of Trinity Capital, Kyle Brown.

Trinity Capital provides smart debt for high growth venture-backed startups. Trinity’s portfolio is packed with successful companies including the likes of Impossible Foods, Fingerprint Digital, Birchbox and Untuckit.

In a candid conversation Kyle shares his experiences ranging from nearly losing everything in 2008 to to leading Trinity through a global pandemic. While sharing how his family, faith and athletic background keep him focused on what matters most. 

Are certain presidential candidates better for the stock market? If so, is there a “correct” party to vote for to improve the chances of stronger returns? We often hear political pundits offering advice or predictions around presidential election season, and suggest that the answer to both of these questions is unequivocally “yes.” There are certainly many ways political candidates impact our country, and because of that, it is extremely important we exercise our right to vote. However, as we wade through to the real issues – should a candidate’s impact on the stock market be one of them? 

In this wee...

Recently in the headlines, we’ve seen a lot of attention around SPACs (special purpose acquisition company) due to some big names in the investing world doubling down on them this year. So far in 2020, 60 of the 95 IPOs in the US have come from these SPACs and they’ve raised $24 billion further cementing them as the preferred method for going public this year. 

So what exactly are SPACs and should you be investing in them? Brandon and Erik discuss this and more including: : 

Kobie Fuller is the perfect venn diagram of the Athlete CEO – he was a track star at Harvard, used his background in tech to invest early in some of the top winners of emerging technologies including Oculus and Exact Target, and now works as a partner for Upfront Ventures where he continues to help discover and fund innovative tech companies.

He has seen startups rise and fall and knows what it takes to be successful in founding a company, and shares with us what he’s seen over the years. He also is uniquely familiar with how the...

Most economic news continues to point to things not looking great – including a 2nd quarter contraction of US GDP by an annual rate of 32.9%. However, the stock market still seems to have some positive moves. What’s behind the majority of the returns in the public stock market? Tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google. In fact, the disparity in the S&P 500 is from the 5 largest companies, which have accounted for all the growth, but the remaining 495 have been producing negative returns. 

Does that mean now is the time to invest in these companies? In this episo...

Gold is a topic that tends to pop up anytime there’s uncertainty in the market or conversations of where the economy is headed. We’ve seen gold hit all-time highs over the past week joined with increased nervousness of the pending stimulus package in congress and upcoming elections. This has resulted in more voices who recommend investing in gold as a safe alternative to a volatile market.

In this episode Brandon and Erik discuss some of the arguments made for investing in gold and potential alternatives for long term investors. Topics discussed include:

Growing a business, serving your community, taking a leap in your career, spending time with friends and family, developing a hobby - often our interests and desires overshadow the simple fact that there are only so many hours in a day. It can be hard to find time to tackle all our goals let alone find balance and mastery in our current commitments.

Becca Van Dyck has proven it can be done.

Becca jumped into her career head first with a 12-year stint at Wieden+Kennedy as Nike’s global account director.  She then moved to...

With a looming election this fall, an ongoing global pandemic, and companies declaring bankruptcy left and right; there is currently no shortage of speculation framed as certain advice everywhere you look. Mainstream media pundits and social media influencers alike are quick to share the latest stock tip, advice on market timing, speculations on bankrupting companies, or even urge you to exit the markets entirely and wait until they calm back down. 

While it is entirely likely there will be market impacts from the upcoming presidential debates and election, COVID-19 vaccine trials, and whether or not the government a...

One of the most important distinctions we like to make with our clients is that our primary job is not only investing. We re-center our clients’ definition of success by asking them if simply investing is the goal or if it’s actually to increase their net-worth after taxes and expenses?

The answer is always: net worth.

Investing is really just a means to an end. Our primary job, and the ultimate value we deliver, is in increasing our clients’ entire net worth.

Unfortunately, the act of investing is typically the sole focus of ret...

As a professional athlete, all of your passion, focus, and attention is on your sport. However, whether it’s 5 years, or 20, it’s only a season of your life – what comes next?

This week, Erik & Brandon are joined by Olympic legend Michael Johnson to discuss finding your passions beyond your sports career.

Over his 12-year career as a professional athlete at the top of his sport, Michael became a household name as he earned 13 Olympic and World championship gold medals and broke world records in multiple events.

And he was only getting started.

M...

As you see in the major media and financial publications, earnings season is coming soon, but what does that mean for the typical investor? Articles and TV segments abound with the results and guidance of some of the best analysts in the business on their predictions of how some of the top companies are doing, but does that mean that you should be acting on those claims?

Put simply, “earnings season” is the time in which most of the major publicly traded companies release their quarterly earnings reports. As a result of these reports, more updated information is t...

Over the last couple weeks, we've seen the return with a vengeance of volatility in the markets with some of the biggest highs and lows in history all within a short time span. With these swings, we're starting to see non-investor voices give investing advice that really boils down to gambling.  The message from these media personalities is loud and clear: now is the time for people to become active investors. 

Is there room for this type of investing? The answer revolves around your current situation and your long-term goals. In this episode, Erik & Brandon give some he...

In this episode of the Athlete CEO Podcast, Erik sits down with Alex Mather, the co-founder of The Athletic.

Valued at roughly $500 million The Athletic has disrupted the sports media world.

They dive into the vision, strategy and tactics that led to the quick rise of dominance for the Athletic in a saturated market that seemed impenetrable.

Alex offers advice and lessons learned from the founding of The Athletic covering topics like:

With a spike in Coronavirus cases around the country, we continue to see multiple industries getting shaken including airlines, cruise ships, and travel destinations. Alternatively, we see the top tech companies (Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon) combined currently represent more than 20% of the S&P 500, which makes sense with more people than ever relying on technology to work and stay connected. As we continue to allocate investments, many are wondering if we should try to make concentrated bets on how the Coronavirus might continue to impact different parts of the economy.

However, the main thing to kee...

The market has continued to bring surprises. In the last couple months we've seen one of the quickest recessions to one of the quickest recoveries then suddenly last week we saw a -6% down day in the market. 

In tandem with this market volatility, we've also seen many big name companies declare bankruptcy followed by their stock prices skyrocketing. In their wake have been more voices who have adopted a day trading approach claiming now is the time to buy these companies pretty much across the board.

This can cause us as investors to question what...