Rob Thompson - College Athlete to Entrepreneur, Former Disney and NFL Media Exec

It’s Not A Straight Line

Rob Thompson has spent time with major entertainment conglomerates like The Walt Disney Company and the National Football League. In his early 20s after playing Lineman on his College Football team, Rob launched a Football Recruitment Agency based in the NorthEast U.S. He sold the agency within 18 months and says he was taken advantage of and his biggest piece of advice is to make sure you have mentors that have been "there" before, who you trust. He was instrumental in building NFL Flag and Grassroots programs globally, and it all started by volunteering for an NFL Flag event in the early 90s. He is the founder of ConnexSports, works in Athletic and Economic Development at the University of New Haven, and wrote the book "Sports Dream Job Playbook (How To Land A Dream Job If Your Dad Doesn't Own The Team)".
Show Notes:

• 1:50 - Rob's lifestyle and how it has changed over time (working out, his relationship with alcohol, entertaining clients)
• 6:00 - early days, from a College Football Player to Coaching to launching a Football Recruiting Agency (1991)
• 10:30 - find mentors and people that you trust who have been there before
• 13:00 - NFL Flag (a chance encounter in Biddeford, Maine) and how volunteering can be the way "in" for a lot of people who want to work in the business of sports
• 18:45 - some of the big lessons from working at Disney, and mentorship from the President (at the time) of ABC News
• 22:30 - careers not being a straight line and linear careers, Rob's real estate projects
• 25:45 - regrets - I wish I had the opportunity to work with Disney and the NFL earlier in my career
• 30:00 - What's Rob up to now?

Twitter and Instagram @RobThompsonLife and LinkedIn - Rob Thompson
Website - www.myconnexsports.com