Skip to main content

Olympic giant Michael Phelps takes aim at Silicon Valley

Olympic hero Michael Phelps to dive into Tech
Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps has done all he can do in the swimming world, and now he’s looking to dive into a bigger pool — the world of tech. “I would love to get involved, whether it’s in a couple little startups here and there, take a little risk, have some fun and see where it goes,” Phelps said on APNews during an interview at the the San Jose Intuit QuickBooks conference.
Recommended Videos

In case you don’t know the details of Phelps’ mighty career — the numbers are staggering. A total of 28 medals, of which 23 were gold, spread over 5 Olympic games.

Phelps has some cash to invest. He has his own line of swimwear and has endorsement deals with Under Armour, Omega, Visa, Wheaties (of course), and most recently Intel. The AP story notes he’s made some $75 million during his career, which far outstrips the $1.65 million from the United States Olympic Committee and Speedo.

Phelps also has a foundation that teaches water safety, gets kids into swimming, and provides financial assistance to athletes. “More and more what we see athletes do is craft their legacy with brands long before they retire,” Elizabeth Lindsey, a marketing expert at Wasserman, said on CNN. “Phelps has done that with his foundation and by being more of a mentor. That sets a tone that could be a platform into retirement.”

Phelps is also no stranger to controversy, though. He was involved in a bong smoking incident in 2009, and had a DUI arrest 2 years ago.

AP also mentions that athletes getting into tech get mixed results — pretty much like us normal people, except on a much larger scale. On the upside, for example, Dr. Dre was part of a founding group that sold Beats to Apple for $3 billion. Actor Ashton Kutcher co-founded an investment fund in 2010 that got in on Uber, Airbnb, and Spotify. The fund value has grown from $30 million to $250 million according to a review by Forbes magazine earlier this year.

On the downside, HJR Capital was a tech investment firm that went under in 2009, 10 years after former 49ers lineman Harris Barton founded it and got Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott to join in. Former Red Sox ace Curt Schilling started a video game company that went under in 2012. The article adds that he won’t be going the VC route like recently retired Lakers star Kobe Bryant (at least not yet).

It takes determination and a lot of long-term effort to achieve the type of pool success Phelps has had, so you wouldn’t necessarily want to bet against him. No doubt he will have a capable team around him when he makes his big move. On APNews, he says “I am getting my feet wet. 2017 will be a big year.”

Brinke Guthrie
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brinke’s favorite toys include his Samsung Galaxy Tab S, Toshiba Chromebook 2, Motorola Moto G4, and two Kindles. A…
The Intuit QuickBooks Summer Savings sale is so good we may never see it again
Intuit QuickBooks Online used to collect payments for small business

Just in time for the biggest deals season of the year, Intuit QuickBooks is hosting an unprecedented sale— so wondrous and massive that we may never see anything like this again. Dubbed the Summer Savings Sale, now's your chance to get up to 70% off Intuit's connected tools. As a leader in small business fintech, you've likely heard of QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll before. Helping over 7 million customers worldwide, QuickBooks is an excellent companion for small business growth, from startup to scaling up. You'll gain access to a comprehensive ecosystem of products and services for accounting, payroll support, payments and invoicing, capital management, marketing and much more. The current promotion drops the prices considerably for your first three months, with Simple Start at just $9 per month versus $30, the Plus tier at $27 per month versus $90, and the Advanced tier at $60 per month versus $200.

 
Why you should shop the Intuit QuickBooks Summer Savings sale

Read more
Intuit QuickBooks summer savings have us excited for bookkeeping and more
Intuit QuickBooks Online and Payroll Indepence Day deals used by business owner

Being honest, accounting, bookkeeping, and various administrative tasks aren't exactly what most people would call exciting, even if they own a business. It's something you have to do, but not that you necessarily want to do. But you absolutely have to stay on top of it; otherwise, things could get out of hand later, like when you're filing taxes or trying to calculate expenses. As a leader in small business fintech, Intuit QuickBooks is helping over 7 million customers worldwide do precisely that. From a startup to scaling up, the Intuit QuickBooks ecosystem delivers products and services that are a core component of small business growth. Accounting, payroll, payments, capital, and even marketing assistance via Mailchimp are just a few examples of what you can expect from a QuickBooks subscription. Thanks to its current Summer Sale, you can save a never-before-seen 70% off Intuit QuickBooks plans. That offer and these prices excite us for something that, typically, wouldn't be considered exciting.

 
These Intuit QuickBooks Summer Savings are unprecedented
This is the first time we've ever seen prices this low, and it may actually be the only time it happens. Time will tell, but the point is that you can save big on QuickBooks plans that you need for your business. The deal offers 70% off QuickBooks Online for your first three months. With Simple Start -- the base plan -- you get your first three months for just $9 per month instead of $30. That saves you $21 monthly for $63 across your initial three months of service. By comparison, the Essentials tier is only $18 per month instead of $60, and the Plus tier is only $27 per month instead of $90. If you want to splurge and go with Advanced, it's only $60 monthly for your first three months instead of $20h. Those are some incredible savings.

Read more
Grammarly should be your next AI writing partner for all things text
Grammarly-featured-image-with-creative

Not everyone is a writer, and that's okay. However, we do a lot of writing throughout our lives, from essays and school papers to dissertations, work reports, letters, emails, and beyond. Even with the advent of digital platforms, there's still a lot of writing to be done. But some tools can help significantly, like Grammarly.

Despite what the name espouses, Grammarly helps you with a whole lot more than just basic writing structure and grammar. That's thanks to an integrated AI writing assistant that can enhance your writing skills and improve the quality of the content you create. You'll get real-time suggestions about grammar, spelling errors, punctuation, and style. Ultimately, that leads to better writing from you with the complete confidence and clarity of a skilled artisan. Let's take a closer look at what Grammarly has to offer, well, everyone.

Read more