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Over the years, Iguodala’s funded over 40 companies including , , and . As an investor and a board member, he helped the company grow and go public in April 2019 with a billion-dollar IPO.

In recent weeks, Iguodala has taken on new roles in both the basketball and startup worlds. He recently joined the with . And on Feb. 5, he was for Catalyst Fund, the venture capital arm of Catalyst’s focus will be on early-stage investments in companies founded by African American, Latinx and female entrepreneurs.

For ’ Head of Funds and Managing Director , Iguodala’s investment experience and network, combined with his “his passion for supporting entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds,” is a perfect fit for the firm’s Catalyst Fund.

Since its formation in 2011, the fund has backed .

Catalyst Fund Principal (a Muslim of Indian descent) told me the fund gives her and Iguodala a chance to help back founders who might not otherwise have access to capital and networks.

“We both come from unconventional backgrounds, and we want to be able to help founders who also come from unconventional backgrounds,” she told me. “We both truly believe talent and brilliance is equally distributed amongst individuals and that we can help get them the right level of resources.”

In a telephone interview, Crunchbase News caught up with Iguodala to hear more in-depth about his and Husain’s plans for the fund, and just how the NBA star got into startup investing.

CB News: How did you get into startup investing in the first place?

Iguodala: About 8 or 9 years ago, I started seeing a large return in the tech sector in the public markets. From there, I got interested and wanted to dive deeper into learning how I could invest before companies hit the public markets. I started seeing the growth in the private space, and that eventually led to where I am now.

Things I look at are: market size, does a company have a competitive advantage, can it fight off tech giants like , and ? I also look at founders and their vision–where they see themselves in 10 years. I ask myself, “How can I personally add value to a company, not just from a capital standpoint?”

CB News: What’s the most interesting part about investing in startups and helping them grow?

Iguodala: For Fatima and I, it’s really exciting. Look at technology, and how it’s changed our lives from everything to scheduling a flight or getting my son’s basketball game schedule. Everything is on my phone these days, and how we move in general is so much different than just say, eight years ago. Technology is doing so much to make our lives more efficient. So when I’m looking at that, this is an exciting time to be in this space. Not only for capital gains, but what you’re adding by having involvement in people’s day-to-day lives over the next 20, 30 or 40 years.

CB News: How does being a pro basketball player help you when it comes to making startup investments?

Iguodala: I just joined a new team, , in basketball, and one here at Catalyst. With the Heat, I was hyper focused my first couple of times on the court. While every team runs the same plays, each one has different terminologies for them. So I’ve been watching and learning on the fly, and having to figure out things fast.

It’s similar in the tech space. There’s different terminology and different acronyms for different industries and teams. Different companies have different vibes, some are more laid back and others are more buttoned-up. I have had to learn how to add value to different cultures within companies in the same way as I have with different teams.

There’s lots of egos on both sides. I thought it was just in the sports world, but I see it too in tech in other VCs, entrepreneurs or the best engineers. So I’ve had to learn how to deal with different personalities in both sports and investing. I’ve also learned to adapt and learn about different industries, from consumer to enterprise brands for example.

CB News: As someone with an unconventional “non-traditional VC” background, what skills or perspective do you have that make you a better investor and startup consultant than someone who may not have this diverse background?

Iguodala: I’m really excited because what we’re doing with the Catalyst Fund and what we represent is investing in underrepresented communities, and determining how we can put them in our ecosystem and help them grow in a responsible and sustainable way.

Being a minority, you have to have a grander scope in terms of the people you deal with on a daily basis. Many of us have that back against the wall mentality, and a passion and grit.

Every morning I wake up with a chip on my shoulder, and know I have to wake up with that passion and juice to go and prove myself. I’ve learned that I have to sacrifice, work hard and step up when it’s my turn. I’m ready to help other unconventional founders, and founders who are underrepresented in funding in the tech space, in their own journey.

Reporter’s note: For more on NBA players who are also startup investors, check out this article I wrote last summer here.

Blog Roll Illustration:

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Last week the company its IPO mid-range, selling 13.5 million shares at $14.50 each, the . That’s worth just under $200 million. Tack on the 2,0250,000 more shares available to underwriters and the company’s possible total raise grows to $225 million.

And Jumia may raise the full 225 after its IPO was given a rapturous reception. After listing on the New York Stock Exchange, Jumia’s shares at $25.46, up 75.6 percent. It has risen further since.

There are two ways to read that result. The first is as a success; Jumia raised hundreds of millions of dollars, floated its shares, and managed a huge first-day gain. And you can read it as a failure; Jumia could have theoretically sold fewer shares at a higher price to raise its capital, lessening dilution of extant shareholders.

But in the IPO hierarchy of results, having a big first-day pop is better than over-pricing shares and seeing your equity quickly slip under its IPO price. So, Jumia had at least a pretty good day, even if you want to (fairly, I’d say) reckon that its IPO was underpriced.

We bring all this to you for two reasons:

• Jumia’s IPO shows that there is plenty of appetite on U.S. exchanges for high-risk shares in tech companies still losing lots of money;
• That ecommerce isn’t category non grata among public investors.

The first point is true in Jumia’s case despite being a dramatic example of the trend. As we reported when Jumia filed to go public, it has workable growth but huge losses, measured as a percent of revenue:

The numbers are simple enough. Revenue grew from 94.0 million Euro in 2017 to 130.6 million Euro in 2018. That’s 38.9 percent growth. During the same two periods, however, the firm’s “loss for the year” rose from 165.4 million Euro to 170.4 million Euro.

So, what gives? I would bet a dollar that Jumia’s status as the “Amazon of Africa” has something to do with its success in the face of such deep unprofitably. After all, Amazon for years before becoming one of the biggest companies in the world. And as Jumia has a strong presence in Africa, a continent with , it has huge growth potential.

Do its losses matter, then, so long as Jumia is building the continent’s future online shopping, shipping, and last-mile delivery network? Maybe not. At least that appears to be the public investors’ wager.

It’s the same bet that private-market investors made in the company . Supposedly smart money on both sides of the public-private market divide has proven more than willing to power Jumia. Now it’s up to the company to tighten up its losses and show that it can expand without the crutch of external capital.

But don’t think that we’re only judging Jumia along those lines; most unicorns going public this year are shedding cash faster than is healthy. The whole class of companies will need to curtail costs while still driving growth.

Illustration: .