CEO Blake Lawrence: Concussions Forced Identity Shift from Football to Biz

Blake Lawrence, Co-Founder & CEO of Opendorse, joins Pro Mindset host Craig Domann to share his experiences as a former college football player and his transition to life after football. Blake was a starting linebacker for the Nebraska Cornhuskers until he stepped away from football due to concussions and concern for his future health.

Blake played college football with current veteran NFL players Prince Amukamara and Ndamukong Suh, as well as, his current business partner Adi Kunalic. Blake shares his key carryovers from college football to the business world:

• Trust
• Discipline
• Compete
• Belief & Passion
• Work Ethic

Blake shares that sports has a tendency to draw people together, not only the players who practice, play and have fun together but also for fans who attend games or watch games together. There is a gravitational pull with and among athletes and fans.

Blake and his company are the leaders in the athlete social media marketing space. He tells us that consumers have a 20 times greater appetite (engagement rate) for player social media marketing than team/organization social media marketing. Even though teams average 30 posts on social media per day and players only average 6 posts on social media per day, companies/brands utilizing players in social media marketing is far more effective.

Opendorse, an athlete social media marketing company, matches companies and brands with athletes. Opendorse is built on the foundation that athletes have significantly more engagement value than companies because people on social media will stop their strolling way more often for faces than logos.

Opendorse is headquartered in Lincoln, NE. Blake and his best friend, college roommate and Nebraska teammate, Adi Kunalic, co-founded Opendorse in 2013.