Global empires are not built overnight, and not everyone is fit for entrepreneurship, a challenging and complex undertaking that takes a great balance of courage, hard work, and dedication to drive change. While many are passionate about making a transformative impact, others struggle to emanate grit in a market where being competitive and strategic must be innate characteristics or risk being devoured by larger enterprises—but not Danny Cortenraede.
Danny is among those breaking boundaries in the enterprise and sports arena. Armed with his extensive knowledge in business and entertainment—having completed his Executive MBA (PLD) and an Executive Program in Business, Entertainment, Media, and Sports at Harvard Business School—the Los Angeles-based seasoned entrepreneur and investor is a stalwart of innovation and growth.
In his over 20 years of experience in the field of business, Danny has managed to establish connections and forge bonds with C-suite executives at Fortune 500 companies. His stint as a co-star and judge at the popular business reality streaming TV series Unicorn Hunters also contributed to his growing influence. These relationships helped turn his grand vision to foster innovation a reality—a feat that earned him accolades, including clinching the global entrepreneur award in 2024 and 2025, and becoming an inspirational face in Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Entrepreneur magazine, Sports Business Journal, Venture Capital Journal, and Athletech News.
But connections are not the be-all, end-all in developing a successful career in the industry. As a five-time founder of global companies, Danny leveraged his expertise in creating solutions to a sector often overlooked by many—sports.
While other enterprises focused their efforts and resources on integrating advanced technologies in critical industries, such as manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and transportation, among others, Danny was brave enough to invest in sports innovation, an area often neglected despite being a critical sector of the global economy.
left: Jameis Winston – quarterback for the New York Giants, right: Danny Cortenraede
Sports is one of the many sectors run by powerful individuals but lacks entrepreneurship to thrive. Through InStudio Ventures, a forward-thinking investment firm, Danny managed to give athletes a platform to advocate for a revolution in the sports industry. As its founder and Managing Partner, he demonstrated the incredible dynamics of sports, media, and technology, thanks partly to his experience as a General Partner at Legacy of Adidas (leAD), a venture founded by the grandchildren of Adi Dassler, the man behind the famous brand with the three stripes, Adidas.
His time at leAD molded him into an entrepreneur who could help understand unspoken cues in the industry. This allowed Danny to expand his empire and invest in more than 60 companies worldwide, including firms run by influential leaders in the sports sector, such as renowned golfer Tiger Woods, who co-founded the independent agency network TMRW Sports Group, and TogethXr co-founded by Alex Morgan.
Danny’s unwavering commitment to the industry has yielded significant recognitions, which reflect the diligent efforts he has invested in his work, including being named one of the top global sports innovators in 2022 and 2025 by Sportstech X and becoming a trusted advisor in the global sports and tech ecosystem.
Rediscovering the Real Power of Athletes Outside the Court
Athletes are the face of the sports industry, demonstrating discipline, resiliency, leadership, adaptability, and superhuman strength—characteristics that made them iconic faces of brands that cater to the sector, from footwear, apparel, timepieces, and energy drinks down to items that are not tied to sports, including commercial cars and financial services.
With the sports industry projected to grow exponentially in the coming years, Danny knew that emerging technologies would play a critical role in this growth, not just the sector’s but that of the athletes’ as well.
Carrying the belief that athletes should not be confined within courts and endorsement deals, Danny invests in promoting and driving sports technology, advocating for the use of Big Data to enhance fan engagement to create real connections and reshape the gaming industry with e-sports.
But above all else, Danny is dedicated to empowering athletes to regain control over their long-term stability and security, abolishing the notion that these things are tied to endorsement deals.
Brand deals are not a lifetime venture. For athletes, they are an easy means to make a quick buck, however, a notable limitation is that the individuals endorsing the brand do not possess the authority to determine whether a specific endorsement should be maintained as this responsibility lies with the stakeholders of the brand.
InStudio Ventures stands as a solution to this, offering athletes access to a wealth of investments to diversify their revenue stream while learning about entrepreneurship from esteemed founders and business leaders, while simultaneously expanding their professional networks with peers who share similar interests.
Leaving a Legacy
Accolades and endorsement deals may be the ultimate measure of success for athletes during their entire sports career, but off-field, it is a different gameplay.
InStudio Ventures supports athletes in mapping their journey outside the courts and when it is about time to hang up their cleats.
InStudio not only gives them a platform that provides a transparent and steady investment flow to support them in carrying their mission, but also helps them learn about the investment world – why the deal makes sense or not. Athletes are involved as far as possible in the process: dealflow meetings, talking directly to startups etc.
While InStudio Ventures stands as a means to diversify athletes’ wealth off-field, Danny made sure that this initiative would uphold its vision to help the sports sector grow by supporting clubs, teams, and leagues, and promoting inclusion by empowering women through the use of emerging technologies.
InStudio Ventures is not made solely for professional athletes, but also for those seeking to drive the sports industry and leave a lasting impact that will reverberate throughout the sector in the coming generations.
