SBC Audio Experience is back with a brand new episode of our “SBC Alumni Takeover Series,” with new host Jazmine Thomas! In today’s episode, she sits down with Nate Verstagen and Brandon Mitchell on how their SBC experience propelled them into their careers.
In this episode, Jazmine sits down with Nate Verstegen and Brandon Mitchell to explore how their time at Sports Business Classroom helped launch their careers and, more importantly, how a shared classroom experience evolved into a trusted friendship and professional support system.
In this episode, they dive into:
- How two Sports Business Classroom alumni turned a classroom friendship into lasting professional success
- The importance of networking with intention and nurturing genuine relationships
- The role trust, honesty, and shared ambition play in long-term career growth
- Lifting your peers up as you climb, and why community is essential in the sports business
What began as casual conversations and office hours quickly grew into a relationship built on authenticity, ambition, and mutual accountability, reinforcing the idea that SBC is about more than a single networking moment.
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SHOW NOTES
- Nate’s Biggest takeaway from SBC is friendship and how it’s fostered many relationships (4:40)
- How did you first cross paths with the program, and what was it like? (5:28)
- Nate and Brandon had good laughs before both going to office hours ( 7:16)
- Both had hunger and wanted to get better every day
- Met a professor and talked with him for two hours (9:20)
- At what point did you realize this wasn’t just a one-time networking moment? When did you realise you had that connection? (11:45)
- Both live in LA, and through conversation, they both figured that out through conversation
- People noticed that Nate and Brandon gravitated towards each other (12:59)
- Trust was built (13:40)
- Similar ambitions (15:55)
- Jazmine talks about being who you are and living within your purpose (18:02)
- Looking at where you are today? What does that trust and support look like now? (18:33)
- Brandon talks about honesty (18:50)
- Iron sharpens iron (19:35)
- Nate talks about not taking things personally (19:45)
- Ability to reflect (21:00)
- Brandon talks about Nate pushing him (22:46)
- Share some accomplishments that you have made from SBC that are a reflection of what you’ve learned from the program. (25:00)
- Nate learned how to create genuine relationships with authenticity
- He is close with the PR agency (25:50)
- Find the lining that is not just transnational relationships (27:00)
- Brandom overcome anxiety because he stepped into it from creativity to seeking business (27:40)
- Brandon values the realness, work, and love (29:26)
- Brandon is founder of BAM- people often separate sports and entertainment but Brandon has a perspective that they hold so many similarities and unified them through the agency. What inspired the project? (30:33)
- Started as a dance (30:46)
- Stack days and turn passion into reps (31:22)
- Transactional aspect of entertainment (33:00)
- Idea behind the name BAM
- Becomes brother’s agent (34:20)
- What have you discovered through the process- starting your own agency?
- Biggest advice is education (35:50)
- Listening podcast and having conversations with people in the space (37:15)
- Hear it then it apply it (37:17)
- Take it one day at a time and continue to educate yourself (38:15)
- Don’t lose the reason why you started it (38:40)
- Nate added that to never stop doing if something gets in the way (40:11)
- Basketball is a game for life (41:05)
- Visualize goal (41:00)
- If you know anything about finding placement in the industry, it takes some time. Tell everyone about your journey. (43:00)
- Nate was right out of undergrad and wanted to break into the industry (43:16)
- Ironically friends with people now that he contacted through lInked in when he was first trying to get into the industry (43:44)
- Include things that are not work related on your resume (44:06)
- Don’t get too high or too low (44:16)
- Take advantage of resources around you (44:58)
- Sbc give people a platform and framework(47:11)
- Theme is relationships and authenticity (49:25)
- Find the thing that separates you (49:29)
- Understanding the power you have and who you are (50:00)
- Everybody has an adavtnage but the key is to find your advantage (55:00)
- It takes work and nothing will be given (55:38)
- What are things Brandon and Nate are working on?
- Brandon and his co founder – coregorhaing Khalid project (56:23)
- His brother is going into last year- Pearson all SEC (56:50)
- Brandon has taken on 2 new clients (57:57)
- Stay up to date with BAM PSorts and prodigy sports (1:00:29)
