11-Time NBA All-Star Jumps from User to Strategic Investor and Partner to Supercharge Greenfly’s Mission to Strengthen Relationships Between Organizations and Audiences through Brand Ambassadors
Los Angeles—August 24, 2021—Greenfly, the digital media flow management software that empowers sports organizations to generate more revenue from their digital media IP, announced today that Chris Paul, 11-time NBA All-Star, humanitarian and entrepreneur, has joined Greenfly as a strategic investor and partner. Paul’s investment is part of a strategic growth round raised to fuel Greenfly’s growth and market expansion.
As a Greenfly “power-user” and believer in the concept, Paul will also serve as a strategic partner to support Greenfly’s commercial expansion as it further enables rich collaboration between organizations, their athletes, ambassadors and sponsors through sourcing, creation and automated distribution of short-form photos and videos created for social media.
“Greenfly is one of the most recognizable names among athletes,” said Paul, “but its application and impact extends far beyond the court or field. Greenfly simplifies digital media creation and distribution through a single platform and app, which makes it incredibly easy for organizations to work with any ambassador—whether they’re an NBA player, superfan, influencer or volunteer—to share their authentic passion and affiliation to the brands and causes they love.”
Paul has experienced Greenfly’s impact firsthand as an early adopter, ambassador for the Chris Paul Family Foundation and Social Change Fund, and as former President of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). “It’s incredible to come full circle from ambassador to partner and join Greenfly in maximizing brand-building capabilities and audience engagement through the power of digital media.”
Greenfly was founded by former Major League Baseball All-Star Shawn Green and Daniel Kirschner, who has held senior legal roles at the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Communications Commission and Activision Blizzard. The two drew inspiration from the business of baseball and the rise of social media to create a platform that drives new sources of revenue for organizations through the real-time distribution of original short-form media to individuals and groups of any size.
Green and Kirschner envisioned a world where word-of-mouth endorsement on social media platforms is the best form of advertising, and distributing media to broadcast rights holders, sponsors, and partners, ambassadors and athletes effectively creates a legion of promotional partners.
“Greenfly’s platform is a private media collaboration network for just about any organization. It’s flexible enough for teams looking to amplify storytelling and share brand experiences through their athletes, ambassadors, influencers or advocates,” said Green. “Our earliest iteration solved for the fragmented system I experienced between sports photographers and players who rely on real-time, organic content to build their personal brands. For athletes like Chris Paul, Greenfly has become their media lifeline. It has given him a continuous feed of photos and videos of him on the court he can share on his social media channels without IP infringement. Posting better content more often, he has been able to grow his personal brand, as well as strengthen that of the brands and organizations that Paul works with.”
For organizations such as Paul’s CP3 Basketball Academy and Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL), the platform provides an easy way to capture and share photos and videos that engage new fans on social media, and help build communities that continue to generate more awareness and support. Greenfly recently worked with EYBL to activate over 1,500 young athletes, and in only two weeks distributed over 9,000 curated media assets to them to be shared on their social profiles, and over 5,000 assets were selected by athletes to be shared on their personal social accounts.
“More than ever, people trust recommendations from their friends, along with their favorite athletes, and celebrities and are increasingly wary of glossy content manufactured by brands. What Greenfly does is allow brands and organizations to manage this dynamic and give those ‘people they trust’ something genuinely compelling to say about their brand,” said Kirschner. “With support of our strategic partners like Chris Paul, one of the most active users among the tens of thousands using Greenfly, we’re looking forward to working with more sports leagues, teams, commercial brands and even social causes to activate and power their valuable networks of ambassadors.”
Paul joins new investors as part of an $8.4M strategic growth round for Greenfly, including Verance Capital, Higher Ground Labs, DD Venture Capital, SW19 Ventures, LinkinFirm and Allievo Capital as well as participation from previous investors Go4it Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, Alpha Edison and Iconica Partners.
Greenfly has scaled to support over 30 sports leagues in addition to over 500 organizations in sports, media and entertainment, political campaigns, social causes, and consumer brands, experiencing over 100% growth in 2021. A snapshot of customers includes: National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), World Surf League, ESPN, BET, Canal+, Real Madrid C.F., SailGP, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and ONE Championship.
For more information on Greenfly, visit www.greenfly.com. To learn more about Chris Paul’s non-profit organization, visit www.chrispaul3.com.
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About Greenfly
Greenfly, the leader in digital media monetization, empowers organizations to generate more revenue by automating the continuous flow of short-form media to their advocates and partners. The company’s award-winning software platform and mobile app enable organizations to transform their athletes, sponsors and broadcasters into social media promoters and realizing the value of their digital inventory. Founded in 2014, Greenfly is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with offices across the U.S. and Europe. To learn more, please visit www.greenfly.com.
About Chris Paul
Chris Paul is an 11-time NBA All-Star and two-time Olympic Gold medalist. Paul currently plays with the Phoenix Suns and previously played with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, and New Orleans Hornets. Off the court, he’s a father, husband, entrepreneur, activist, and philanthropist. He recently ended his tenure as the President of the National Basketball Players Association, which began in 2013. His business partnerships include the Jordan Brand, State Farm Insurance, Turner Impact Capital, Muzik, WTRMLN WTR, Beyond Meat, PlayersTV, Uncharted Power, Calm, Fanatics, Knowable, goPuff, Panini Cards, and more. In his home state of North Carolina, he is part owner of the Winston-Salem Dash and owner of the CP3 Basketball Academy. He is the co-founder of Go Hoop Day, a day for celebrating the game of basketball worldwide, and he co-hosts The Baha Mar Showdown, the annual celebrity golf showcase created by Turner Sports and CAA Sports. His production company, Ohh Dip!!! Productions, creates content across multiple platforms and Paul has executive produced projects including Chapter 3, Crossroads, The Game Changers, Blackballed, Why Not Us: NC Central Men’s Basketball, The Day Sports Stood Still, American Sole, and The Chris Paul Project. Ohh Dip!!! co-produces Bloomberg Quicktake’s How I Got Here, an in-depth weekly one-on-one interview series hosted by Paul and debuting this fall. His upcoming memoir, Sixty-One: Life Lessons from Papa, On and Off the Court, is a powerful and unexpected memoir of family, faith, tragedy, and life’s most important lessons. The Chris Paul Family Foundation continues to provide resources that enrich and strengthen underserved communities across the country. Paul co-launched the Social Change Fund dedicated to investing in and supporting organizations focused on empowering communities of color and advocating for the human rights of all black lives. His philanthropic efforts have earned him the 2016 ESPYs “Humanitarian of the Year” award, 2016 Mannie Jackson Human Spirit Award and the NBA Community Assist Award five times.
