Phoenix Suns star Chris Paul is one of the newest faces to join digital media startup Greenfly’s latest funding round, and the perks come with some new titles.
TechCrunch reports that the NBA All-Star’s investment will have him serve as a strategic investor and partner in the company through its $8.4 million strategic growth round. Existing investors in the round include Go4it Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, Alpha Edison and Iconica Partners, as well as others like Verance Capital, Higher Ground Labs, DD Venture Capital, SW19 Ventures, LinkinFirm and Allievo Capital.
Greenfly’s new funding round puts the company at over $23 million raised since it was first founded by former Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Shawn Green and his cousin Daniel Kirschner — who previously served in senior roles at the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Communications Commission and Activision Blizzard.
Greenfly is a company that considers itself a “leader in digital media monetization,” according to its website. It uses its software platform to allow users to “collect, organize and distribute digital media to partners and advocates to build awareness on social media” and ultimately drive revenue growth.
TechCrunch shares that Paul was one of the company’s early adopters, using the platform to share his content across all of his social media accounts after his NBA games. With all the valuable images and videos that sit on his phone from games to events, Paul figured the platform was a great system to help easily share his content with his fans and followers.
According to him, one of the platform’s best features is being able to discover new photos from events he’s never seen before. As a new partner at Greenfly, he believes it has the potential to see growth. He plans to work with it to build more awareness and get fellow players involved as well.
“I’m a big believer of creating memories and seeing photos,” Paul tells TechCrunch. “You can go in and search for my name and Devin Booker’s and see photos of us playing together. The NBA uses Greenfly to automate the media and share with others. I love it because it makes it easy — you don’t want something hard and complicated.”
“With Chris, it is an opportunity to come at it from the athlete’s perspective,” Greenfly President/ Chief Executive Officer Kirschner adds about recruiting more athletes to boost the company’s profile. “Our deals are mainly with leagues and teams, so to be working with athletes, who are their own brands, enables us to be the system of record for all sides.”
In addition to Greenfly, Paul also recently invested in plant-based protein manufacturer Koia to help make nutritious lifestyles more accessible to the Black community.
