Jun 28, 2022
As a prominent businessman and investor, Baron Davis’ latest partnership is on a mission to support those who look like him.
The former NBA star has joined forces with Hennessy for its “Never Stop Never Settle Society” under the role of Board member.
As previously shared by AfroTech, the $1 million initiative provides 20 Black entrepreneurs with $50,000, the opportunity to work with Moët Hennessy executives, access to a state-of-the-art physical office at Moët Hennessy in New York City, and a membership to The Gathering Spot Connect — a Black-owned digital community.
Now, the Never Stop Never Settle Society has added Davis to its Board to have a hand in further championing not just Black entrepreneurs, but their communities, following the inaugural program in 2021.
“This has been about a year in the working,” Davis told AfroTech exclusively. “The Never Stop Never Settle Society is all about Black entrepreneurship, and Black excellence — finding the right like-minded individuals, collaborating, inspiring, and building aspirations for that next generation. So, for me, in my walk, in everything that I’ve been doing since I’ve retired has really been about that. [Asking] ‘How do we find these important Black founders and entrepreneurs?’ And, ‘How do we highlight them, connect them, invest in them and empower them to go forward to build bigger platforms and bigger opportunities?’ It’s almost like a full-circle thing.”
For his own journey as a serial entrepreneur, his initial start was almost predetermined, being that he learned of the space during his childhood. Hailing from South Central L.A. and previously playing in the league, he was inspired by some of the basketball greats to venture into business after closing his NBA chapter.
“I saw Magic, Shaq, Kobe, everybody kind of come through — Snoop, Suge, Tupac, everybody with entrepreneurial endeavors. And, I think for me, it was just being a young kid listening and learning. I would say Magic would be the ultimate mark for me because playing for the Lakers and then having Fatburger, the theaters, all these different businesses. Magic was always someone from an entrepreneurial standpoint that I would always seek advice with, talk to and start building out my business career.”
According to information shared with AfroTech, Davis has also partnered with Hennessy for a custom NFT, which was released on June 23 during NBA Draft Day and NFT Week. Minted by Team Baron Davis and auctioned in the Bitski marketplace, the NFT drop allows access to “exclusive Hennessy programming and product updates, VIP opportunities in alignment with Baron’s Hennessy partnership, and access to forthcoming virtual and IRL events.”
“You can purchase NFTs and walk through the gallery,” he shared. “These experiences for us are things that kind of make them sweet and we want to capture moments. We want to capture time and we know that this is like a historic mark for us, doing the first one this year because every year there’s gonna be a draft of new draftees. This is going to be an ongoing thing and an opportunity for the Never Stop Never Settle Society to have more NFTs be launched and more real-life events that can also mirror this virtual experience.”
Ngozi Nwanji is a Nigerian-American journalist, writer, and content creator from and based in Silver Spring, Maryland with a passion for storytelling, media representation, and music. Along with for AfroTech, she’s a contributing writer for Baltimore-based outlet The 4th Quarter and the founder of her own entertainment website, Z’s P.O.V – a platform for underrated music and Black creatives.
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