With his untimely death, former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant left behind a 20-year basketball career, five NBA championships, two Olympic gold medals — and a budding business empire that stretched into venture capital, media and, of course, sports with a couple D.C.-area connections.
Bryant died Sunday at age 41 in a helicopter accident in Calabasas, California. He was on his way to Thousand Oaks to coach his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, who also died in the crash, in a basketball game at the Mamba Sports Academy he announced in 2018. The facility offers holistic, multisport training for young athletes.
But his steps into the business community began much earlier, just a few months after his retirement in 2016. At that time, Bryant unveiled his venture capital firm with entrepreneur Jeff Stibel, with whom the basketball star had been working since 2013.
Called Bryant Stibel, their firm has invested in several Los Angeles startups, including legal solutions provider LegalZoom,…
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