Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Rubin.
Justin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After a brief stint as a college basketball player, I realized I wanted to be on the business side of basketball. Some of my former college teammates were extremely talented and I knew they had a chance to play at the next level. I thought to myself, how can I help players land job opportunities in other leagues outside of the NBA? Little did I know, there were numerous countries internationally that had professional leagues with contract opportunities for skilled Americans. I brainstormed a few names for my venture and picked the most straight forward one, “Pro Connect”.
My goal was to connect undervalued college players here in the U.S. to professional leagues abroad. I created a social media page, spent the first 6 months posting players’ highlights and making connections with teams, agents, coaches, and GMs all over the world and eventually got my first player signed to a team. From there, I saw the potential of the platform I was building and kept growing my network to help out even more players. Four years later, our social media page has 20,000 followers, we have landed contracts for 50+ players in 25+ countries and are regarded as one of the most reputable overseas basketball services around.
The most important thing I learned throughout the process is that you can truly do what you put your mind to if you have the right people in your circle, put yourself out there, take risks, and network as much as you can.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has extremely difficult! I did not make any $ for the first year and was building up the business while also being a college student. It was tough to balance everything and scale the business to where I wanted it to be. Often times, I questioned why I was doing it and if the model would really succeed. The industry is so competitive, and it was tough to gain players’ trust due to my age and lack of experience. I was a fish in a pool of sharks, but I stuck with it and carved myself a path in a niche market.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Pro Connect?
Pro connect helps undervalued college basketball players in the U.S. start or continue their pro careers internationally. We utilize social media to increase the exposure for a player in an attempt to get them signed. We have grown to be one of the most reputable overseas basketball services globally and have built up a network that is unmatched. What I am really proud of is that we turned a business into a brand and so many players turn to Pro Connect for assistance when trying to play pro. We have helped so many players accomplish their dreams and are continuing to do so!
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Risk taking is essential for growth! You will never get to where you want to be if you don’t take risks. Many people are afraid to take risks because they know failing is a possible outcome. I have failed multiple times and wouldn’t change that because for every time I failed, I was taught a lesson that led to me succeeding in one way or another.
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