Wall Street's Lax Bros: The Real Life Brothers Bringing Lacrosse to the Masses
*By Carlo Versano*
Two brothers-turned-co-founders are using their Wall Street and athletic experience to make lacrosse a mainstream sport ー with its own league, season, venues, and even exclusive TV deals.
Paul Rabil, a professional player with Major League Lacrosse, and his brother Mike founded the Premier Lacrosse League based on their shared love of a sport that has long been associated with Northeastern prep schools and Ivy League "bro" culture.
But the Rabils see a potential to unlock a much wider audience, based, in part, on increased lacrosse participation in high schools nationwide. The sport has seen [35 percent](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-22/wall-street-s-lacrosse-fraternity-backs-rabil-s-upstart-league) participation growth since 2012, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, which the Rabils called "rocket fuel" for the PLL when they appeared on Cheddar Tuesday.
With Mike serving as CEO and Paul as CSO, the brothers have already secured funding for a six-team league with a 14-game season ー as well as an exclusive live TV deal with NBC Sports Group. They will offer their full-time athletes benefits and equity in the league: "Athletes have become the new investors," Paul said.
But their biggest challenge still lies ahead: convincing casual sports fans that there's more to LAX than the bros.
*Disclaimer: Cheddar Founder and CEO Jon Steinberg is a PLL advisor.*
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/meet-wall-streets-lax-bros).
It might not be what investors want to hear… but bringing down inflation could mean interest rates stay higher for (even) longer. But it's not all downside.
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have discussed Taiwan, artificial intelligence and security issues in a call meant to demonstrate a return to regular leader-to-leader dialogue between the two powers.
April is Earth month, and while the green revolution might feel far away, the founder of climate VC Siam Capital says it’s on it’s way, and, even better: it won't cost you more.
From snow in April to heatwaves in December, it’s hard to plan a trip in a climate change world. Startup Sensible Weather thinks weather-based travel reimbursements are the solution.
Between corporate debt and the widening gap between ‘the haves and the have nots,’ there are reasons to be cautious about the economy, even with interest rate cuts on their way.
If the A.I. hype hasn’t given you enough of a reason to be excited (and a little terrified), the CEO of Zapata AI says the next frontier is designing bridges or creating pharmaceutical drugs.
