Four-time Super Bowl champion Joe Montana wasn’t looking to be an investor after his NFL career, but his San Francisco 49ers teammates convinced him to give it a shot.
In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, the legendary quarterback recalled how former offensive tackle Harris Barton and former safety Ronnie Lott approached him with an idea to start a “fund of funds.”
“And because we lived around all the guys who were running Sequoia, Kleiner, Excel, all the top-tier funds, we’re going to leverage our friendships into access,” Montana said.
Silicon Valley and the NFL are converging again on Sunday as the Super Bowl will be played in San Jose, where the 49ers now play their home games.
Back when Montana first got into investing, he and his associates initially raised $15 million, and the fund grew from there, helping them get into leveraged buyout funds, hedge funds, and real estate funds, he said.
But Montana later moved two hours away from San Francisco to the Napa wine country, forcing him to step back from investing.
Then he connected with angel investor Ron Conway because their kids attended the same school. The cofounder of SV Angel introduced Montana to tech incubator Y Combinator and encouraged him to start his own fund, Liquid 2, in 2015.
Conway advised Montana, who shared a key lesson he learned from the legendary Silicon Valley investor.
“Everybody thinks it’s always about product,” he told CNBC. “But as early as we invest, most of the time it’s about people, and what you’re betting on are the founders.”
Montana also said his Liquid 2 work is more interesting than the fund of funds as his current job requires deeper involvement in his portfolio companies, especially in the early stages.
For his part, Conway told Worth magazine that Liquid 2 is now as big as SV Angel, adding that he and Montana invest together a lot.
“Because of his affable personality and his brand, he is able to get into really good syndicates and have lasting relationships,” he said.
Liquid 2 has invested in over 800 companies and was an early backer of GitLab, Rappi, Anduril, and Pipe, among others, according to Worth.
While Montana didn’t want his athletic fame to define his fund, he still draws on his experience in pro sports to help him invest. He said NFL coaching icon Bill Walsh showed him how to assemble a good team. Montana also learned to see parallels between great founders and elite athletes.
“It all stems from what’s inside them and their drive to succeed,” Montana told Worth.