Eric
You and I have talked for hours about what works and what doesn't work, what needs to be changed, and what has caused others to fail in the past - who caused it and why.
If you profit from this (in any way or in any amount), it is the mark of the ventures' success.I wouldn't explain or apologize about the bottom line to anybody. Right now we are at a point where we would have to jump to reach bottom.
We both know what Dana had to do to get the UFC where it is today. Everybody told Dana that he was wasting his time and energy trying to save a sport that would never and could never be marketed to the mainstream public. Three guys bought UFC when it was dead. It was over. The sport was dead and no one cared. 10 years later, businesses are tripping over each other and knocking each other to the ground in order to sponsor the UFC's PPV's.
Dana wasn't stupid, and he knew that if he could gain the assistance of Frank and Lorenzo, that he would get the start up capital (as well as inside networking capabilities with the Nevada State Athletic/Gaming Commission).
I bring this up only because after all of that, and after securing the services of guys like Mark Ratner - which IMO is the best hiring move ever made by Zuffa (sorry Rogan - lol) collectively they all had to sit down and find a way reinvent and re-market Mixed Martial Arts.
Look at it today.
Dana knows what he has, and he is not in the kneeling position looking for money from anybody - and I quote Dana White - "Look at how huge we are. I don't need f****** Coca-cola to keep doing what we're doing, man.
Dana understood that the promoters killed boxing by taking it off free television. He saw boxing as a roadmap of what not do and went in the other direction - flipping off the Wall Street know-it-alls that told him he was nuts.
By surrounding ourselves with people that share our vision, our work ethic, and our love for the game, we can do the same thing.
It can't be about the money. If you are doing anything "just for the money" then you can only go so far. This needs be done from the heart and soul - if you need some input on that, get with Dana and he can explain the reasons for this to you better than anyone in the world. I am sure you have heard Dana's quote - "I am a guy that did exactly what he wanted to do. When you do that, the money follows." Dana never talks about the money - its not what he's about.
Joe Rogan is also a great resource, and good guy and someone that was with the UFC organization when nobody gave a shitt about it. He stuck with it because of his love for the sport - and he is as much a part of their success as the fighter's (IMO - and isn't it strange that I haven't brought up fighters - YET)
The Fertitta's were a Nevada Casino family. Today, I believe most of their money is primarily invested in Zuffa.
We need to surround ourselves with people that have been through the building process and followed through until they succeeded - like Dana White. Abandon the old ideas. Griffin Vs Bonnar 1 was not something that could (or would) have been signed, or predicted. It is moments such as that where we need to allow the magic of pocket billiards to take over. The game has appeal, but you need to market players that play from their hearts, not their wallet.
You know that you can always call me if you need an idea or two, or if you just want to BS for a few hours about NPR stuff... have you ever noticed that you and I hardly talk about pool?
I know this post is long, all basically all it says is - study the successful people around you, and also study the unsuccessful people around you. From there you can chart your own course in either direction. In the past, pool has chosen the wrong path over and over again. Hopefully that will change. The UFC has gone through what pool is going through and they overcame the odds. We can too.
