Talk about dunking. Shaquille O’Neal, 15-time NBA All-Star, 4-time NBA Champion and 3-time NBA Finals MVP, will join us at TC Disrupt 2023, September 19-21.
After nearly 20 years in the NBA, O’Neal has built a business empire worth an estimated $400 million — an easy transition from superstar to tycoon.He will join us as lead investor Exoma, an AI-driven reading, education and communication platform for children. Company founder and CEO Kyle Wallgren will also join the fireside chat.
A staunch advocate for children’s literacy, O’Neill participated in charity basketball events and founded the Shaquille O’Neal Foundation Supporting underserved youth. It was no surprise to find him adding edtech to his portfolio, but we were curious to know why he chose Edsoma.
Wallgren is a visionary leader committed to making a positive impact through his work, with the ultimate mission of eradicating illiteracy throughout the world. As a parent who has weathered the challenges of Covid-related school closures, he founded Edsoma to help parents instill a love of reading in their children as a way to address the decline in reading skills caused by the pandemic.
The app helps kids learn correct pronunciation when read aloud, and it lets parents read with their kids anywhere — think separated or traveling parents, deployed military or faraway grandparents.
A veritable business mogul — Shaq earned an MBA in 2005 — O’Neill has invested in companies like Google, Apple and Ring. He is the second largest individual shareholder in Authentic Brands Group, owning multiple franchises including Big Chicken, Papa Johns, Krispy Kreme and many other entrepreneurial ventures.
Kyle Wallgren is a successful entrepreneur with a proven track record of building and selling several small businesses. Of the 13 companies he started, he sold 10.
We look forward to learning what qualities Shaq looks for in a founder and how he and Wallgren plan to grow and scale the company.
