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Anthony Rosa
CEO Anthony Rosa of Global Sports & Entertainment AgencyRemember that high school basketball prodigy? The soccer pro? Or maybe that baseball legend? Think back to watching these student athletes at his or her finest - leading the team to championships and ultimate victories. In their senior year and at the top of their game, there was still the decision of what to do and where to go to college. Anthony Rosa, 32, President and CEO of Global Sports and Entertainment Agency, saw there was a need and founded his company to channel students’ momentum into in-hand university athletic scholarships. Abiding by the acronym G.A.M.E. (Grades, Ability, Motivation, Exposure) Anthony acts as the conduit between high school athletes and college recruiters. This sports marketing guru boasts a 100% success rate, and believe it or not, he doesn’t stop there either. Anthony’s company also promotes up and coming entertainment talent, and spearheads the ‘got GAME?’ clothing line. In business for 10 years, Anthony anticipates opening satellite offices internationally and maintaining that ever-constant competitive edge. Learn more about Anthony, how he got game and what's to come in the future as we feature him in this week's Young & Professional profile.
Company
1. Global Sports & Entertainment Agency - Marketing Firm
2. The Got GAME? Collection - Sports Apparel Line
Founded
1. October 1997 2. October 2007
Website
www.gspn.net
www.gotgamegear.net (launching Nov 20)
Name
Anthony Rosa CEO and President
Age
32
Hometown
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Current residence
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Education
University of Miami, BA in Psychology, 1996
Ethnicity
Puerto Rican
About the companies
1. Global Sports & Entertainment Agency is a Sports & Entertainment Marketing Company that is divided into 2 divisions:
a) Sports and
b) Entertainment
a) The sports marketing end of our company deals with the development of today's youth. We do this by helping high school athletes market their abilities and talents to the many current college recruiters in the hopes of attaining an athletic scholarship. Through our various marketing methods, we organize a comprehensive and extremely agressive campaign to locate the colleges from which we believe our clients have a better opportunity at receiving an athletic scholarship. We pursue those schools all the while providing parents an organized up to the minute update they can view through our online athletic profile. This application allows us to enter data when we come in contact with or leave a message for a college recruiter. It also provides them with tracking numbers so they can track videos that we mail out to coaches and see when they've received them.
Another part of our sports marketing business involves the training of athletes. We have partnered with several leading professionals to provide the very best training in all sports for our student-athletes. Our training starts at ages as early as 10-11 years of age.
Some other services we provide to student-athletes and their families involve video productions for training purposes or to have them use in launching their own marketing efforts for their son or daughter.
From this part of the business is where 'got GAME?' came from. GAME? is an acronym for:
G - Grades
A - Ability
M - Motivation
E - Exposure
In our line of work we strongly believe you must have all of the above to go on and earn your way to receive a college scholarship. Without Grades, Ability, Motivation or Exposure many student-athletes will fall through the recruting cracks and not play college sports.
This all leads us to the other division of our company which involves Entertainment marketing.
b) The entertainment side of our business revolves around the same philiosophy as our sports marketing division because it's all based on increasing your market value through marketing.
We provide marketing and merchandising solutions to help clients generate revenue through the:
- development of websites
- development of merchandise such as calendars
- marketing professional athletes, models, actors/actresses, entertainers
- providing distribution for their merchandise
- providing graphic design and printing solutions
- provide video recording, editing and DVD production/replication
- and the list goes on...
Some of our clients are Vida Guerra, Melyssa Ford, Coco, Raja Bell, Ice-T, Morris Peterson, Ursula Mayes, Jennifer Nicole Lee, Burke Spencer and now The got GAME? Collection
The got GAME? Collection, is our most recent venture. We have taken our 'got GAME?' registered mark for athletic recruiting services and developed our own sports apparel line for boys and girls from 5th grade to 12th grade. Of course, this is the same market we cater to using the sports marketing side of our business.
The collection will launch on December 1, 2006 in time for the holiday season and will open with items such as: sports bags, travel bags, backpacks, hats, jeans, sneakers, socks, undergarments, headbands/wristbands, umbrellas, notebooks, pens, folders, wipies, shirts, shorts, jogging suits, sweatshirts and pants, baseball and basketball jerseys and many more items. We are launching the website: http://www.gotgamegear.net on November 20th 2006 to begin taking pre-orders and will be offering a grand opening sale of 20% off any purchase when you shop online and use the discount code: cc (case sensitive). This code will only be valid through December 31, 2006.
Most notable milestones
Our most notable recent milestone has probably been the development of The got GAME? Collection. A very creative spin off to our registered: 'got GAME?' mark for our sports marketing services now finds its way into our entertainment business as we have to:
- design
- manufacture
- test quality control
- package
- distribute
our own sports apparel line. It's been a tremendous challenge but most certainly our most notable milestone to date.
If I would have to provide you with our most notable milestones for each division of our company I'd have to say that, providing services for celebrity models, athletes and corporations in our entertainment marketing business, serves as our most notable milestone.
On our sports marekting business, our most notable milestone has been our 100% success rate of student-athletes achieving scholarships through our placement program. This success rate dates back since our inception in 1997.
What's the niche?
What makes us unique from any other company in the industry providing services similar to ours is customer service. I've been fortunate to develop a great friendship with Jim Donald, now President/CEO of Starbucks and I will never forget listening to him speak about the importance of customer service when I first started the business in 1997, where he was then President of Pathmark stores in New Jersey.
Anyone can provide a service of goods, but not everyone can provide quality customer service for such goods. In the office our employees understand the importance of customer service and its what people we have worked with will tell you it's the reason they keep coming back to us.
What's the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge is always risk-taking. Without it, there would be no business, so everyday we step foot in the office I encourage my employees to take risks. As Jim Donald would say: "Don't be afraid to go places where you've never been before." He would use the analogy of a turtle, where they stick their necks out just to move forward, each and every time taking a risk. I encourage thinking out of the box and taking risks.
What's in store for the future?
The future is very bright for Global Sports & Entertainment Agency as we will continue to expand our sports marketing business. We have opened an office in Puerto Rico two years ago and we look to build on that by helping athletes from Latin America and the Caribbean find their way to the US by earning athletic scholarships.
The entertainment division of our company will only continue to grow as we are now providing US distribution for a Latin coffee company and expanding their brand to Asia.
The got GAME? Collection is full of open possiblities. We aim to achieve international distribution of our brand and open stores to promote and sell our sports apparel line. We also trust that in the near future we would be able to develop a line for any of our celebrity clients, but as they say we must crawl before we walk. It just seems we've been crawling, then hitting the ground running, but that's the result of countless hours of hard work and a dedicated team behind Global Sports & Entertainment Agency.
Who would you like to be contacted by?
Certainly any high school student-athlete, parent, coach, athletic director or booster club member can contact us regarding our sports marketing services or visit our website: www.gspn.net.
Any aspiring or established model, actor/actress, professional athlete or entertainer can contact us regarding our entertainment marketing services such as: independent bookings/management, marketing, web developing, merchandising, video prodcution, distribution, graphic design or image consulting.
As of this moment we are not in need of any investors for our companies, but we are always open to entertaining investors, venture capitalist and anyone interested in learning more about our company from an investment standpoint.
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Best way to keep a competitive edge
The best way to keep a competitive edge is to encourage risk-taking and thinking out of the box. That is what will keep the company moving forward. In addition to that customer service, I may sound like a broken record, but customer service will alwasy give us the competitive edge regardless of the service of goods provided.
Guiding principle in life
You will never succeed if you are afraid to fail!
Yardstick of success
We believe to treat each customer individually, one client at a time. This is what helps ensure customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is our yardstick of success. A client's satisfaction after having worked with our company is what I use to measure the success of our company.
Goal yet to be achieved
We have several goals that have yet to be achieved, such as expanding our sports marketing business to different parts of the world and helping international student-athletes attain athletic scholarships to US colleges and universities. We would also like to expand The got GAME? Collection brand by opening stores and landing international distribution of our brand and of course expanding our entertainment business by providing services to a variety of professionals in the industry both in the US and abroad.
Best practical advice
Lead by example.
Supportive words from a family member or friend on your venture
Turth be told, I draw all of my inspiration and encouragement not by supportive words from my family or friends, but by the inspiring strength demonstrated by my mother Elizabeth Rosa, and tremendous courage displayed by my brother Ralph Rosa who battles Multiple Sclerosis everyday.
Mentor
In business, my mentor would have to be Jim Donald who has provided me with so much guidance in leading my company to where it is today. In life, I'd have to go back and say my main mentors are my mother and brother who have been my mentors in life.
What motivated you to get started?
I'm very self-motivated. I've always wanted to run a successful business. I set out to do just that after graduating college.
Like best about what you do?
I enjoy helping our clients become successfull!
Like least about what you do?
There is nothing I like the least about what I do in my career or in life. If I don't enjoy something I just don't do it. Work is hard and I put in long hours but it's all fun, I enjoy every process and steps taken in achieving a goal probably more than I do reaching the goal itself.
At age 10, what did you want to be when you grew up?
That's a trick question, I always wanted to be a professional basketball player, but at age 10 didn't realize I wouldn't be growing much more than I was at the time at a generous 5'9"!
What was your first job?
First job was in high school, working for my dad at his company where they manufactured garments for Calvin Klein, Polo, and Ralph Lauren.
Biggest pastime outside of work
That one is easy, hands down: basketball!
Person most interested in meeting and why?
I'd say Michael Jordan, to pick his brain as the ultimate competitor he is, then to challenge him to a one-on-one!
Leader in business most interested in meeting and why?
I believe I've been lucky enough to already have met him...Jim Donald, President/CEO - Starbucks.
Three interesting facts about yourself
Let's see, I don't think there are any interesting facts about me. I'm just a hard working individual who has been brought up understanding that nothing in life will be given to you. I've always had to work hard for the things I've wanted.
Three characteristics that describe you
The way to best describe me would have to be ambitious and relentless. I know what I want and put in as many hours of work as I have to in order to achieve my goal.
Three greatest passions
My family is my passion, my religion gives me guidance and my career keeps me focused. I know you only wanted three, but basketblal is right up there as well.
Favorite book
Not much of a reader...never have been.
Favorite cause
Multiple Sclerosis Research Foundation: www.msrf.org
Helping to raise funds that will go directly to researching a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.
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