Following a recent article about NFL star turned entrepreneur Alex Bernstein in Sports Illustrated, Josh Cote of EA Worldwide reviews the role sports plays in business success and entrepreneurship.Josh Cote, managing director of EA Worldwide Acquisitions believes that a recent article documenting the business successes of NFL star Alex Bernstein, could help to raise awareness of the relationship between sport and business, Bernstein, an ex -offensive Lineman for the New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns has experienced a plethora of business successes since leaving the NFL, and Josh Cote is confident that the disciplines Bernstein learnt in his sporting career played a major role in his achievements. The article ‘$35,000 to $25 Million’ tells the incredible story of his rise to business success, culminating in the sale of his business ‘North Social’ to online Media giants Vocus in 2011 for a staggering $25 million.
Alex Bernstein’s NFL career drew to an early close due to injury, forcing him to rethink his career options, after landing a humble telesales job Bernstein used the drive and focus he had honed in his sporting career to dedicate his free hours to learning as much as he could about business, system integration, and coding. He even made the decision to keep the same schedule as in his NFL days, arriving at the office at 5.30am in order to further his business knowledge before starting his working day. His dedication and hard work eventually paid off as he slowly worked his way up through various companies, gaining enough experience to then cofound his company ‘North Social’ in 2010.
Josh Cote, Managing Director of sales and marketing firm EA Worldwide Acquisitions has long been aware of the role sports play in business success. The London based entrepreneur and business owner believes that the principles of sport can have an incredibly positive effect on those looking to enter the business world, as the skills learnt in sports such as teamwork, and goal setting are highly transferrable to a career in business. ‘Work Ethic, Student Mentality, and committing to your goals these are the foundations to success that I learned through playing sports from an early age all the way through playing Football at Springfield College, Springfield Massachusetts.’ says Josh Cote. Sport encourages people to push themselves out of their comfort zone, and allows them to experience the rewards of hard work and dedication. This is also an incredibly important attribute required in business, where the level success an individual achieves runs parallel to the amount of hard work they are willing to put in. Knowing that nothing will be handed to them allows these individuals to set out a clear picture of the goals they want to achieve.
Josh Cote believes that the harsh realities of sports can help to shape incredibly successful entrepreneurs. He actively looks for candidates with sporting experience within his own business ‘When recruiting to fill new openings at EA Worldwide Acquisitions Ltd, one thing I look for in a candidate – Have they play sport at high level. These individuals know what it takes to be successful, how to deal with set backs, rejection and to overcome them.
EA Worldwide Acquisitions is a London based sales and marketing firm specialising in customer acquisitions. The company focuses on face to face sales and works with a number of clients to improve customer relationships and boost brand loyalty.