Global Fan Exchange offers athletes and celebrities an innovative way to fund their social impact initiatives
By Vanessa Malone
Global Fan Exchange is Horizon’s next generation fan engagement platform that will give fans the opportunity to invest, drive awareness, and share in the success of athlete and celebrity ventures.
Not only are athletes and celebrities empowered to generate their own revenue streams driven by their personal brands, GFX also represents a revolutionary opportunity to give back to fans who played a major role in their success. In exchange for letting fans own a percentage of their venture, fans have the chance to own a real equity stake alongside their favorite athlete, team, musician, or entertainer.
GFX can be used to accelerate a new business idea, sell a percentage of a music royalty or a professional sports contract, create NFTs, or generate other investment vehicles driven by fan engagement. GFX can also be leveraged to drive funding and awareness to social impact initiatives.
There is a very special group of athletes, musicians, and other celebrities who leverage their brand to make a positive social impact. We believe the traditional process may be under-utilizing the impact an athlete or celebrity can have, limiting visibility, and lacking a fan engagement component. Using the GFX methodology, we plan to address these opportunities and further these charity efforts.
Under-utilized fundraising opportunity
It’s common for pro athletes and celebrities to donate a percentage of their earnings to their charity or favorite social impact initiatives every year. With GFX, there is an opportunity to drive continual funding and awareness on a higher level.
On GFX, we work with athletes and celebrities to create Special Purpose Vehicles (“SPVs”) whereas any earnings that go into the SPV are continually given to both the charity and the fans who help drive awareness and donations to the social impact initiatives.
On top of the upfront cash injection into the social impact initiative when a fan engagement offering is successful, the charity also maintains shares in the SPV. Through GFX’s affiliation with ‘Upstream,’ a Horizon-powered, regulated stock exchange for digital securities, eligible shares will trade from a userfriendly trading app. Both the charities and fans will benefit from any share value growth and dividend potential. We believe this methodology which makes fans vested partners in an athlete or celebritys’ career while giving back to social impact initiatives has the potential to create unprecedented value.
Low visibility
GFX’s approach helps generate visibility for social impact initiatives on multiple fronts. Inviting fans to invest and own a stake in the future success of an athlete or celebrity is already pretty exciting. Linking a charitable component on top of that adds even more value as people continue to seek opportunities that work to create a positive social impact.
We aim to make GFX the global hub to browse exciting investment opportunities. Athletes and celebrities can use the GFX platform to grow their existing fanbase and attract new donors who have an interest in the social impact initiatives. If the venture is trading on Upstream, any news that gets pushed out to the network can include updates, news, and related initiatives to drive traffic and donations.
Lack of fan engagement component
Now more than ever, fans are seeking new ways to feel close to their favorite athletes and celebrities. GFX takes fan engagement to a new level with the opportunity to become a shareholder in the venture.
In addition to owning a stake in its success, the ability to buy and sell shares on a trading app adds an interesting component. Imagine the trading activity after an amazing performance, or a game winning catch. Additionally, fans will be given the ability to purchase historic memorabilia and gain access to unique engagement opportunities.
Concluding thoughts
Aside from actual talent on the court, stage, field, etc., building and maintaining a positive brand presence remains to be a critical component in how a career plays out.
We believe integrating GFX into an athlete or celebrity’s career can introduce a new standard for fan engagement.
What GFX offers athletes and celebrities:
You worry about getting the word out to fans, we make everything else as frictionless as possible.
GFX offers:
- An innovative platform to seamlessly manage your entire offering
- A team of Wall Street veterans & proven software engineers to compliantly prepare all necessary offering docs
- Advanced onboarding technology & investor management tools to support your offering
- Substantial partner program to identify the right crowdfunding platform & trading venue for your shares
- Affiliate of the first global exchange & trading app for digital securities, Upstream
About Global Fan Exchange
Global Fan Exchange is a hub for fans to invest in and ultimately trade shares tied to the income streams of their favorite athletes, musicians, and entertainers. Visit us at https://globalfanexchange.com/.
About Upstream:
Upstream, a MERJ Exchange Market, is a fully regulated global stock exchange for digital securities. Powered by Horizon’s proprietary matching engine technology, the exchange will enable investors to trade shares in SPACs, high-growth startups, and other unique asset classes directly from the app https://upstream.exchange. Interested issuers can reach the team at hello@upstream.exchange.
Disclaimers:
GFX is not a registered broker dealer and will not take commission based fees. Securities transactions are conducted through registered broker dealers in the United States and internationally on Upstream, which is a MERJ Exchange market. MERJ Exchange is a licensed Securities Exchange, an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges and full member of ANNA.
+ USDC funds are custodied pursuant to the Liechtenstein Law on “Tokens and Trusted Technology Service Providers” as passed in Blockchain Act on October 3, 2019 and/or MERJ Depository and Registry Limited: Licensed securities facility (License No. SF001).
Upstream is a MERJ Exchange market. MERJ Exchange is a licensed Securities Exchange, an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges and full member of ANNA. MERJ supports global issuers of traditional and digital securities through the entire asset life cycle from issuance to trading, clearing, settlement and registry. It operates a fair and transparent marketplace in line with international best practice and principles of operations of financial markets. Upstream does not endorse or recommend any public or private securities bought or sold on its app. Upstream does not offer investment advice or recommendations of any kind. All services offered by Upstream are intended for self-directed clients who make their own investment decisions without aid or assistance from Upstream. Customers must comply with applicable law of their own jurisdiction. By accessing the site or app, you agreed to be bound by its terms of use and privacy policy. Company and security listings on Upstream are only suitable for investors who are familiar with and willing to accept the high risk associated with speculative investments, often in early and development stage companies. There can be no assurance the valuation of any particular company’s securities is accurate or in agreement with the market or industry comparative valuations. Investors must be able to afford market volatility and afford the loss of their investment. Companies listed on Upstream are subject to significant ongoing corporate obligations including, but not limited to disclosure, filings and notification requirements, as well compliance with applicable quantitative and qualitative listing standards.
THIS BLOG SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL SECURITIES OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION IS NOT PERMITTED. US INVESTORS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO TRADE IN UPSTREAM LISTED SECURITIES.
