Travis sits down with actor‑turned‑entrepreneur Ryan Rottman, cofounder of AthleteAgent.com, an IMDb‑style database for the sports world. From training as a business major and actor at Texas Tech to navigating constant rejection in Hollywood, Ryan shares how thick skin, relationships, and a love of sports led him to build the most extensive searchable sports database online, alongside partners like Aaron Rodgers and Nate Robb.

On this episode we talk about:

How Ryan’s early trading and acting work out of college built the financial runway and mindset he needed to pursue creative projects

What acting teaches about rejection, resilience, and treating yourself as a business—and how those lessons transfer directly into startups and fundraising

The origin story of AthleteAgent.com, modeled after IMDb but built to centralize athlete data, representation info, and off‑field opportunities

Why most athletes beyond the top 1% are massively under‑monetized, and how better visibility can unlock endorsements, podcast bookings, investments, and partnerships

The realities of building a tech platform from scratch—finding dev teams, talking to 100+ investors, and expanding from 10 sports toward a global, 50+ sport footprint

Top 3 Takeaways

Acting and entrepreneurship share the same core skill: moving from “no” to “no” without losing enthusiasm, while treating every experience as training for the next opportunity.

Athletes are brands, and most are dramatically under‑leveraged off the field; centralized, accurate data and contact info unlocks deals for the other 99%, not just superstars.

Long‑term success often comes from repurposing skills and networks—Ryan used his IMDb experience, sports relationships, and business training to spot an obvious gap and fill it with AthleteAgent.com.

Notable Quotes

"As an actor, you are your own business—rejection is daily, and your job is to keep showing up until the right role hits."

"IMDb changed my acting career because people could actually find my reps; I realized nothing like that existed for athletes."

"We didn’t build AthleteAgent for the top 1%—we built it so the other 99% can finally be found, booked, and paid."

Connect with Ryan Rottman:

Website (AthleteAgent): athleteagent.com

Instagram: @ryanrottman

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