Meet The Newest Guest Shark: Sports Dealmaker Matt Higgins
The 10th season of ABC’s hit show Shark Tank premiered this month, with the entrepreneurial-themed reality show airing its 200th episode since it launched in 2009. The current season has a heavy sports influence: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been a fixture as a “shark” since Season 2, and Charles Barkley and Alex Rodriguez are appearing as guest sharks.
While Barkley and Rodriguez have the name recognition as all-time great players in the NBA and MLB, another guest shark is a much bigger tycoon in the sports world. Matt Higgins, the CEO of private investment firm RSE and vice chairman of the Miami Dolphins, sees more than 100 deals come across his desk every month. He makes his debut tonight as a guest shark after years of cutting deals in the sports, entertainment and food industries. He’ll make a second appearance later this season.
“The show is what I do in my day job. [RSE] supplies whatever entrepreneurs need to go the rest of the distance, whether that is capital or real estate advice or a stadium to put your drone race in,” says Higgins, who invested $1 million in 2015 for the first round of funding for the Drone Racing League and then provided the venue for the first race with the Dolphins’ home. RSE bills itself as a “one-stop shop for entrepreneurs.”