Episode 128: Partnerships are About the People with Mike Rabil

Mike Rabil is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). Founded in October 2018, PLL is now wrapping up its third season, with the semifinals in Philadelphia on September 5th and the Championship in D.C. on September 19th. The PLL was named Sports Breakthrough of the Year in 2020 by the Sports Business Journal. In December 2020, the PLL and Major League Lacrosse (MLL) announced a merger with subsequent season operations and activities to formally exist under the PLL. The league's exclusive media rights agreement with NBC Universal is a first for the sport, bringing lacrosse closer to millions of fans across the country. In his role, Mike is responsible for the long-term vision of the company as well as oversee all day-to-day operations of the league. This past year, Mike has successfully used his lengthy entrepreneur background in Silicon Valley with his keen sports knowledge to spearhead the launch of PLL. Previously, as the VP of Sales and Partnerships, Mike led revenue and built Funding Circle's US sales and BD teams from scratch. Mike was on the founding team at Endurance Lending Network, which was acquired by Funding Circle in 2013. In 2012, Mike co-founded Endurance Companies, an investment holding company based in San Francisco, and served as CEO and co-founder of Turnstyle Cycle, now Boston's largest boutique indoor cycling company. Mike first dipped his toes in entrepreneurial waters in 2010 when he co-founded Endurance Fitness 247, which he manages with David to this day. Mike began his career in consulting at Jones Lang LaSalle, the world's largest real estate services company. He graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in Government, where he was captain of the football team. What you'll learn in this episode: How defining your values can help set your direction How Mike and Paul dealt with the resistance they faced  The advantages of the tour based model and how they are using it to expand the game and attract new people to the sport as fans How being naive can play a role in developing confidence and success as a business owner What they did to earn trust during their first year as a new league and how they strengthened that trust and established credibility during the second year through the pandemic. The key role that partners play in the success of a business and what they are doing to create partnerships that align with their organization's values How they emerged as one of the first organizations to go back to live events in the midst of the COVID pandemic What's ahead for the Premier Lacrosse League for the rest of the season and in 2022 Additional resources: Premier Lacrosse League Premier Lacrosse League on Instagram Mike Rabil's LinkedIn Mike Rabil's Twitter