Edyoucore aims to improve the trend of inadequate financial literacy for those in the sports and entertainment world. The company’s team of industry experts, athletes, and entertainers are committed to Edyoucore’s approach to early education and ongoing support. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Edyoucore founder Drew Hawkins to learn more about the company.
Drew Hawkins’ Background
Before launching Edyoucore in 2019, Hawkins spent 28 years in the financial services industry. As Hawkins noted:“I started my career as an Account Executive with Dean Witter Reynolds, was with them for nine years, and after that, transitioned into mid-level management, then senior management within Morgan Stanley.”
“In 2008, I became the firm’s first African American to be promoted to Managing Director within the Wealth Management Division. In addition, I also served as Head of National Recruiting, Sales, and Marketing for the Northeast Division, Regional Director for the New Jersey and Mid-Atlantic Regions, and most notably, became Founder and Head of the Global Sports & Entertainment Division.”
“I have since utilized my previous experience in finance to address the need for more education in the sports and entertainment arena. My goal with founding Edyoucore has been to educate and empower individuals to better understand and manage their financial, business, and lifestyle affairs.”
“In addition to work, I’m actively engaged in my community, and I serve on a host of boards. In 2018, I was appointed Board Chair of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture.”
Formation Of Edyoucore
How did the idea for Edyoucore come together? Hawkins shared:
“I created Edyoucore because there was such a lack of financial education for people in sports and entertainment – and this was having a very detrimental effect on their lives and their livelihoods. It’s so easy for people who are quickly thrust into a lot of money (by being signed to a professional team) to make financial mistakes. And what’s worse is that they become targets for people who want to take advantage of them. Without the right training and background, they don’t know how to properly plan for the future, share their wealth with their families in a responsible way, and learn how to identify those who are just seeking to take their money.”
“And the problem continues to persist year over year. I was addressing this at Morgan Stanley, but I felt I could do so much more on my own. It’s not just financial education; it’s the realization that athletes need to view themselves as the CEO of their own small business – with revenue and a support staff. Additionally, we wanted to instill long-term change and address more potential root causes – such as mental health.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Hawkins reflected:
“My favorite memory has to be closing our first big contract. It came sooner than expected and gave us the early momentum and confidence we needed to start going far and wide with our message.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Hawkins explained:
“Our core services revolve around in-person financial education sessions that are conducted with a facilitator and former professional player. We take complicated and intimidating topics and make them fun and easy to understand. Our sessions are found to be engaging, interactive, and full of real-life stories as well as guidance on how to get things done.”
“We also offer a service called our FinFit program, which is similar to a forensic audit in analyzing what an individual owns and showing them where they stand in terms of performance, fees, coverage, etc. We give them the talking points that they can then take back to their advisors. Between this and the ongoing education, the experience has been life-changing for our clients.”
Challenges Faced
Has Hawkins faced any specific bottlenecks in your sector of work recently? Hawkins acknowledged:
“Yes, we certainly have. In our industry, despite the overwhelming need for the guidance we offer, it’s still a challenge to secure buy-in from the player development folks, owners, and managers on the importance of their players becoming financially literate and prepared for the future. We have to make them realize that removing these anxieties and distractions actually makes their players perform better, but it’s sometimes perceived as a distraction from their core training.”
“For many folks we work with, this is the first time experiencing this type of service. For those who do have some familiarity, they sometimes have a bad taste in their mouth after seeing the unproductive programs the unions have offered.”
Evolution Of Edyoucore’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Hawkins noted:
“We have evolved our technology in a few ways. For one, we put a lot of effort and thought into our website, and we’ve created some interactive tools for our FinFit sessions, which are app-based. These have helped make the programming more long-term and enabled folks to understand concepts at their own pace.”
“But at the end of the day, we are a consulting and service-based business. Technology can help augment what we offer but the core benefit is the training and counseling our clients receive in group sessions and forensic audits.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Hawkins cited:
“We’ve had a few great milestones. For one, we’ve had the opportunity to work with some fantastic teams that have devoted fan bases – such as the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Wizards, Washington Mystic, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, and Portland Trailblazers, to name a few. From doing this work, we uncovered significant gaps, which have led us to offer new programming, including mental health and our FinFit forensic audit program I mentioned earlier.”
“Lastly, I would also count getting through the pandemic as an important milestone. We were only one year into business when COVID-19 hit, and it was a big time of uncertainty, especially for a new business.”
Customer Success Stories
After asking Hawkins about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“Yes, we have a few clients who are happy to share their experience working with us, as we made a big difference in changing the financial outcomes of their lives. Greg Oden, in particular, was on track to declaring bankruptcy in three years. And keep in mind that he was no longer playing… So once this happened, he would have lost all of the money he made playing basketball and had very little to no prospects for the future.”
“We looked at his portfolio and noticed both opportunities to save more money and grow his income. For example, he was paying a law firm $3,000 a month on a retainer but hadn’t been contacted by the law firm or needed them for any reason in over a year… This to me was infuriating, as we see this so often – companies who realize weaknesses in people and are eager to exploit them.”
“After our audit, we were able to save almost $100,000 a year in needless money being spent on fees and interest payments. After skating towards running out of money completely, we got him on track to be financially sustainable for the long-term.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Hawkins assessed:
“It’s hard to say what the TAM is exactly. But I will say that our goal is to work with as many teams and as many players as possible. It seems funny to say, but there shouldn’t be a need for what Edyoucore offers… This shouldn’t be such an issue. As a nation, we need to do a better job of teaching financial literacy so that folks are better prepared for the future – no matter your source of income or status.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates Edyoucore from its competition? Hawkins affirmed:
“The truth is, we don’t have a lot of competition for what we offer. We got to where we are on a very unique path and there are few other companies who have been in the position to realize what we have realized – or become dedicated enough to do something about it.”
“But one thing that is important to remember about us is that we don’t tell folks they need services and then charge them for those services… We don’t offer investment management, for example.
Rather, we are committed to their well-being, and when we identify the gaps in their financial portfolio, we guide them on how to get back on track. But it’s their choice to act upon the knowledge we provide.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Hawkins concluded:
“Put most simply, our goals are to work with every single professional (and semi-professional) team and player we can. We’re proud of our message and we want to improve the lives of everyone that we can. We also want to grow our services so that we are not just training on the importance of financial literacy, but activating real long-term change by having more people partake in our FinFit program, for example.”
