The bet of Jeff Bezos and LeBron James for a Spanish company

When the Alicante Alberto Zurano landed on USA and signed its first collaboration contract with the most famous basketball league on the planet, the NBAHe never imagined that this would only be the beginning. Barely half a year later, the CEO and founder of New Departmentreveals to Economy 3 a new chapter in the history of this young fashion accessories company. The sunglasses that have already conquered the Philadelphia 76ers have now drawn the attention of Overtime. What is striking about this agreement is that among the shareholders of this startup American are the star of the Los Angeles Lakers, Lebron James; the rapper Drake; or the second richest man on the planet and owner of Amazon, Jeff Bezosthrough your investment fund Bezos Expeditions.

The rest of the shareholding is completed by venture capital firms Andreessen-Horowitz, Spark Capital, SapphireSport, Micromanagement Ventures (owned by the family of David Stern, considered the father of the modern NBA), Black Capital, Morgan Stanley Counterpoint Global, Blackstone Strategic Partnersthe CEO of Reddit, Alexis Ohanianand more than 30 NBA stars, such as the aforementioned Lebron James, carmel anthony either Kevin Durant.

The company, which is defined as a platform “designed for the new generation of sports fans”produces more than 40 audiovisual sports products through Youtube, Snapchat and IGTV. As well as short-form content in Instagram Y TikTok. The collaboration agreement, according to Zurano, includes campaigns on social networks, exclusive products and sponsorship in its events that will reach the 55 million followers that the platform brings together.

Why LeBron James and Bezos’ company bets on New Department

The CEO of New Department assures this medium that “Once distribution was launched in the United States, we have not stood still”. In fact, according to reports, they have closed the introduction of their product in the marketplace Fashion zalando.

“By the end of this year we hope to close a new round of 300,000 euros to boost the business; not only in the United States, but in Germany, England, the Netherlands or Belgium»says this entrepreneur who began his journey with a capital of just 500 euros.

At the end of October, the team will return to Spain and hold its first pop-up event. «In this physical event in Barcelona we will take the opportunity to launch our new product»express.

From cryptocurrencies to e-commerce 3D

In addition to its American adventure, the company has begun to work with the Swedish company Fibbldedicate to e-commerce 3D. Zurano explains it like this: «The client will be able to have a section within the web to see our glasses in 360°. It is something quite new and that in Spain has not yet been implemented, at least in the optics sector».

The startup already has experience in applying new technologies in its operations. Moreover, it was a pioneer as a brand in the world of the Spanish optical sector in integrating payment with Bitcoin.

Almost three years have passed since Alberto Zurano took the step and decided to start a business. Then it was December 2019 and the coronavirus crisis was about to break out. “It’s been a summer of chaos in a good way” he reflects with a smile on his face as he remembers those unstable beginnings.