Mike Kaufman started his journey in sports as a Division III student-athlete for Lesley University's men's basketball team. In 2014 he was a semi-finalist to be the State Farm Dark Horse Dunker in the ESPN college dunk contest. After graduating, he booked a one way flight to Israel where he was able to live out his dream of playing professional basketball overseas. After returning back to the States, Mike decided to move to New York to pursue his dream of working in sports. He got an opportunity to be a part-time intern for a startup called Overtime, and the rest is history.
He has built a following for himself on TikTok and on his Instagram page @betterbounce and now oversees the social editing team at Overtime.
Sports Industry Journey:
Education
Bachelor's Degree | Business Management | Lesley University
Career
Sports Media Intern | Harvard University
Professional Basketball Player | BSL - Israel Basketball Super League
Member Operations Specialist | SelfMade
Founder/Influencer | Better Bounce
Senior Manager, Social Strategy & Distribution | Overtime
Instagram: @overtimemikey & @betterbounce
LinkedIn: Mike Kaufman
How did you get started in the sports industry?
I didn’t really know what I wanted to do when I started out. I was really focused on playing college basketball. I was excited when I got the opportunity to be a Sports Media intern for Harvard’s athletic department. It really shed some light on what’s out there in terms of jobs and careers in sports. Nobody really knows what job opportunities are possible in sports [when you're in college and starting out]. So much has changed even since I was an intern, in terms of YouTube, social media and things like that.
How did you start getting experience in digital media?
To get recruited [in high school], I just started making highlight tapes for myself. I was really raw in terms of my skill set and I was self-taught. Then my teammates started asking me to make their highlight tapes, so I’d help them with that. It was fun to do, I got to work on my craft and it was a way to make a little money.
At Harvard I was filming football games and doing recaps for their YouTube channel. Then I started doing the same thing for my own college [Lesley University].
From playing professional basketball in Israel to chasing my dreams in New York.
I always focused on basketball. I never gave social media or editing my full attention. My main goal was to play basketball professionally. I couldn’t get a contract to play professionally [in the states] so I took a one way flight to Israel to try out for a team and was lucky enough to earn a contract. After I got back from Israel I started coaching youth basketball and was doing private training on the side. I realized that wasn’t what I wanted to do with my career path. I love coaching and I love ball, but I figured I’d just coach my kids one day and it’d be a hobby and not a career.
I had this edge to want to prove myself professionally and I was always attracted to startup companies, so I decided to move to New York with no job.
Getting the opportunity to work at Overtime.
In August 2016 I came across the company Overtime. They were creating an app where athletes could upload and edit their own highlights. We were using our social media to market the app and we came across some grassroots basketball (JellyFam, etc.) pivoting into high school sports. Overtime had about six full-time employees at the time with a limited budget. They gave me a part time job and paid me $400 per month. I was pumped because I got a job in sports but I still needed a full time job because $400 a month wasn't going to get me very far in New York.
I got another job at a startup, but it wasn't sports-related. Once Overtime raised some additional funds, I was offered a full-time spot on their social team.
What are one to three books or podcasts that have greatly influenced your life and/or that you’ve recommended to others?
I’m not a huge reader but I just read a great book called Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger. His career is crazy and it’s really inspiring. A spiritual book I read back in the day is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and the other one is The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma.
What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?
I got this for free, but it’s a $25 per month subscription to WHOOP. The WHOOP is a band you put on your wrist and it measures your sleep, workouts, recovery and tracks a bunch of really great data. Sleep is really important to me and it’s helped me with that a ton.
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a “favorite failure” of yours?
I have tons of failures. Most of my failures that come to mind are from my basketball career. I had an unusual journey. I played basketball my freshman year of high school. My sophomore year I played on JV and it was unclear if I’d make the Varsity team my junior year, so my dad had me transfer. Being told you’re essentially not good enough is basically failing. I had a good senior year and had a few Division III offers. [When I was playing in college] I didn’t consistently start until my senior year.
When I played professionally in Israel, I started at the beginning of my career and then sat towards the end. I’ve had so many failures and so many people tell me I wasn't good enough which truthfully has allowed me to be resilient. I’m not going to stop, no matter what.
If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere in the world with anything on it – and you could get a message out to millions or billions – what would it say and why?
Try to be a little more empathetic. I think our country is at an empathy deficit right now and that’s really important.
What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made? (Could be an investment of money, time, energy, etc.)
Definitely moving to New York. Paying New York rent is a huge investment, but it’s presented so many opportunities that have led to great things for me.
What advice would you give to a young, driven college student or student-athlete who might not pursue a professional career in their sport and wants to dive into marketing/digital media or the sports industry in general? What advice should they ignore?
I would say just get your foot in the door. Once you get your foot in the door, it doesn’t really matter what job you take at first. From there, just think about how you can be curious, continue to ask questions and be valuable. I just made it a habit that I wanted to know how everything worked no matter what job I was at.
What are three to five tangible skills or qualities young people should develop or have to be successful?
Have an amazing attitude everyday. Put in those extra hours for your teammates and your company. Give compliments when your co-workers do a great job. Also you must be consistent with it. You can’t just do it one month and not do it the next.
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your 20-something year old self?
It’s alright if you don’t know what you want to do with your career. Work experience is so important, just keep doing and you’ll figure out what you want to do and what you don’t want to do.
At first I wanted to be shooting video and to travel all the time. People don’t know what they want to do and so they don’t do anything. Just get reps in. I still don’t know what I want to do but I’m going with the flow and figuring out what is important to me.
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