They are living extremely complex lives, Chu says, but then 99% of them won’t go pro. “And then they’re entering the workforce with an empty resume. It didn’t make us feel good,” he says about his inspiration to start LACES. “So we’re trying to craft an NIL experience for athletes where they use their experience with us to help uplift their resumes and their brand when they enter the workforce.”
Once accepted, LACES athletes get a personalized roster page—their “marketing megaphone to the world”—that includes their bio, press links, social links, other NIL deals. They also get a free hat and are encouraged to post about their chosen products on social media. If a product is purchased through their individual links, they get a commission.
Professional athletes wearing LACES products boost publicity. Other big names to don LACES apparel: Fred Warner, Kyle Juszczyk, and George Kittle of the 49ers, and Kobie Turner of the Los Angeles Rams. It’s up to the student athletes to harness that, Chu says. “Some of our more savvy athletes took all the press around [Steph] Curry and they’re just like story, story, link, link, link, story, story, link, link, link. And it obviously works.”
Chu sees starting LACES as a natural progression of what he learned as a student at Santa Clara. He saw a problem with student athletes being left behind, and he looked for a solution. “What I was challenged with at Santa Clara was problem solving. My professors would always direct us to figure out how to solve problems and issues and think about things differently,” he says. “I learned to approach problems from different angles and not just my own personal bias. I don’t think there’s a more valuable tool than that.”