The People Behind the Playbook.

Founder of Mean Circle Ventures, a firm that uses strategic partnerships with athletes and entertainers to add value in the Pre-IPO tech and consumer packaged goods space. Albert brings a 15-year career in the beverage industry across brands including CRUNK!!! Energy Drink, Muscle Milk, Atlantico Rum, Zing Vodka, and Conjure Cognac (sold to Camus Cognac in 2016).

As a brand consultant and later Regional Sales Manager for Core Nutrition (sold to Keurig Dr Pepper for $525MM), and architect of the Shaquille O'Neal / FORTO Coffee and Venus Williams / Happy Viking deals with DYLA Brands, Albert sits at the intersection of culture and capital. He is a Venture Partner at Value Investment Group and Intersect VC, with investments including Lyft, Lime, Rent the Runway, AirBnB, Triller, Lemon Perfect, Beam, Mustard, Angel City, and ZenWTR.

A native of Newport News, Virginia, Antoine was a standout athlete and scholar at Denbigh High School before attending Howard University in Washington, DC where he earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice. During his 14 year professional football career he played as a starting safety for the Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants. Antoine is a Super Bowl champion and 3x Pro Bowler who was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year with the Indianapolis Colts in 2013, and again in 2018 with the Arizona Cardinals, a prestigious award given to players who represent the best of the NFL's commitment to philanthropy and community impact.

Antoine's philanthropic efforts are amplified through the Bethea Family Foundation which focuses on improving the lives of people in underserved communities throughout the United States. He has been motivated not only by the idea of giving back, but by developing a long term platform with the foundation to provide young people with the belief in their abilities and to make their dreams become a reality. The Bethea Family Foundation partnered with the city of Newport News to build the city's first lighted basketball court and the Safehaven Empowerment Center, a state-of-the-art community center offering programs aimed to empower the community through education, support and essential services.

In addition to his philanthropic efforts, Antoine also aims to improve communities through his business endeavors, including Elite Trucks LLC in Newport News, VA. Antoine is the director of NIL for the Sports and Entertainment Group and co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer for BLKBRN cannabis retail dispensary in Highland Park, NJ. Antoine sits in an advisory role for Tekflix and is the author of "Bet on Yourself: Inside the Mind of the Ultimate Underdog," a memoir that gives readers an inside look at the methods that Bethea used to turn himself into an NFL draft pick and 14 year football star.

Jonathan Stewart is a former NFL running back and all-time leading rusher for the Carolina Panthers, who has built a second act operating platform across real estate, private equity, venture investing, and owned media. He serves as a Development Associate at Morgan Companies, and is a licensed real estate broker. He is a Next Legacy venture fellow, with active sourcing relationships across athlete-led capital platforms.

On the media side, he hosts Stew and the Crew with the Carolina Panthers, serves as a football analyst, and is building Charlotte Lately alongside his wife Natalie Stewart — a local interest media platform with a tiered sponsorship model. His operating thesis: translate athlete networks, brand equity, and audience leverage into proprietary deal flow across real estate, sports economy ventures, and consumer IP. Based in Charlotte.

Chika Umeadi is the Chief Investment Officer at Paradise Equity Partners, where he leads a modern investment thesis centered on the convergence of technology, sports, and entertainment. A product-builder turned institutional investor, Chika brings a rare "operational DNA" to the world of private equity, prioritizing sustainable platforms and stakeholder experiences over isolated asset optimization.

With over a decade of experience at the intersection of global innovation and capital, Chika's career has been defined by a singular principle: leveraging technology to deepen human connection. Prior to joining Paradise, he served as a Product Manager at Google, where he spearheaded the integration of Generative AI and experimentation frameworks within the App Campaigns team. His deep technical roots are further anchored by his 11-year tenure as Chief Product Officer at ParallelScore, where he directed the strategy and execution of scalable AI and data science solutions across finance, healthcare, and real estate.

Chika's influence extends deeply into the venture and emerging market ecosystems. As a Partner at tiphub capital, he spent 12 years championing the African technology landscape, launching the first-ever African Diaspora Accelerator and building a robust network for cross-continental investment. He continues to shape the future of innovation as a Founding Member of Illini Angels, advising and backing high-impact ventures emerging from the University of Illinois ecosystem.

Beyond the balance sheet, Chika is a dedicated advocate for cultural production and community architecture. He currently serves as a film producer for the documentary Last Weekend in October, exploring the Nigerian fashion ecosystem, and recently concluded a nine-year tenure as Chairman of the Board for The Gray Matter Experience, a non-profit empowering Black youth through entrepreneurship.

Chika holds an MBA in Information Technology from the American University - Kogod School of Business and completed specialized training in Data Science at General Assembly. He is a strategist who views culture as the ultimate interface, seeking to partner with founders and management teams poised to architect the next generation of global media and technology.