This is about ex-NFL player Dhani Jones applying 'contrarian thinking' from sports to investing and business. He says the key is going where others won't, but warns that if you're early and right, the market still treats you as wrong. He sees big opportunity in overlooked areas like women-, minority-, and veteran-owned businesses. He highlights three of his own ventures: Bowtie Cause (bowties that tell stories for charities, now with 200+ partners), Key Capital (his investment firm focused on services and manufacturing), and Proclamation (a creative agency he sold).
This episode of Invest Like the Best features former NFL player and investor Dhani Jones, who discusses his unique journey from sports to business and investing. The core insight is to apply "first principles" thinking and choose to go against the grain when others converge. Jones emphasizes the cri
Dhani Jones, former NFL player (11-year career with the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Cincinnati Bengals), now an investor (founder of Key Capital), television host (Dhani Tackles the Globe, Adventure Capitalist), and entrepreneur (founder of Bowtie Cause, co-founder of two creative agencies, one of which has been sold). The main thread of this episode: a unique path from sports to business and investing, centered on "contrarian thinking"—choosing to go the opposite direction when others converge. The most weighty judgment in the entire episode: Dhani Jones believes that "if you are early and right, you are still wrong"—early correct judgments are not recognized by the market, and this is the price contrarian investors must bear.
Dhani Jones believes his core competitive advantage lies in "going where others don't, and doing what others won't."
Jones repeatedly emphasizes this principle: "where most people don't want to go, I go." He has applied it at every step of his career: when the NFL Network was first launched and other players refused to participate, he actively joined; when the Travel Channel proposed he play rugby in the UK, despite being in the midst of contract negotiations and public skepticism about his focus on football, he still chose to accept.
Key Mechanism: Jones distinguishes between "gut" (instinct) and "synchronicity" (alignment). Gut is a feeling, while synchronicity is "seeing"—when all the cards align, you can "see" the opportunity. He describes it as the "breeze of opportunity": "You have to be open and sensitive enough to receive it. And then you have to be bold enough to go towards it."
Implication: Jones acknowledges the cost of being contrarian—"If you're early and you're right, you're still wrong." Because the market has yet to recognize it, others see risk (as in "haberdashery"), while he sees a clear picture. Falsification Condition: If the market never validates the view, an early judgment may simply be a mistake rather than being ahead of the curve.
Jones believes that mental strength is a key factor across sports, business, and investing, and that injury was a turning point in his career.
Jones tore his ACL during the first practice of his NFL training camp — "first play of training camp, I didn't even get hit by anybody." He recalled being a sixth-round, 177th overall pick, and that his chances of survival after the injury were "tiny."
Key turning point: His friend Kuta Littlejohn told him: "spend less time whining and complaining about what just happened and more time working through it and getting better and recovering and getting back on the field and believing in yourself." Jones cites this as an example of mental strength: "the power of the mind is incredible, regardless of whatever industry you're in."
Data support: Jones ultimately completed an 11-year career, and during his final four years with the Cincinnati Bengals, he simultaneously filmed Dhani Tackles the Globe — each trip lasting 5–6 weeks, returning to training camp only the night before the season started. Yet, "I never missed a game. And I had the highest statistics or I had the best statistics that I've ever had in my career."
Inference: Jones argues that travel and adventure not only did not harm his athletic performance, but instead made him a "better person and also a better player." Readers should note: This is a position-holder's perspective — Jones uses his own experience to justify his lifestyle, but the sample size is one.
Jones argues that storytelling is the core of business, and Bowtie Cause uses the bow tie as a medium to enable wearers to tell "why" rather than "what."
The origin of Jones founding Bowtie Cause: After his friend Kuta Littlejohn was diagnosed with cancer, Jones began wearing bow ties to support him. He then realized that bow ties could serve as a medium for storytelling—"most of the time when we're out in the industry and in the world or walking down the street, we're not really wearing anything that means anything." Bowtie Cause collaborates with over 200 non-profit organizations and companies, using patterns on bow ties to tell their stories.
Key mechanism: Jones divides narrative into "why" and "what"—"what is the reason for your company's existence versus what are the products that you're selling for your company." He believes this is "a big difference."
Data chain: Bowtie Cause's partners include the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, among others. Jones also founded two creative agencies: VMG Creative (co-founded with Luke Raymond, focusing on the digital space) and Proclamation (co-founded with Jeff Warman, focusing on "cause" narratives), the latter of which was acquired by Empower Media—a women-owned business with 300 employees, 75% of whom are women, and which won the "Agency of the Year" award in 2020.
Extrapolation: Jones believes the financial industry also needs to answer the "why" question—"it's a huge struggle right now in the entire finance industry." Falsification condition: If the "why" narrative cannot be translated into quantifiable business outcomes (e.g., revenue growth, customer retention), it may be merely a marketing gimmick.
Jones's investment firm, Key Capital, focuses on the intersection of services, technology, and manufacturing, with a particular emphasis on businesses owned by women, minorities, and veterans.
Jones co-founded Key Capital with Abel Vroom (University of Michigan / Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, with backgrounds at Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs). They initially sought to raise a large amount of capital but realized they lacked a complete track record. Instead, they "started looking at great models," including those of Buffett, Julian Robertson, Roger Ehrenberg, and Jason Mendelsohn.
Investment Direction: Key Capital focuses on "sales, service, and space," as well as "technology, engineering, manufacturing." Jones believes there are significant opportunities in many legacy businesses, where emerging technologies can intersect with these traditional operations.
Unique Perspective: Jones views businesses owned by women, minorities, and veterans as an "untapped opportunity" — "a lot of people think that a minority-owned business or a woman-owned business... don't think that they can contribute or invest enough in that business in order for it to get, and at the same time, be able to remain a woman- or minority-owned business." He cites Empower Media as a counterexample to this bias — a 300-person firm with 75% women employees, named Agency of the Year.
Deduction: Jones argues that the key to solving the diversity issue is "mindset as well as intent" — "Do you want more diversified businesses that work with your companies and do you want a more diversified company?" Falsification Condition: If these businesses cannot demonstrate their ability to scale (e.g., revenue growth, profit margins, customer retention), then "untapped" may simply mean "unproven."
| Position | Guest Stance | Key Data |
|---|---|---|
| Bowtie Cause | Bullish (Founder's Perspective) | Partners with over 200 non-profit organizations/companies |
| VMG Creative | Bullish (Co-Founder) | Approximately 15 employees, steady growth |
| Proclamation | Sold (Acquired by Empower Media) | Focused on "cause" narrative; became part of Empower Media post-acquisition |
| Empower Media | Neutral (Mentioned as Acquirer) | 300 employees, 75% female, Agency of the Year 2020 |
| Key Capital | Bullish (Founder's Perspective) | Focuses on services, technology, and manufacturing; targets women/minority/veteran-owned businesses |
| Hillman Accelerator | Bullish (Co-Founder) | Established in Cincinnati in 2020 |
1. “If you're early and you're right, you're still wrong.” (Dhani Jones) — Being correct early is not rewarded by the market; this is the price contrarian investors must pay. The market takes time to "see" what you have already seen.
2. “Where most people don't want to go, I go.” (Dhani Jones) — Contrarian thinking is a core competitive advantage, applied to career choices (early partnership with NFL Network), risk-taking (travel shows), and investing (underexplored areas).
3. “The power of the mind is incredible, regardless of whatever industry you're in.” (Dhani Jones) — Mental strength is the key across sports, business, and investing; recovery from injury depends on "spend less time whining and more time working through it."
4. “What is the reason for your company's existence versus what are the products that you're selling?” (Dhani Jones) — The core of narrative is "why" rather than "what"; Bowtie Cause uses bow ties to let wearers tell stories, rather than merely offering functional products.
5. “Travel destroys prejudice.” (quoting Mark Twain, endorsed by Dhani Jones) — Travel exposes people to different perspectives and is the best way to "purge yourself of any shred of prejudice"; Jones uses his own data (best career performance in the last four years) to argue that travel and adventure do not harm performance.
6. “A lot of people want to be the first, but when they're asked to be the first, they don't want to do it. They don't want the risk.” (Dhani Jones) — The market widely exhibits a contradictory psychology of "wanting returns but not wanting risk"; contrarian investors must accept this reality.
7. “Women-owned businesses, minority-owned companies, veteran, veteran, disabled. It's a huge market opportunity.” (Dhani Jones) — These areas represent market opportunities worth "billions and billions, trillions of dollars"; bias stems from doubts about scalability, but Empower Media (300 employees, 75% women, Agency of the Year) proves its feasibility.
8. “Curiosity pays a high return.” (Dhani Jones) — Curiosity is a high-return strategy in both investing and life; Jones encourages people to "get out of your neighborhood and go to a different one and go ask somebody a different question."