Kevin Durant exchanged text messages with Business Insider about a virtual conference he held last month for aspiring young entrepreneurs.- Durant discussed the work that went into the event, called the "Young CEO Experience," and his partnership with
Degree Deodorant on the conference and other philanthropic efforts.
Making the most of a pandemic offseason, Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant has stayed active on several professional and philanthropic fronts outside of his return to basketball.
On October 27, Durant's
Speakers at the event, called the "Young CEO Experience," included Durant (in a conversation with Overtime CEO Dan Porter, the video of which is available in full below), Durant's Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash, tennis star Naomi Osaka, and
In a brief text message exchange with Business Insider, facilitated by Rich Kleiman, Durant's manager and business partner in Thirty Five Ventures, Durant discussed the work that went into the conference and his other philanthropic efforts backed by a partnership with Degree Deodorant.
The "Young CEO Experience" follows Durant's previous work with Degree on youth-centric motivational initiatives. In June, Degree and Durant collaborated to donate $1 million to recreational centers and
The following exchange has been lightly edited for clarity.
How did this Young CEO Experience come together?
Rich [Kleiman] and I have had the chance to attend many conferences, but never did I feel like we heard a conversation that I truly could relate to and be inspired by. Young people need that and this conference is just an extension of what our overall Boardroom brand is.
What have you made of your Degree partnership to this point, and the efforts it has yielded?
Degree has been a dream partner. They believe in me and listen to what we want out of the relationship. They have committed to what I'm building in the community and in business. It showed in their support during the pandemic, donating along with KDCF [Kevin Durant Charity Foundation] $1 million to my hometown community center as well as nine other community centers around the country. They have also really invested into what The Boardroom brand represents and into the Young CEO conference. That trust has paid off in some great work. We are really excited for what the future holds for the partnership.
How did you approach a motivational conference for the youth? What work went into it, and what were the goals for it?
The goals were to inspire and to educate all while allowing kids a first hand look into real conversations, and it had to be free! It was a lot of months of preparation and pivoting as well as the times dictated. I'm glad we stuck with it, and I think we now have something to build off of either in person or virtually.