💸⚽Unpacking "The Messi Effect"

Hola, Rocket-networkers!

Messi-mania is sending shockwaves through Miami, making it more electric than ever. “The Messi Effect” is the buzzword that’s ripping through the media like wildfire. It’s not just about a soccer sensation setting foot in a new playground, it’s about an economic tornado that’s gearing up to change the face of an entire city.

Miami, brace yourself! You know that feeling when the roller coaster takes its first drop? Yeah, this is the economic version of that. And it's all sparked by none other than the maestro, Lionel Messi, making his grand entrance.

Let’s imagine this: It's a typical Miami morning, the sun is shining, and then BOOM! Messi drops the bomb – he's coming to town. And guess what? Inter Miami’s spring ticket prices aren't just rising; they're soaring through the stratosphere, with some seats hitting a dizzying $20K... A staggering 1,034% increase for what’s tipped to be Messi’s first match - yeah, you read that right. The price surges are real, and it's like every ticket’s a damn golden ticket to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. You’d be lucky to grab one between $800 to $21,000. It's like someone poured rocket fuel on demand. We’re talking 8.2 million Instagram followers for Inter Miami literally overnight.

But that's just the tip of the Messi-berg. Miami, known for its electric nightlife and pristine beaches, is about to get a real estate makeover that will leave HGTV hosts in awe. Even though Messi already has property in Sunny Isles Beach in Miami, our man is rumored to be on a real estate hunt. And with Messi’s reputation, just imagine the domino effect on property values in the vicinity.

What if you're a regular Joe with a modest budget? Fret not. With platforms like Nada (Full disclosure: the author is invested in Nada through crowdfunding and advises readers to invest at their own risk), you too can get in on the action. Cityfunds let you invest in a city's real estate market - all from the comfort of your couch. Who needs Monopoly when you can play with the big boys in real life?

Any other alternative investments here? As a self-proclaimed soccer NFT bag hodler, I’m toying with the idea of grabbing Messi's NFTs and those of his teammates. If Inter Miami kills it on the field, I’m placing my bets on those little digital nuggets turning into bars of gold.

But hold your horses; the plot thickens. We’ve got the Wall Street wannabes whispering in the dark corners of Reddit, saying that Apple stock is gonna soar because - get this - Messi is apparently the messiah who’ll bring in a flood of Apple+ subscribers. We’re all for imaginative speculation, but that one's got its head up in the clouds. With the tech giant Apple in the mix, it’s getting even juicer. According to The Athletic, there’s talk of a revenue-sharing trifecta with Messi, Apple, and Adidas. This combo is like having the Avengers on your portfolio.

The buzz is contagious. Even your neighbor, the one who usually couldn't give two hoots about soccer, will be elbowing his way through the crowd to snag a Messi jersey. Why? Because he’s crossing his fingers and praying to the gods of memorabilia that he’ll somehow get it signed. Autographed Messi jersey? That’s basically an early retirement plan. The internet is practically smoking with discussions on how to get a piece of the Messi pie. From flipping tickets and jersey hunting to stock speculation and NFT trading, it’s a virtual gold rush out there. If you're savvy and maybe a little gutsy, this could be your golden ticket.

Now, let’s add some perspective here. Messi isn't the first celebrity to turn a city on its head. Remember when Elon Musk moved to Austin? Yeah, the guy with rockets, electric cars, and more. His move was followed by a Gigafactory and Tesla HQ, skyrocketing property values in Austin.

Celebrities are the new urban alchemists - they turn cities into gold. The “Messi Effect” isn’t an isolated phenomenon, it’s a revolution. Talent flows, and prosperity follows. Just like a magician never reveals his tricks, the full extent of Messi’s economic magic in Miami remains to be seen. But one thing's for sure: when Messi plays, the world watches, and when Messi moves, cities evolve.

NOW, LET’S ROCKET NETWORK!

We are using emojis to guide subscribers in our event list 📅📍

HERE ARE MY PICKS FOR THIS WEEK

Monday, June 19

Making Business Human

Tuesday, June 20

Ion Prototyping Lab Office Hours

Nonprofit Startup Organization Meet-up

🚀Co-Creating the Future: An African Startup Symposium on Collaboration

🚀CUP OF JOEY - Bay Area Houston

🚀🌶️🔥Bayou City Startups June Happy Hour🔥🌶️

Wednesday, June 21

🚀Poptarts & Pitches

Perfecting Your Pitch

🤓💻Game Dev Showcase

Thursday, June 22

NASA Tech Talks

Ultrasound. Integrated. Everywhere.

🚀Houston Bitcoin Meetup

Friday, June 23

🚀🚀🚀 Cup of Joey

Ion Prototyping Lab Office Hours

Aramco Ventures Office Hours at the Ion

Ion Office Hours

🚀🌶️🔥Ed in Between Lines - Art Exhibition + NFT Event

Saturday, June 24

😎👌🏊Chill

Sunday, June 25

🤓💻Code & Coffee Meeting @ Improving - June 25, 2023

Community Ask and Founder Spotlight

Congratulations to FI Houston ‘23 Cohort Graduates!

Charles Adi, My Financial Roadmap

Aswin Bandaru, Mission Zero Jake Koney, Kinfolk

Sydney Marvin, Stunner Safety

Robert Rolnik, WindEverest

Henry Uti, Ndali

How many times have you been caught in the property-search rabbit hole on Zillow? Hours spent, thumbs worn down to nubs as you endlessly scroll through listings? The hustle is real, my friends. But there’s a new superhero in H-town: Findur! Speed up your property search and forget the endless Zillow browsing. Save the time sink of copying and pasting addresses from Zillow to Google Maps. Findur combines both, allowing you to filter listings based on commute times to all your places of interest in seconds. This startup is like a lovechild of HAR and Google Maps. What a game-changer! If you want to get involved, reach out to my startup friend - Husam Rahman, the wizard behind Findur.

This might be HUGE: Billy Whittaker’s Bronco Power Boost is the Doc Brown of real life. Picture this - You're chilling at home, your Bronco is parked outside, eating your trash and burping out energy. Running your household essentials, juicing up your EV, and heating the water for your showers so you can stay fresh. Near net zero, baby! Wanna jump in? Holler at Billy, tell him Oleg sent you.

Imagine classrooms where students earn digital cash for learning. Even though it sounds like an imaginary world, LaTasha McMurry’s Kash-In is making it real. Teachers monetize lessons, and students stack up ‘kash’ for acing quizzes and being on their A-game. And the genius part? They spend it in online stores made by schools. We’re talking next-gen scholars – savvy, motivated, and financially literate. Want to get involved? Hit up Kash-In. This is where the classroom meets the bank.

Congratulations to our startup ecosystem friend Rekha Patel and Xrathus, Inc. on being awarded Top 10 collaboration solutions provider for 2023 by CIO Applications. "We offer contextually savvy collaboration that modern businesses need to achieve scalable #innovation and #skilling, enhance the #productivity of their workforce, and deliver superior outcomes faster," said Rekha Patel , Founder & CEO.

Do you know an Energy startup? 2023 Startup Village Energy Startup Competition Application is LIVE <> to compete in the Energy Startup Competition on Tuesday, 17 October, in San Antonio, Texas, at SPE ATCE. The application Deadline is 14 July 2023.

That’s all for now, HOU-preneurs. Don’t forget to tell your friends - “If you want to stay ahead of the curve and be a part of the hottest startup community in Houston, you must be a part of Rocket Network.”

Cheers! - Oleg