🏟️🎙️ Ben Gardner, Partner at Will Ventures | S2 E10

Investing EARLY in Sports & Entertainment

Jun 23, 2025

Sports are serious business.
On Under the Number, Brent Peus goes deep with the innovators driving the business of sport—from elite athletes and investors to visionary founders and executives.
Get inside the deals, trends, and disruptions reshaping the industry. Whether you’re a fan, entrepreneur, investor, or industry insider, Under the Number offers cutting-edge insights into the world of sports business.

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🏈 ⚽️ 🏀 ⚾️ 🎾 🥍 🏐 ⛳️ Know an athlete or someone in sports business? Do them a favor—share this episode and help them stay ahead of the game.

The Connection:

I was introduced to Ben by my good friend and former Stanford football teammate Lewis Burik, who is the co-founder of DubClub and backed by Will Ventures. As I point out in the episode, I have interviewed leaders from three companies in the Will Ventures portfolio on past editions of Under the Number: Christian Ponder (The Post), Andrew Phillips (Fanstake), and Lewis Burik (DubClub).

Quote of the Episode:

“The sports industry is the ultimate in insiders’ club. There are very few key stakeholders in the industry that dictate the terms.

If you want to get things done you have to know these people, you have to know their incentives, and you have to know how things get structured.

. . .that insiders’ club is very different than the Silicon Valley insiders’ club.”

Bet You Didn’t Know:

Ben was a 2-star recruit and was committed to the University of Northern Iowa when Jim Harbaugh extended a last-second scholarship offer, making Ben the final addition (24th of 24 recruits) to his Stanford recruiting class. The connection came through Jack Harbaugh, Jim Harbaugh's father, who lived in Ben’s hometown. After watching Ben play, Jack sent his film to Stanford.

Ben Gardner joined the Will Ventures team following a 5+ year stint at Andreessen Horowitz, where he built out the a16z consumer team’s go-to-market platform. During that time he worked as a strategic advisor for portfolio companies like Instacart, Lime, Sleeper, Substack, Levels Health, and Dapper Labs, among many others. He also built and managed a16z’s network of corporate executives and influencers across sports, media & entertainment, consumer brands, gaming, and talent agencies.

Prior to his time at Andreessen Horowitz, Ben graduated from Stanford and was a captain of the Rose Bowl-winning football team. In 2014, he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys and played 3 years in the NFL with the Cowboys and Chargers.