We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alex Baum a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alex, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Success, to me, is deeply personal and subjective. For some, it’s measured by wealth or career milestones; for others, it’s simply providing for their family each day. That’s why the first step toward understanding what it takes to be successful is defining what success means to you; because, as the lawyer in me can’t help but say, it depends.
My definition of success is creating a life where you turn your dreams into reality. Too often, people convince themselves their dreams are unattainable. But the truth is simple: the person who believes they can and the person who believes they can’t are both right. That may sound cliché, but I’ve learned there’s no rule for our definitions of success to be synonymous – and that’s where the real nuance lies.
Success begins with mindset, but it only becomes real when paired with goals. Once you write down your goals, you can work backwards to create an actionable plan. That plan keeps you accountable and focused on what’s in front of you while reminding you of where you’re going. Chasing success is like climbing Mount Everest: the summit may be the goal, but the journey is conquered one step at a time.
In a competitive, cutthroat, and often expensive field like sports representation and entrepreneurship, success requires more than ambition, resilience, and a plan. It demands adaptability, consistency, creativity, communication, discipline, teamwork, grit, passion, patience, perseverance, toughness, and faith.
Equally important, and often overlooked, is who you surround yourself with. A mentor once told me, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” If you surround yourself with people who are successful in their own fields, their standard becomes your goalpost; their discipline shapes your habits, their mistakes become your lessons, and their vision stretches your own.
For me, the dream has always been to become an attorney, an agent, an entrepreneur, and an author. That vision gave birth to Nocturnal Sports Group where I take tremendous pride in being the person behind the scenes who works around the clock so our clients can focus on competing and doing what they love.
The concept of success fascinates me because it constantly evolves. If you asked the 18-year-old version of Alex Baum what success looked like, he’d be crying tears of joy to see where I am today. Yet as I sit here now, I can’t help but focus on the version of myself I’m still striving to become. And in no way would I consider myself “successful.” But maybe that’s the point. As the late Kobe Bryant said, “It’s about the journey, not the destination.”
Perhaps success is really about perspective. What some might view as success, others may see as just the starting line. Over time, I’ve realized that success is less about titles or achievements and more about the ongoing pursuit of growth, development, impact, and becoming the best version of yourself. Maybe that’s the paradox of success: it never fully belongs to you, because the answer always lies in the eyes of the beholder. Although I’d like to think I understand what it takes to be successful, I’ve come to realize that success is defined by how you choose to view your journey and measure your growth by your own standards. Fortunately enough, there is no universal formula, thereby leaving each of us as the author to craft the story of our own success.
Alex, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
During my sophomore year of college, I sat down with my mentor to talk about getting more involved on campus. I rattled off a few ideas, and then he asked me a simple but life-changing question: “If failure wasn’t possible, and you could do anything in the world, where would you see yourself in ten years?”
Without hesitation, I said, “I’d love to be a sports agent.” Saying it out loud terrified me; it sounded audacious, maybe even unrealistic. But as the conversation ended, he left me with one piece of advice that’s stayed with me ever since: “Why not you?”
That was the day everything changed. I was already obsessed with the industry. I’d dissect contracts, study how agents negotiated, and watch how they served their clients behind the scenes. What struck me most was that it wasn’t just a career; it was a 24/7 commitment. To most people, that sounds exhausting. To me, it sounded like the dream. I didn’t want glamour. I wanted the responsibility. I wanted to be the person athletes could rely on, at any hour of the day.
That idea later became the foundation of Nocturnal: a relentless commitment to service, around the clock, for people who refuse to quit on their dreams.
At the end of my first year of law school, I landed an opportunity with one of the best hospitality companies in the world. That role gave me front-row access to athletes, agents, celebrities, and high-end clientele. It taught me sales, marketing, and, most importantly, how to build genuine relationships. What began as simply coordinating dinners and nightlife reservations quickly evolved. Athletes gradually gave me a chance to help them out with more – whether it be securing courtside seats, accessing pre-release clothing drops, tracking down sold-out sneakers, or finding last minute concert tickets, every opportunity was a challenge for me to prove that I can be someone they can rely on. In this industry, that ability matters. But more than anything, those moments gave me the chance to earn something far more valuable than a deal or a connection: trust. And trust, I’ve learned, is the real currency of business.
After graduation, I briefly worked in personal injury law at a Wall Street firm. It was a great experience, but I knew it was only a matter of time before I pursued my own path. I didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the “perfect” opportunity at a big agency. So I created my own. As the saying goes, when opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door. Alex Hormozi put it even better: entrepreneurs jump off the cliff and learn how to fly on the way down.
Since then, Nocturnal Sports Group has grown into a roster of athletes and creators across the NFL, NBA, and NIL landscape. We help our clients with everything from on-field representation and contract negotiations to off-the-field marketing, PR, events, and memorabilia signings.
What distinguishes us is more than the 24/7 mantra, it’s the philosophy. We work with athletes and creators regardless of their platform size, because every story matters. Where most agencies prioritize profitability, we prioritize personalization. Every client is unique, both in their background and their ambitions. Our mission is to educate them, empower them, and position them to make informed decisions for themselves and their families. For us, there’s no task too big and no task too small.
Someone recently asked me what my proudest accomplishment has been in sports so far. The truth? It’s not a single deal, partnership, or headline. It’s the trust we’ve earned. A few years ago, I was just a kid with a dream. Today, some of the greatest athletes in the world trust me at pivotal moments in their careers. That responsibility humbles me every day. Because of them, I graciously get to wake up and say: I’m not just a kid with a dream anymore, I’m a kid living his dream.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
A few years ago, I was preparing to take the LSAT. If you know anything about that process, you know how grueling and expensive it can be. I hated every second of it. I had already taken the exam once and wasn’t happy with my score, and as the second attempt approached, my confidence was at an all-time low.
The night before the test, I dropped out. I was terrified to tell my parents. Sitting at the dinner table over Chinese takeout, my dad asked me what was wrong. I told him, honestly, “I just feel like a failure, maybe this whole thing isn’t for me.” Toward the end of dinner, I cracked open a fortune cookie – Inside it read: “A man can fail many times but he isn’t a failure until he gives up.” I still carry that fortune with me to this day.
Looking back, every shortcoming, every obstacle, and every turning point was painful, humiliating, emotional, and exhausting. But what I didn’t realize then was that each of those moments was simply the foundation for something greater. What once felt like the end of the world was, in reality, a detour that made me stronger.
I’ve failed the bar exam. I’ve been rejected by every sports agency I applied to. I’ve been told no more times than I can count. I’ve lost in moments where I gave everything I had to win. I’ve had people laugh at what they dismissed as my “little business idea.” And yet, through every rejection and every failure, I’ve been anchored by one truth: you only fail when you give up.
To me, resilience is refusing to let “no” be the final word. I remind myself that no simply means not yet. As Alex Hormozi says, “Everyone’s right about you today but not forever.” First they laugh, doubt, and dismiss you. Then one day, they ask how you did it.
Resilience isn’t about avoiding failure, it’s about facing it head on. In the pursuit of any great accomplishment, failure is inevitable. The key is to embrace it, learn from it, and keep moving forward. Because falling down doesn’t make you a failure, staying down does. Any great entrepreneur or athlete will tell you, they’ve failed more than some people were ever willing to try. The choice is yours.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Some of the most impactful books I’ve read that have shaped my entrepreneurial philosophy are Agent You by Nicole Lynn, Lucky Me by Rich Paul, Next Question by Drew Rosenhaus, and Permission to Screw Up by Kristin Hadeed. Each tells a unique story filled with trials and tribulations, but the common thread is this: losers are defined by what happens to them, while winners are defined by what they make happen. Their journeys are proof that setbacks are not the end, but rather the beginning of resilience and growth.
One of my favorite podcasts is the Athletes First Podcast hosted by Brian Murphy and AJ Stevens, two of the brightest minds in football and contract negotiation. The podcast also features segments from some of the most successful agents in the industry like David Mulugheta, Ryan Williams, and Todd France. Beyond being educational and deeply insightful, it offers something even more meaningful, the chance to hear the origin stories of some of the greatest agents and negotiators in the business.
Among the voices that have shaped my philosophy are Alex Hormozi, Simon Sinek, and Gary Vaynerchuk. Each, in their own way, challenges conventional thinking and speaks to the discipline, vision, and persistence it takes to build something lasting. They’ve taught me that entrepreneurship is less about resources and more about resourcefulness, about the courage to act even when certainty is absent.
I also draw tremendous inspiration from Noah Tepperberg and David Grutman. In an industry notorious for its volatility and short lifecycles, they have built empires that endure. What sets them apart is not only their ability to innovate across industries and demographics, but the way they do so with humility, kindness, thoughtfulness, and an uncompromising attention to detail. They are master architects of both relationships and businesses, and I aspire to embody those same qualities in my own career.
Finally, one of the most impactful messages I’ve ever heard comes from Coach Nick Saban’s speech on toughness. He explains that toughness is not about how strong you are, but rather about answering a different question: “What does it take to break you?”
That idea has stayed with me because it cuts to the essence of resilience. True toughness, whether in sports, business, or life, is defined not by strength alone, but by what it takes to break your focus, your determination, and your will to keep going. If nothing can break you, then nothing can stop you.
As I’ve said before, “A man can fail many times, but he isn’t a failure until he gives up.” That truth leaves us with no alternative: if you want to be successful, don’t quit.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nocturnalsportsgroup.com
- Instagram: @nocturnalsportsgroup
