We were lucky to catch up with Juan Thompson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Juan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
In 2013, while watching American Idol, a random thought came that it would be cool to see rappers and singers competing against each other. When I went to sleep, I was in a massive arena and a rapper and singer was performing against each other.. I then found myself in a press room where the two artists that were on the stage was being questioned by press as if they were athletes. I then realized that this was a match where the artists were like athletes and music performance was the sport. The next morning, my mother told me it was a vision from GOD.
Juan, 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?
I’’ve been in the music industry since 1996. I started out as a music producer, than transitioned into management, consulting, and artist development. I have a true passion for music and passion for independent artists and their journey to success. By creating the league, I feel this is a powerful new career pathway for them to pursue a music career.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I conducted my first game in 2015 in Virginia Beach. I continued to run games in local venues up to 2020 in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. When Covid hit, I had to come up with a new way to host games since we temporarily couldn’t do games in venues. That’s when I came up with the Song vs Song Sports League concept, which allows independent artists to compete with their songs online as a pro sport. We now have artists from all over the world competing in our league.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
The funding for the business has been coming out of pocket for years. I figured I cannot wait around for an investor because too fresh of an idea, so I took it upon myself to fund the league.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.songvssongsports.com
- Instagram: @songvssongsports
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1E2HsNFaFf/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-a-thompson?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@songvssongsports?si=yq45rSWSWGPVx5Jo
