How to use innovative thinking to find new opportunities

In a world where markets shift overnight and yesterday’s strategies quickly become obsolete, innovative thinking has evolved from a competitive edge to a survival skill. The most successful organisations aren’t those that cling to what works, but those that constantly reimagine what’s possible, turning uncertainty into opportunity.

Innovative thinking has the potential to identify areas for growth. One company has not only made waves in the worlds of entertainment and sports but is using it to find new business opportunities.

Roc Nation is an entertainment company launched by the rapper Jay-Z in 2008. It represents artists such as Alicia Keys, DJ Khaled and Rihanna. Over the following decade, the company created and grew a sports-focused arm, signing stars like the NFL’s Dez Bryant, basketball superstar Kevin Durant and Major League Baseball icon Robinson Canó. But then it decided to step outside its comfort zone and expand further outside the US.

Roc Nation Sports International (RNSI) was born.

Michael Yormark was the man chosen as president of the new venture. He had more than 20 years’ experience working for the holding company of the Florida Marlins (now Miami Marlins) baseball team, the Miami Dolphins NFL team and the Florida Panthers Ice Hockey team – and was five years into his tenure at Roc Nation. He boarded a plane for London in September 2019 to set up the venture with a completely blank page.

Today, Yormark and his RNSI team have built up an impressive stable of clients that include football stars like Kevin De Bruyne, Crystal Palace's Chris Richards and Inter Milan’s Federico Dimarco and rugby players such as Springbok stars Cheslin Kolbe and Siya Kolisi and England players Marcus Smith and Ellis Genge. Much like the out-of-the-box thinking that set them on this path of international expansion to begin with, RNSI identified the opportunity for growth within the South American market.

Yormark flew all over Brazil to find the right partner and, in mid-2023, penned a deal to acquire TFM Agency. The deal saw more than 100 footballers brought under the company’s umbrella, including Brazilian stars Vinícius Jr, Gabrielle Martinelli and Endrick.

Frederico Pena, the agency’s founder and super-agent, assumed the role of Roc Nation Sports Brazil president and was pivotal in getting the deal over the line.

“We looked at a lot of different companies in Brazil,” recalls Yormark, “but I knew from the moment I met Fred that he would be the perfect partner. Our decision wasn’t based on profitability, nor was it based on his client list; it started with Fred as a leader. He had very similar goals, objectives, values and his approach to business was identical to ours. There were also differences, but those differences were great because we get to learn from each other.

“Expansion has always been a big part of our strategy. But you have to be fearless, you have to be constantly identifying what those opportunities are. Even though you may be in the weeds of what you're doing day-to-day, you always have to keep an eye on your goals and pursue the right growth opportunities.”

Now, RNSI has its sights set on a new opportunity, as Yormark explains: “About two years ago, I was at a football match with a very high-profile sports director from one of the biggest clubs in the world and he was talking to me about our recent expansion in Brazil. He said, ‘Michael, now that you've got Brazil covered, the next market you really need to think about is Africa.’ From that conversation, I started thinking about it every day...”

It makes sense. It’s one of the most untapped talent pools in the world. The continent has produced icons like George Weah, Michael Essien, Samuel Eto'o, Yaya Touré and Didier Drogba. What if RNSI could find, represent and develop the next Mohamed Salah?

The company started by conducting extensive research, and the aim of the project is rooted in the vision of creating an authentic impact on the African continent.

Its strategy is to have partners in key territories across the continent, not only to nurture elite football talent, but also to ensure they thrive in their careers and achieve success at the highest levels of the game.

The approach, however, is not without risks. Ben Ryan, the former GB and Fiji sevens rugby coach who is now performance director at Brentford Football Club, revealed at a recent Business Leader event that 97 per cent of academy players will never play professional football. However, he also said that one world-class player could fund a whole academy for a decade.

So, what is it about the Roc Nation culture that allows these gambles, as some may call them, to be made? Yormark attributes it to the attitude throughout the organisation: “I think it starts with the owners of our company and the culture that they've created and have always embraced. We have an entrepreneurial spirit and we are fearless.”

The essence of this entrepreneurial spirit is bringing new ideas, new opportunities and new concepts to the table as often as possible. On the first Friday of every month, Yormark hosts an early morning ideation session with the entire RNSI team.

“I bring in breakfast and we gather for about 90 minutes,” he says. “During the session, I challenge every staff member to bring new ideas to the table.

“New ideas that will help us in the moment, new ideas that may support our expansion, or new ideas that may be unrelated to what we're doing on a day-to-day basis but in some way could be complementary to our overall business. I encourage them to think like entrepreneurs and most of our fresh ideas come out of those ideation sessions.”

Innovative thinking isn’t a silver bullet and the risks of the unknown must be balanced with pragmatism. As with every company, mistakes have been made. Yormark ensures his teams learn from both the positives and negatives of these, so that those learnings shape future decisions.

One of these is around expanding into a new sport. “We've dabbled in cricket, but we probably expanded into cricket too quickly and we've had to pull back,” says Yormark. “We're not representing any cricketers any longer, but I became a big cricket fan. However, just because I'm a fan of cricket doesn't mean it's the right strategic business move for our company. We learned a lot and have applied those learning lessons to other relationships.”

Relationships have been a major growth pillar spurned by out-of-the-box thinking too. In June, RNSI partnered with E1, the all-electric race boat championship backed by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia and owner of Newcastle United and LIV Golf. Championship visits include Jeddah, Monaco and Miami, with teams owned by a who’s who list of well-known names, including Rafael Nadal, Tom Brady and Will Smith.

RNSI and E1’s mutually beneficial relationship has been badged a “content partnership”, which sees E1 athletes and team members integrated into RNSI's “broader entertainment ecosystem”.

This ethos has infiltrated from the top down. Parent company Roc Nation signed a landmark deal with the NFL in 2019 that also involved producing, promoting and amplifying the Super Bowl halftime show.

Other opportunities for RSNI came through offering consulting services to sports teams and leagues, such as Como FC, Sail GP and FIFA Club World Cup 2025 fan favourites, the South African football club Mamelodi Sundowns.

It’s also understood that the agency has begun work with Matchroom Boxing, a global leader in sports promotion. This collaboration will focus on expanding Matchroom’s global reach, unlocking new opportunities across sports and culture, with a key focus on its operations in the United States.

The company focuses on four verticals with the services anchored around building visibility and growth. Commercial, which involves attracting sponsors and brand collaborations; content and creative, where it assists with video and talent appearances at marquee events; social and digital, which includes support and training across online platforms; and finally, global PR and communications.

None of this happens without looking at opportunities through a fresh lens and breaking the cycle of a business or industry has always done. In the competitive world, the message is clear: growth doesn’t come from playing it safe.

Yormark echoes this in his final words on using innovative thinking to find new opportunities: Be fearless. “People don't expand or take chances because they fear what's on the other side. We all have the fear of failure,” he says. “None of us wants to fail but when we do, we get back up and we've got to push even harder.

“When opportunity knocks on the door, go for it. We may not have all the answers and there's no guaranteed success, so be fearless. Take the risk, take the chance, because the payoff could be enormous.”