Ryan Nece (Next Legacy Partners) - Learning from Achievement and Adversity

Emily Ma: This is the Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Series brought to you by Stanford E Corner and the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. Hello, everyone. My name is Emily Ma and I'm an adjunct lecturer for the Stanford Technology Ventures program. Welcome back to the Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Series. The, uh, Stanford Technology Ventures program hosts it every Wednesday. Uh, today. I'm so thrilled to have Ryan Nees with us. Huge round of applause for Ryan. Okay, so a uh, quick bio here. Ryan Nees is the co founder and managing partner of Next Legacy, a multi strategy venture platform investing in established venture firms, emerging venture firms, and select technology companies. Nyxlegacy's model is built on trusted relationships and disciplined capital stewardship, while expanding access to technology and private markets for communities such as professional athletes. The firm sits at the nexus of venture capital, entrepreneurship, sport and philanthropy, giving Ryan and his partners a unique vantage point within the innovation economy. Nick's Legacy believes that best in class returns drive the greatest charitable impact. While most funds on its platform operate with standard venture economics, all returns from the firm's flagship fund are donated to philanthropic causes. A former super bowl champion, Ryan transitioned from professional sports to entrepreneurship, founding and scaling multiple businesses before co founding Nick's Legacy, based in Portola Valley, California. He brings a distinctive combination of leadership, operating experience, and network depth to the venture ecosystem. Okay, I'm so thrilled. I've been waiting for this chat for two months, but we're going to start from square one.

Ryan Nece: Okay.

Emily Ma: Okay, let's go back. So we're gonna go back. We're gonna go back. Uh, by the way, Ryan's mom is here in the audience with us, which is amazing. So.

Ryan Nece: Oh, yeah, round of applause.

Emily Ma: Round of applause.

Ryan Nece: She's the oracle of the family.

Emily Ma: That's right, that's right. Okay, we're gonna go back to when you were a wee lad. Yes, wee lad. You were, uh, the son of two amazing parents, one of whom is a hall of famer in the NFL. Vani. Vani Lott, tell us what it was like to be so curious in learning from your father, showing up as he did on the field, in the spotlight day in and day out.

Ryan Nece: Well, first, let me say thank you, Emily. Thank you for allowing me to be here. Thank you for giving me the opportunity. I know this is the last class, um, and so I'm really grateful to be here. All the things that you've accomplished with this class, with this program, with the podcast. Really incredible. So thank you for the honor to be here with you. Um, so I'm excited, too. Uh, really appreciate the opportunity. You know, when you think about that question, it really is an important one because it is a lot of the foundation of who I am today. Having the opportunity to be in the presence of greatness on a day to day basis and watching how it operates outside of the spotlight was a privilege. And watching the way that my father approached his craft, his dedication to being the very best, um, you know, that helped shape me into thinking that an impossible was possible. And what's amazing is I quickly learned through my father that success comes at a cost. And success comes at, um, at making tremendous sacrifices. And most people in this room probably could articulate, um, their dreams, their goals, their aspirations, what they want to achieve. But very few may have the opportunity to truly express what they're willing to give up to achieve those things, what pain they're willing to endure. And I got a chance to see my father endure a lot. And I'll give you an example. Um, uh, you know, a lot of people don't know that my father, they know that he, you know, won four Super Bowls, is in the hall of Fame, arguably one of the greatest NFL players of all time. People know that. They don't know he's a second degree black belt. Um, he studied that craft, he studied martial arts. And the things that he learned through that helped train his mind as much as it did his body. So much so that I remember going to one of his training sessions, and as I was at this training session, he had a sensei, and his sensei was taking him through a normal routine and a normal exercise. And the sensei had this bamboo stick in his hand as he was walking around, um, talking to my father. And he said, what's the number today, Ronnie? And he said, I think he picked 8 or 7. I don't remember the exact number. He said, great. And so he's going through his training, and then all of a sudden he said, are you ready? And the sensei took that bamboo stick and swung it like he was trying to hit a home run and hit my father with that bamboo stick multiple times. The number that my father, um, picked. And to watch him wince. I never saw my father cry. To watch him, you know, endure that pain, to take on those blows was mind blowing for a young man at a very young age. Like I was, what is happening right now? This is. This is crazy. Afterwards, I asked my father, why would you do that? Why would you allow him to do that? And he said he was trying to prepare his mind to be able to play pain free and if he could inflict more Pain off the field, that when he got on the field, he could endure any amount of pain that came along with playing the game at the level that he was playing. And so that takes a certain mindset. And to be around that and to be, um, you know, grow, uh, up around that. There were definitely some high standards that, um, that I learned at a very young age that greatness comes at a cost.

Emily Ma: Wow. Your father also spoke about exhausting the moment.

Ryan Nece: He did.

Emily Ma: Tell me what that means.

Ryan Nece: It's his life motto. I mean, imagine any of you the last thing that you did to exhaust yourself, anything. Think about the most exhausted that you were in that moment of time. My father wants to do that, truly, in every moment. He wants to squeeze every ounce of the moment, um, out of it. And to try to exert himself to be as present as possible, to be, um, in the pursuit of excellence, to try to show up and maximize what that moment, um, is given. And in his mind, he would talk about that. You know, obviously, the past is no longer and the present doesn't exist. The only thing that matters is this moment. And so why not do everything in your power to exhaust it? Um, so he wears a band, um, that has exhausted it. Exhaust the moment written around it, a leather band. And it's just his reminder again of the standard in which he tries to operate by.

Emily Ma: Wow. So that's not the only amazing story here. I think the other part of your story that was so striking to me was an experience that was equally painful, maybe more so in other ways. So as a high school student, just before senior year, you were in a very, very bad accident, car accident. Can you tell us a little bit more about that and the journey that you went on and how it reshaped you?

Ryan Nece: Yeah, Emily, great question. And truly a transfer, transformational moment in my life. Ah, a crucible moment. Um, a moment that I could reflect on and be back in instantly. It was that, um, impactful to myself and to my family. Um, you know, at that point in my life, prior to my senior year, um, I was getting ready to go into, uh, my senior year. So it was just the summer before that, a group of friends, we were going to go to the beach and enjoy a day at the beach. And I'll never forget it because it was my best friend, the girlfriend that I was dating at the time, and another good buddy and my best friend, Teddy, showed up at the house to pick us up and to take us to the beach. And as he was pulling up, um, we were walking out to the car My stepfather pulled up, and he pulled up in a convertible Mustang. And he yelled, hey, where are you guys going? And we said, we're going to the beach. And he said, don't take that car. Take this car. And he tossed me the keys. I said, of course I'm going to take the convertible Mustang. Who's not taking the Mustang to the beach? So we jumped in the car and we take off to the beach. And if any of you that are listening or those here in the classroom are familiar with the freeway system in Southern California, there's just traffic all the time, 24 7. It's complex. Uh, it is a dangerous highway. You have to be on alert and be a defensive driver. I was being a very offensive driver. Um, before we got to the beach, we stopped off to go and get some gas. And as we're getting back on the freeway, um, I started to accelerate on the on ramp. And as I was accelerating on the on ramp, I lost control of the car. And as I fishtailed and powerslide through this turn, um, I realized that the freeway started to elevate and another freeway and actually a rail system went underneath the freeway. And I thought we were gonna go off the side of the freeway. And so I corrected the car. And imagine the, the merged lane and the slow lane coming together. And there's that area, that triangle area that creates gravel as those two lanes come together. The car ended up in that area. And right then, a car in the slow lane was just about to hit us, and I panicked and accelerated the car and went perpendicular across the freeway. As we're traveling perpendicular across the freeway, uh, a car goes right through the driver's side door and bends our car in half. And so now, a lot of this was told to me after, but I do remember I could draw you the picture if I was a good artist. The visual in my mind is so clear of watching this diesel Mercedes come all the way to the door. And I could watch the Mercedes symbol of that car come and hit the door and then it was out. Um, the girl that I was dating at the time fractured, uh, her shoulder and sprained her neck. Uh, the gentleman sitting behind me, my buddy, broke every leg, broke every bone in his leg on his left side. My best friend wasn't wearing his seatbelt, was ejected, but thankfully grabbed on. There was a luggage rack on the trunk that he grabbed onto that somehow, miraculously, nothing happened to him. But for me, a lot happened. Um, my entire face was crushed. Um, my arms were lacerated with, um, contusions and cuts. And so my friends thought I was not alive. Um, the ambulance came, picked me up, rushed me to the hospital. As it rushed me to the hospital, um, it was in Southern California. And another thing that happened in this story, which was truly a miracle, is there was a visiting doctor at this hospital, gentleman named Dr. Pletches. My mom actually still talks to Dr. Pletches because he's meaningful to our family. He was the only surgeon at that time in the world that had perfected a procedure that he could zigzag across your cranium. I had to have my whole entire skull, this area, cut and peeled down to do reconstructive surgery all through my face, reattach my eye. And when I came in, he was talking to other doctors about this procedure, and he said, hey, I'll just show you guys what I am capable of. And he took me in that moment to do his procedure and did the reconstructive surgery. I spent the next two weeks, I believe, in intensive care. I saw double for a number of days. Now, mind you, before that, I am the captain of every team that I played in. I am homecoming king. I am the top of my class academically. There wasn't anything I couldn't do that I wasn't the very best at. I was also starting to develop a sense of confidence that was probably borderline cocky. My mom would say, maybe. And when you're in that moment where you think you're invincible and untouchable, that's a dangerous place. And instantly, suddenly, that was all taken from me. I no longer knew what I was going to look like. I no longer knew if I could play sports anymore. I no longer knew if I was cognitively going to be able to operate the same way that I was before. Suddenly, all of that vanished. And what was amazing is I sat in that hospital bed. Um, it was so transformational, because at that point, all I knew is I had my breath and my family. And as I started to breathe and started to lean into my family, I started to understand my faith. And all of a sudden, when I felt like I had lost everything that was important in life, I'd gained the most important thing in my faith and my belief in my savior, Jesus Christ. And because of that, it was so transformational that all of a sudden, I knew I had a bigger purpose. I knew that I needed to do more with my life than just worry about accolades or worry about, um, whatever achievements that I thought were important. It was about changing lives, being impactful, being a leader, being able to Share a message. And that moment was very catalytic in how I've dedicated my life to making sure I don't forget the power of the breath, the support of family, and the strength and the endurance that faith can give someone. And so I appreciate you asking that question. Um, but, you know, uh, that was a challenging time. Of course, the first question I asked the doctor, right, the surgery happens, and he comes in and I'm like. He's like, how are you feeling? I said, I feel fine, doc, but can I play football again? And he was like, son, you're just lucky to be alive. But thankfully amazing. That accident happened in the summer. And if anybody knows or familiar with football, summer is right at the beginning of when you start to go away for, uh, training in 2A days. I actually played football that season, which nobody believed that I could do that. My mom probably still was a little frustrated and disappointed that I strapped on the helmet and found a way to play football again after having my face completely re. Put back together. Blood clots on my brain. It didn't make any sense, um, but it made perfect sense. And, um, thankfully was able to play that by playing the way that I played, earned a scholarship and set me on the trajectory that I'm here now sitting with you. So grateful, um, for that moment. Wouldn't wish it on anybody, but grateful that I had to go through that.

Emily Ma: Thank you for being so incredibly vulnerable. I think that's the first time I've actually heard the full story.

Ryan Nece: Yeah.

Emily Ma: So thank you for sharing that with our students. I think sometimes in the most difficult of times, we find who we are. And I have a suspicion that you found truly who you were in those moments.

Ryan Nece: Indeed, adversity teaches us lesson after lesson after lesson, and it's our job to lean into those lessons. And for me, you would imagine that that would be the only moment of adversity yet. The story after story. We could spend hours here talking about trials and tribulations and setbacks and mistakes and difficulties and challenges that I faced to be here today. But because of that moment, it reminded me that I can get through it. There's a testimony for me to look back, to share, but also to realize that probably tomorrow there'll be a test, I'll be challenged, Life will come at us. And yet, um, again, with faith, breath, and family, you can get through that moment, um, and move forward. So, um, yeah, I learned a lot. And it was definitely defining who I am.

Emily Ma: Faith, breath, family. I love that. Three things. It's very clear. So we could talk For a very long time about your super bowl and your NFL career. But I actually want to talk about the transition as you close out that chapter and actually did something actually incredibly courageous, which is to go through another transformation of a different sort. You wouldn't be here today if you chose to. If you didn't choose to start from scratch again after those years as a professional athlete. Can you talk about what that took and why you were successful in doing that and why it's hard for others to do?

Ryan Nece: Yeah, that. Uh, you know, playing in the NFL at the highest level, getting an opportunity to win a Super bowl, living out your childhood dream. I mean, it was incredible. Like being able to play in front of thousands of people cheering your name.

Emily Ma: Tens of thousands.

Ryan Nece: Tens of thousands.

Emily Ma: Hundreds of thousands of thousands, maybe millions of viewers.

Ryan Nece: Um, yes. Phenomenal. Um, you know, and all of a sudden, what comes along with that is an identity. And you start to think that you are this person. You start to feel significant, you start to feel important. Your identity starts to be rooted in this idea of being a professional football player. There's only 25,000 men that have ever played in the NFL that have played longer than three years. It's a. It's a pretty small fraternity. And so, um, with that comes notoriety and stardom. Um, and your ego gets stroked, Emily, a lot. And so you feel really good about yourself. And then all of a sudden, again, suddenly, you're no longer the football player. When people ask you who you are after you retire, you have to develop a new identity. And that spotlight, as you get further and further away from the game, the spotlight gets dimmer and dimmer and dimmer. And so that is a really hard transition. Um, and all of a sudden, you start to go into the real world that operates at a completely different schedule, has completely different vocabulary, standards, rules, and the way that it approaches life. Um, and as I was trying to figure out what I was going to do next, I realized that I needed to figure out how could I take what I'd learned from the game, the ideas of being a great teammate and dealing with adversity and hard work and determination and focus and goal setting and translate that over into a different arena, into different fields. And, um, I had the opportunity, thankfully, a family office. Um, said you could come and work with us. Um, and so I spent a year trying to just figure out a routine, and I knew very little. Um, but I knew if I could live by first principles. What are first principles? If I could show up first, be last, outwork everybody there, make sure. When I was asked to do something, to over deliver that by 10x, to do it fast, um, to be competent, to learn quick, um, that I would give myself a chance. What chance that would be, I don't know. But I knew that I could hopefully keep a job. Um, and I'll never forget, it was like the first, I don't know, four weeks into this job, somebody comes by and taps me on the shoulder and goes, hey, do you like to go to lunch? Uh, and I said, yeah, I like to eat lunch. They said, well, you, you never go to lunch. And I said, well, no one ever told me I could go to lunch. I didn't know, you know, I had freedom or agency to have to set my schedule. Because everything in football, everything in sport was dialed in, every practice down to the minute of exactly where you needed to be and how you needed to do it. Everything was laid out for you. And so going from this environment where everything was told to you about the play, not just the play itself, but how to execute that play, down to the detail that the very best do it, to then all of a sudden have the freedom of agency, um, that was hard. And so you had to learn new routines, you had to develop new scoreboards, you had to develop a new way to discipline yourself to execute in that environment. And, um, thankfully, um, I'm, uh, uh, self aware enough that when I don't know something, I ask for help. Uh, and so I would call people and say, hey, I don't know what I'm doing here. Can you help me out, tell me what I need to do? Um, I would ask for advice. Um, and I was trying to do anything I could to help accelerate the learning curve there so that I could hopefully get up to speed and then start excelling from there in my career.

Emily Ma: I loved what you said about suddenly having agency. I think a lot of students, you're following a schedule, you have classes, you have extracurriculars, and some of our students are going on to be entrepreneurs. And suddenly they have to design their own schedules. Like, what's my highest and best use of every hour of my day? How do I design that? It's really a creative process to try to figure out this, that out. And it's not easy when suddenly you don't have anything anchoring your calendar.

Ryan Nece: Correct. And if I asked you for advice on how to do that, you may say, ryan, this is how I lay out my calendar and my day and have it dialed in. And that may work for you, it may not work for me. Right. And so to your point, understanding what's best for you, how to optimize your schedule, your routine. I think one of the biggest lessons you have to learn is how to say no. That is one of the most.

Emily Ma: Why? Why is it important to say no?

Ryan Nece: We're constantly inundated with distractions. And when you think about the people that have ever done things at the highest level, whether athletes or men and women in the business world, their ability to focus, and there's a saying in sport and that we use still, even at our firm, see a little, see a lot, see a lot, see a, see a little. If you see too much, you get overwhelmed. Paralysis by analysis. You're distracted on focusing on the most important thing, the MIT M. And so making sure you're able to say no to block out those distractions, to stay laser focused on the task at hand, on the goals that you want to achieve, on the sacrifices that you need to make, um, that is part of the art, I think, of achieving the success one goes after.

Emily Ma: I'm gonna dig into this one more time because I think learning how to prioritize and saying no is one of those really important skills. So how do you say no gracefully? I think a lot of us here, you know, sometimes we have the saying fomo Fear of missing out. Like, how do we overcome that feeling? And how do we confidently say no to things?

Ryan Nece: Yeah, well, one, um. I'm laughing because I know my mom sitting here, and I remember a lesson that she, she taught me. And um, this was maybe a year or so ago. I remember talking to her and saying, hey, I'm. I'm going to travel to New York to go. And um, I think it was an. Accept an award. And um, she goes, wow, Ryan, that's amazing. And I said, well, while I'm there, I'm going to actually help some people with this and help a couple other groups with another project. She's like, God, you help so many people. You say yes to everybody. And I would say, felt like a proud son. My mom was giving me a compliment and she goes, the only person you say no to is yourself. And so one of the things that you have to also remember is making sure you're taking prioritizing self, um, in a positive way, not in a selfish way, but in a way that, um, you don't overextend yourself or exert yourself, um, um, just, ah, ah, to please others, um, at the expense of your own personal, uh, needs, um, um, and desires. And so I say that because as young people are trying to understand how to prioritize, um, and learn to say no in a graceful way. To your question, I think one of the things that I've learned, the best way to say no is to offer an alternative. Emily, I can't join you today, but you know what? In three weeks from now, after I get this project done, I'd love to catch up with you. Um, actually, you know what? You should meet with Sarah, because Sarah's awesome. She would be better than me in this situation. Offer an alternative. Um, and that's a very thoughtful way to approach, um, you know, feeling like you're not going to burn a bridge or make somebody be disappointed. Um, I think that's worked well for me.

Emily Ma: Well, taking all these lessons, I know you've been, uh, running this platform, this venture platform for a number of years now, right? Next Legacy. And it's very unique. I think one of the most unique aspects of it, as I mentioned in, uh, introducing you, is that the flagship fund, you donate all the proceeds to charitable causes, and this is a massive part of your life. I want to maybe switch gears now and dig into that how and why. I know maybe it ties back to your faith and your view on the world. Um, tell us a little bit more about that.

Ryan Nece: Yeah. Um, this year, our foundation, which is headquarters in Tampa, Florida, celebrates 20 years.

Emily Ma: Congratulations.

Ryan Nece: Thank you. The mantra behind this, uh, particular foundation is the power of giving. And so we teach. I actually created a curriculum that teaches high school juniors and seniors the principles of the power of giving and how to be a servant leader. And we found that that's really important as we continue to, uh, try to teach young minds about a million things, but hopefully teaching them about being aware of the needs that are around them, um, and really grateful for the work that we do there. But the thing that I've found and the reason that that's been important with the foundation and has carried me into, um, uh, what we do at Next Legacy is like, I won a Super Bowl. I've been in a family that has fame and fortune. Um, I've been around amazing leaders and been around incredible humans that do things at the highest level. But there is nothing that's touched my soul more than another human saying, thank you for helping me. Thank you for changing my life. Thank you for saving me. When you have the opportunity as a human to do that for another human, there's nothing more rewarding than that. There's nothing more impactful than that. Um, and so to be able to take this kind of family mantra that we also believe in that the giving hand is never empty. We've instilled that into what we do as an organization at Next Legacy. And so we prioritize something that nobody does in venture. Uh, we don't charge a carry that we actually not only do our investors, but the GPs themselves and our GP commit. We give that all away credible to organizations all around the world to change lives, to make the world a better place. Um, yeah, that is awesome. And so selfishly, it feels really good. It's powerful and meaningful and impactful that hopefully that, you know, when we look back, we've made a small dent and we've made a contribution that the young minds that are in this room, that are going to continue to champion, that are going to continue to move forward, that are going to continue to fight to make our world better, that we've helped them, um, we've aided in their efforts, that we've given them even more head start than we had. And so, um, I think about all the men and women, my mom, my father, my grandparents I knew, my, my great great grandmother, the men and women that came before them that made tremendous sacrifices to give me the opportunity to be where I am today. Wow. I owe it to them to try to show up and make a difference. And so, um, those are the reasons that I show up. Those are the reasons why Next Legacy exists. And we'll continue to fight for, uh, being different and finding ways to generate returns for our investors to create positive impact.

Emily Ma: You know, I'm so touched by your story because when I look at how I ended up here, there are things that people did, you know, 50, 80 years ago that made it possible for, you know, my father to be born, then me to be born, and then me to sit here and I try to pay it forward. 50, 100 years out. Right? So what could I do today for someone today who will benefit whoever they will then help 100% several generations out. Right? And I can feel, and I know the impact that you've had, not just this generation, but several, several generations out. 100 years out.

Ryan Nece: Well, that's why, um, one, I told you I feel honored to be next to you because I know that you're committed to that and that commitment is authentic. And that's the part that we have found when we're fortunate enough to huddle up with other men and women. When you're in an arena, in the game of life, uh, fighting to try ways to make difference, you got to lock arms with other people that are trying to make impact and so for me to be here with you, to show up and be a part of this is an honor, because I know that you're fighting for that. You're fighting not just for the students here, but for those that are down the road, that will benefit from the effort and the sacrifices and your commitment. Um, that's amazing.

Emily Ma: You said something that was actually quite, uh, funny at some point. Going back to authenticity, um, you talk a lot about trusted relationships, and that's what your platform is built on. And AI for you actually stands for authentic interaction. And in a world where AI, we start to ask questions about what is the value of human connection, you're like, AI for me means all authentic interaction.

Ryan Nece: Yes.

Emily Ma: Tell me more about authentic interaction in this day and age.

Ryan Nece: Well, you know, the amazing part is that everyone's going to have access to the same information. There's not going to be an excuse that you didn't have the right information or that you didn't know something. It's going to literally be. It is already, for the most part, in the palm of our hands and in our pockets. But what's amazing is a lot of that information is dated, if not all of it. And so I know this is being recorded now, and it's not up yet, but, you know, if we were just sitting at dinner, you and I, having this conversation, and the students weren't here, and it was just you and I sharing an intimate conversation that's really authentic. And that content, that information is proprietary to me. That's proprietary to you. What we choose to do with that, how we learn, how we act, how we move, how we invest, how we decide to trade on that information that we're given, gives us edge. And so I believe as we move forward, our ability to sit and look another human in the eye, to connect with them and to authentically engage with them, and to find ways to trade information will be an edge. And how we think, um, and how curious we are to ask, to engage and to lean into the. That is, to me, one of the most powerful things that we'll need to do moving forward. So having authentic interactions is critical to success and advancement moving forward in a world where information will get commoditized, how do you stand out? How do you differentiate yourself? And it'll be the quality and the caliber of the people that you have authentic interactions with.

Emily Ma: So with that, we have a number of budding entrepreneurs here who are looking to raise, uh, money for their adventures and ventures, as they should. Uh, tell me how you, uh, so what are you looking for in founders as you invest?

Ryan Nece: Yeah, it's a good question. Um, you know, it depends on the stage, obviously, but when you're thinking about the individual themselves, there are certain characteristics that you're trying to, um, look for. And those characteristics are things that I found in. In elite athletes, in elite businessmen and women, people that have found ways to be outliers and outperform. And during COVID I tried to spend time, as we all were, trying to figure out what to do with the free time that we had. I was trying to sum up the qualities that I look for in elite people. And, um, one of the things that I came up is you're trying to find common men and women with an uncommon desire, desire to succeed, and the way that they do that. And the word that I came up with was a simple word to describe all these characteristics, is they're thoughtful. Uh, and when you think about the last time somebody was thoughtful in your life, that meant that they did something above and beyond, that they went above the table stakes, that they probably did something that was intimate and that was personal and engaging and memorable, that you would say, that's really thoughtful. And so when I think about the young entrepreneurs and their ability to, um, present and engage, I'm looking for those individuals that are thoughtful about their craft, that they have deep conviction about what it is that they're doing, that out of the 8 billion people on the planet, why are they the one to make the impossible possible? And oftentimes I call it the three C's when I'm. When they're presenting that they're clear, that they're concise and that they have confidence. When you're clear and you're concise and you have confidence or conviction, those are the things that you're trying to glean as you're trying to pattern recognize, um, uh, these traits and that you usually have such a short period of time to evaluate people. But those are some of the things that we try to identify as we, uh, think about folks that we want to lean into and support on their journeys to, um, building something that's transformational.

Emily Ma: I love this with your three Cs. I actually grade on two Ts and two Cs, which is thoughtful and thorough. Clear and concise.

Ryan Nece: Yes.

Emily Ma: So it overlaps quite a lot.

Ryan Nece: I think I could pass your class. You know what?

Emily Ma: I don't know. I'm a hard grader. I'll have to see some samples here. All right, well, we're coming to a close in the formal Part of this. So the question we ask all of our speakers is one that the founder of the series, Tina Selig, has asked every speaker, which is, what do you wish you knew when you were 20? So you were in college, you were playing football, and if you could transport yourself back in time to yourself this day, when you were 20 years old, what is one or two sentences of wisdom you would share with young Ryan Neece?

Ryan Nece: Um, It's such a beautiful question. I think two things that I would share. One, I would say I would loosen the tie a little bit.

Emily Ma: Ah.

Ryan Nece: Um, and what I mean by that is, um, there are probably moments where I could have hung, uh, out with, um, a few of the athletes from other sports and gone to cheer and celebrate and enjoyed those moments of being 20 because the time is so precious. And there is nothing like this period of time. I have yet to find another time in my life that is similar to that time. So looking back, you would say, enjoy, enjoy it. Loosen the tie. Um, embrace those moments of being 20 and having fun and enjoying that. The second thing, um, I think I would double click and double remind myself that, um, life is not about the dash. It's not about being the dash, Ryan, between your birth date and your expiration date, but it's turning that dash into a plus sign. Um, oh, it's not a minus sign. It's a plus sign. And everything that you do and everything that you contribute and how you interact on every day, you have the ability to either impact it in a positive way or a negative way. And so I think I would show up and remind myself of that.

Emily Ma: Wow, that's beautiful. Well, with that, uh, if you have questions, please come up to the microphone. Uh, you spoke a lot about these transformational life moments. Um, the accident, winning Super Bowl. I'm curious what's maybe a decision you made that felt trivial in the moment and looking back, had a huge impact. Thank you.

Ryan Nece: Trivial in the moment, but had a huge impact. Um, I would say. I would say it was probably, um, saying yes to taking my wife out. Um, because you don't understand the. I probably didn't understand that she was going to be my life partner. And so it probably felt a little trivial that it felt like maybe just another date. It felt she was. She listens, don't get m mad at me. But it's probably true. Um, it probably, in the grand scheme of things at that moment to say, hey, I'm going to take you out. Um, um, probably felt a little trivial, but it led to the life that we have now together and having two beautiful children. And so, um, yeah, I had no idea that it was going to be that meaningful and that impactful, um, on who I am and my life now.

Emily Ma: Wow. Wow. Hi, Ryan. Thank you for being here. I loved your story. Like, I truly feel so inspired by it. My question is about mental strength. How would you go about, like, getting better at it and just building it?

Ryan Nece: Oh, it's a great question. Um, mental toughness is, I think, underrated. And I think it's really important to develop mental toughness and develop resiliency. And I think it's something that you got to continue to practice. And even though I've been battle tested and have enough scars to show that I've been able to endure pain, I still try to find ways to practice mental toughness. Most people don't know this, but one of the small things that I try to do is each month I pick something very small. Writing a note every day, Reading a particular verse every day, Taking a cold shower every day. Something for the entire month that I have to commit to doing so that I can develop the routine of even when I don't want to. Still finding a way to doing that. Um, right now it's like doing 100 pushups a day.

Emily Ma: Wow.

Ryan Nece: There are times where I've gotten off of plane, gone to meetings all day, and had to get to the hotel room and it's 11 o' clock at night and I'm like, I gotta do 100 push ups. Oh, um, my God. But that's the moment. That is the moment that separates everybody. Most people are gonna crawl in their bed and they're gonna be like, you know, it's okay. Nobody's gonna know, nobody's gonna care. It's just you and a mirror that you have to look into to say, yeah, I did it. And your ability to start to develop that discipline, to doing the things that you don't want to do, to be the person you want to be, is what separates people. And that's the mental toughness edge. Great question.

Emily Ma: Incredible.

Ryan Nece: Thank you very much for what you said. Um, I really appreciated, like, the conviction with it you spoke. I wanted to ask a question. Your mom seems very wise and it seems like she dropped a lot of good lessons in your life. And I just want to ask what was another one of those lessons? Oh, man, give me some brownie points. I'm gonna get. My mom's taking me to dinner after this. No, um, it's another really good question because one of the. Ah, another really important lesson. I'll never forget this. Um, I'm in the sixth grade in elementary school, and elementary school, where I lived at that time, the sixth grade was, uh, the top grade. And so you're kind of the big person on campus. And I remember I came home one day, and my mom said, how was school? And I said, it was great. So what'd you do? I said, oh, we played kickball. If you guys remember kickball, if anybody played that. And I was telling her, like, I kicked the ball over everybody's head. I scored. Scored all the points. I got everybody out. I was. I was bragging, right? I was really getting kind of cocky, kind of confident. Um, and so I'm bragging. She's listening, and she goes, oh, that's amazing. She's like, oh, like, how do the teams get picked? And I was like, well, I'm the captain. I'm the best. So then I pick the next best kid, and then somebody else picks, and you pick your team. She's like, oh, that's amazing. She goes, are there kids that don't get picked? I said, of course. Kids that aren't any good. Nobody picks them. Why would you pick them? She goes, oh, okay. Well, if you're as good as you say you are, you should pick the kid that doesn't get picked first. And if you could win with him or her, you could. You'd be very good. I was, like, up, uh, for the challenge, and I went to school the next day. I didn't know this Jedi mind trick that she was trying to play on me. I had no idea what was coming. And I remember doing that. And you talk about a feeling where another human feels like they've been seen for the first time, and that's special. And she gave me that opportunity to understand what that feeling feels like. And so I'll never forget that moment of being able, doing that in the sixth grade and understanding again. When you have, you know, too much is given, much is required. And whether you're, you know, the big man on campus in sixth grade, or you're a powerful executive, or you're a powerful athlete, or you're top students at one of the most prestigious universities in the entire world, you have the ability to help other people to feel seen. And that's incredible. So, um, yeah, that's another lesson she taught me. Thank you, Mom.

Emily Ma: This is last question.

Ryan Nece: All right. Bring us home.

Emily Ma: Yeah, bring us home. Um, so I noticed that you speak with barely any filler words, and I think a lot of the guest Speakers we've had also are, like, really great speakers, and they speak without saying. Like, without saying. Um, so do you have any kind of advice, especially for us in this day and age? I feel like we talk with a lot of filler words. So, yeah, great question.

Ryan Nece: Good question. I, um, really despised. I was reading out loud as a kid. I was embarrassed the way that I read. I would stutter over words, and I might mispronounce a word. I might get a word wrong, and I hated it. And I felt like kids would make fun of me, and I felt inferior. And so if you guys remember, like, I don't remember what grade it was, but, you know, it's just as. As you were reading something out loud in class, your teacher would, like, break up a chapter or, uh, a paragraph for each person. And so I would count ahead, like, okay, shoot. Okay, I'm going to be on paragraph seven. I know where I'm. And I would just sit there and memorize it. I would memorize it, and I would sit there so that when they came to me, me, I didn't even know what anybody else read, but I would memorize it, and then I would just say it. And I wouldn't actually be reading it, but I. Because I was so afraid that I was going to mess up and then be embarrassed. And so then when I would go to write speeches, I would start writing them, and when I would read them, I would get nervous and I'd start. And so I started to memorize it. And so when you start to memorize your speeches, you don't write ums and filler words in your speeches. And so it just became this habit, I think, of trying to learn how to speak that way, um, out of fear. And at the same time, I also had to go and do television. I didn't go and do television. I chose to do television and cover college football. And they were not going to allow me on television if I was using a lot of filler words. And so quickly you talk about a very unique moment when a camera comes on and the red light comes on, and it's like, it's live. You know that that's what you're doing with the pot. It's live. And all of a sudden, not thousands, millions of people or tens of millions are going to listen to what you're going to say. You better lock in. You better lock in and know exactly what you're going to say and how you're going to say it, uh, and make sure you represent your family the right way. Or I'm getting a call from my mom. Right. What were you saying on television? So I think all of those things have helped train me, um, and prepare me to speak. And so it matters to me. Thank you for saying that.

Emily Ma: What a great question to end on. And with that, I am a little sad that we are closing out the spring 2026 series for the Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders. With that, I do want to give Ryan a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart. This was an incredible authentic interaction that I have been gifted today. And for our students, thank you on their behalf for gifting them an incredibly authentic interaction.

Ryan Nece: Thank you so much.

Emily Ma: Thank you. Let's give him a huge round of applause.

Ryan Nece: Thank you.

Emily Ma: And we will see you maybe next year. The Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders series is an original production of Stanford E Corner and the Stanford Technology Ventures program. To learn more, please Visit us at STVP Stanford. Edu eCorner.