While a lot of teenagers are spending their time doing homework, talking on the phone, hanging with their friends at the mall or making their latest Snapchat video, one 15-year-old has just inked a lucrative licensing deal with the NBA that could very well lead to his earning seven figures or more.
Moziah “Mo” Bridges is a young entrepreneur from Memphis, Tenn., and his company, Mo’s Bows, manufactures handmade bows and neckties. Forbes repoorts that the NBA initiated a licensing partnership with Bridges, granting him the rights to manufacture his products with NBA logos and distribute them through the company’s online store as well as retail outlets.
“Moziah’s creativity and entrepreneurial spirit are an inspiration, and we are thrilled about the launch of the Mo’s Bows NBA Collection,” Lisa Piken Koper, NBA vice president of global partnerships, told Forbes. “We are always looking for ways to diversify our merchandise offerings and cater to our fashionable fan base, and couldn’t be more excited that fans will have a fun and unique way to show support for their favorite NBA teams.”
According to Forbes, Moziah signed a deal worth seven figures with a league that is on track to make $6 billion in revenue this year—and that is all thanks to a little bit of hustle.
Moziah and his mother, Tramica, appeared on Shark Tank in 2014, and there they met entrepreneur and fashion mogul Daymond John, creator of FUBU, who invested in the teen’s business. Moziah was only 12 years old at the time, but he made a big impression, and John used his own network and connections to help take him to the next level.
“When I do deals in Shark Tank and in business, I always look at the person first,” John told Forbes. “And when I first met Mo and his mother in the Tank, it reminded me so much of my mother and me. Here was a young man with a great vision and a mother with a strong business sense that was able to keep him grounded. Having both sides of the business equation is always key.”
With John’s help, the Mo’s Bows brand landed on the shelves of luxury retailers like Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s, and sales exploded. At the same time, people began to take notice of Moziah himself, and the young man was invited to the White House by then-President Barack Obama and named one of Time magazine’s most influential teens of 2015. ESPN hired him to be a fashion correspondent for its 2015 NBA draft telecast, and his company made handmade bow ties for all the draft picks.
Of Moziah’s deal with the NBA, John told Forbes: “This is the sort of partnership that is an absolute game changer. Mo is someone that continues to inspire me, because I remember I had to wait a number of years to get an NBA license for FUBU. Meanwhile, Mo is still a teen and has the opportunity to align with an international brand like the NBA. This sort of deal will allow Mo to reach a whole new demographic and continue pushing his brand in an amazing direction.”
“My goal has always been to make Mo’s Bows a household name for kid entrepreneurship and men’s accessories,” Moziah told Forbes. “Partnerships like this one will help me reach my goals of having a full clothing line by the time I graduate from college. It feels really good to know a major company like the NBA believes in me and my vision to shake up the world through fashion.”
On top of all that, Moziah was also named earlier this year as one of The Root’s Young Futurists.
The Young Futurists is an annual list composed of 25 of the best and brightest young people in the country, ages 15 to 22. We honor them for their achievements across diverse fields, including arts and culture, social justice, activism, science, and corporate innovation.
Keep your eye on Moziah Bridges; this young man is definitely going places.
Read more at Forbes.