Why Atlanta could face startup hub growing pains - Yahoo Finance

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Atlanta has emerged as a budding startup hub with a list of newly minted unicorns and growing venture capital interest in recent years. The city's allure has even attracted the likes of home rental giant Airbnb, which recently decided to locate its East Coast engineering hub there.

Over the past five years or so, the city has burst onto the venture capital scene in part due to its warmer climate, diverse talent pool and lower taxes, attracting venture capitalists and startup founders alike. While these entrepreneurs have no desire to compete with Silicon Valley and other major startup hubs, they have to grapple with other challenges like retaining talent and sourcing bigger funding checks.

"Talent wars will heat up as more VC money flows into Atlanta," said Jeff Diana, chief people officer at meeting scheduling startup Calendly.

Atlanta is home to several unicorns, including fintech startup Greenlight; Rubicon, a sustainable waste and recycling company; and virtual currency startup Zeevex. Calendly and sales engagement platform developer SalesLoft joined the club in January.

The city offers a strong pipeline of talent from Georgia Tech and other area universities at comparatively lower salaries. These served as strong value propositions to locate Calendly's headquarters in Atlanta back in 2013, Diana said.

The company will continue to hire a majority of employees locally due to the success they've had regarding the quality and cost of talent, as well as how these employees fit with their company culture. Atlanta's wealth of engineering talent also played a major factor in Airbnb's decision to place a hub there.

But attracting those potential new employees and retaining them will also become increasingly difficult, as talent "will have more opportunities with top companies within and outside our market," said Brad Smith, co-founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Sonar, a customer relationship management software startup.

Four years ago, venture capital funds flowing into Atlanta-based startups had barely cracked $850 million, according to PitchBook data. Total investments in 2020 were nearly $1.8 billion, and the momentum has continued this year with several big deals in the books already.

Last August, SoftBank-backed Kabbage marked one of the largest exits for a VC-backed company in Atlanta. And American Express acquired the small-business lender for as much as $850 million, Bloomberg reported.

But startups in the area are hungry for bigger checks and follow-on funding opportunities.

"Atlanta-based companies that have potential to be global market leaders still have difficulty sourcing big checks from local investors," said Mark Buffington, co-founder and managing partner at Panoramic Ventures, one of the latest venture capital firms to call Atlanta home.

Formed through a partnership between investor Paul Judge and Buffington's BIP Capital, Panoramic recently launched and announced plans to raise a $300 million fund.

The vehicle plans to back what it calls "overlooked geographies" across the Southeast and Midwest, with a focus on startups founded by underrepresented entrepreneurs, professors, and graduate and undergraduate students.

Buffington said that investors can help Atlanta drive innovation and growth in the future by launching funds focused on writing checks for more than $50 million, as well as reinvesting their gains.

"Atlanta entrepreneurs are driving bigger and bigger exits, so as long as they reinvest in the next generation of Atlanta startups, the ecosystem should continue to grow," he said.

Featured image by Julia Midkiff/PitchBook News

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Walmart poaches two Goldman Sachs bankers to lead new fintech startup - Fortune

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Startup challenges: the way out - The News International

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Being an entrepreneur is more challenging and demanding than what most people think. It is hard to retain a business on the right track and prevent it from breaking down or going bankrupt. Why do most entrepreneurs at their early age fail? The reasons run deep, but a few things are needed to be considered before starting a business.

The startup ratio in the world in recent years has been around 90 percent. Due to research issues, 21 percent of startups failed to succeed. Close to 30 percent did not make it to the second year. There was a deteriorating decrease in the fifth year with 50 percent failures; and only 30 percent of startups survived a decade.

There was some significant input from Harvard Business School’s ‘Performance Persistence in Entrepreneurship’, which proposed that periodical and experienced entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed in a new business adventure.

Out of every 300 startups launched in Pakistan yearly, only about five survive the medium era. This success rate is less than three percent. From the look of things in the business perspective, entrepreneurial development has a long way to go in Pakistan's economy. If you notice the reasons for the low success rate in a startup, then there is an understanding of how the challenges are intriguing.

Competition is nothing new since startups exist in a super-capitalist world. The competition is expected to be brutal, and it might not be free and fair either. Suppose you do not have experience in the niche where you are starting your business. It is advisable to seek mentors and analysts who are good at what they do.

You have gotten the drill, your product is ready, you have a marketing strategy, and you have orders needed to be delivered. The challenging part which many novice entrepreneurs do not consider until later is their logistics: how will it all be managed effectively? The chain of supply is a very cogent thing in any startup. Many entrepreneurs do not take this into essential affability.

When dealing with B2C through an online platform, this might not be a challenge as many firms offer services for a reasonable price. However, in a situation where the company is B2B, you should be aware that logistics is an essential factor in your company's success and failure.

Security is essential to any business or company, mostly where you offer online services which when you have to take your cybersecurity very seriously. Several startups have been victims to hackers because they do not consider the possibility of being subjected to malware or ransomware. Research has it that the rate of cyber-attack on small businesses is 43 percent.

There are many reasons why startups fail. First is a weak management team. If the team is not proficient in strategy, they fail to do technical research during development.

Another reason is demand execution, which travails with the product not structured correctly or in due time, and so the customers' demands will be unsuccessfully implemented.

An important reason is low cash availability; the responsibility of the CEO is to understand the inflow of cash and decide if they will develop the business to a milestone that can steer it to a successful capitalized stage. The business model sector is also an essential factor in a startup, where entrepreneurs are too optimistic about getting customers quickly. They are easily swayed by building an exciting website that could scale their product or services and lead customers to their door. Strategically, that might be the case with the first few customers, but it quickly becomes expensive to win customers in the long run.

Nevertheless, there should be conscious awareness that there are many obstacles on the way to the top, and there is no way ahead until you overcome them. The more prepared you are, the better chance of excelling in your pursuit of success.

So, what is the way out? Sign up the right team! Regardless of how good your business vision is, getting on the long train requires moving with the right people; when you involve the right team in your business, the closer you are to achieving your target.

Even when you have the right team working for you, there is still a chance to fail due to financial mismanagement. Having enough capital is essential, but you will need to be strategic when organizing your expenditure before there is any income in return.

Advertise the product to the public; at times, it might be challenging to get an offer without the product's presence in the general market which is why you just have to invest in advertising. Luckily, the internet has subdued the expenses. It's easier and economical now to engage in digital marketing but accessible to specific business groups.

There are a few things in business that you cannot do without customers. When there is no one captivated by your business, your longevity in the business world is bound to end quickly. Instead, meeting the demand of customers at an economical price with good customer support will help establish a loyal customer network. You should be attentive to their demands and complaints and pay adequate attention to their suggestions. Developing a loyalty plan is one of the most critical steps in making a business well known.

Here are some essentials as your blueprint to establish a startup company.

Plan your business; having a vision is important but devising a standard business plan is another process. You outline what you have in mind and plan how to go about it. A business plan is a detailed description of how you want your company to grow in the future in simple language. These plans are for the first 2-5 years of the company strategy.

Have a secured funding source; there is a need for adequate capital to take off. There is no specific plan that applies to all businesses. So, it would be best if you plan your business with respect to what you envision, so the startup cost will vary based on the industry of the business. Therefore, your business might need more funding compared to others and vice versa.

Let the right people work for you. Obviously, you will need help starting your company. So, where do you start from? Based on research, most startups are relatively small teams; therefore, getting the few people who can see your potential is the right way to start.

Get a location for your business or build a website. Having a physical address or website is important in showcasing your business. Be it a workplace retail space or a production location, you need to get a place to operate your business.

The connection between expatriate entrepreneurship and economic improvement has become an addressable issue, as various countries embrace systems that entice migrants' entrepreneurial innovations. The startup visa is a circumstantial residence permit issued by various governments to invite entrepreneurs who want to establish their company permanently or raise funding.

A startup can not only change the life of a few team members, it can also contribute to magnificent change in countries; that is why different countries offer a startup visa. Startups can have a massive impact on the overall economy of the country.

The writer is director of the Centre for Information and Communication Technology at IBA.

Email: [email protected] Twitter: @imranbatada

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Golden Globes 2021: It Was Bad - Vanity Fair

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“We fixed it!” Amy Poehler exclaimed after best supporting actor winner Daniel Kaluuya conquered a bad connection and was finally able to give his acceptance speech. She was, of course, referring to Kaluuya’s video conference issue. But one could almost hear the Hollywood Foreign Press Association saying it through Poehler, issuing a sigh of relief that a Black actor had won the first prize.

The HFPA has been under fire of late, for alleged corruption related to the receiving of gifts and other perks in exchange for nominations, for a lack of diversity among Globes nominees, and for the fact that none of the organization’s 80-something members are Black. So it was incumbent upon the HFPA—and on NBC, which airs the lucrative broadcast every year—that there be some sense of excitement, uplift, and righteousness throughout the evening. Kaluuya’s performance as Black Panthers leader Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah was certainly worth celebrating. But his win tonight didn’t feel like it fixed anything.

Maybe there was no fixing the Golden Globes—not this year, anyway. The double onus of addressing existentially threatening controversy while doing a big live broadcast during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic was perhaps insurmountable. From the jump, the show was stilted and pained, a lame attempt at happy, glitzy fanfare that failed stylistically and substantively.

Three members of the HFPA did take the stage to address the issues of their group’s lack of diversity, but it was a short, perfunctory moment. It nodded to a big problem only to quickly wave it away so the splashy show could flounce on. There is, of course, a bigger question of why marginalized people would want to be made members of an organization so constantly under ethical scrutiny, but following that line of thinking would lead the broadcast down a darker road of self-reflection that the HFPA will probably never be ready to publicly air.

Hosts Poehler and Tina Fey—the former in Los Angeles, the latter in New York—did their best to make light of the situation while also throwing some barbs at their employers. But without the cushy trappings of a star-packed, booze-drenched auditorium at the Beverly Hilton—with fun parties to follow—to justify their, and anyone’s, presence there, one had to wonder why Fey and Poehler would even bother. Why would anyone, for that matter?

Maybe the Hollywood community believed that a functioning awards show would signify healthiness within the broader industry. And we certainly can’t fault anyone for that kind of “the show must go on” thinking after such a disastrous year for the film and television business. But that can-do spirit could do little to combat the cursedness that surrounded this year’s Globes broadcast. We appreciate the effort of a frivolous awards show only if it seems a lot less effortful—and less premised on crisis PR management for the shadowy cabal pulling the strings.

The most I’ve ever stage-managed is a couple of college theater productions, so I certainly have no idea how complicated a technical endeavor a broadcast like this Golden Globes was, with its two stages and hundreds of video-conference windows to juggle. But it was awfully janky, full of lags, scratchy audio, and speeches and jokes swallowed up by the muffle of digital fuzz. It was far more stressful than it was fun—and fun is really the most you can hope for when it comes to the Golden Globes, whose prestige value was all but nil even before this latest round of criticism and exposé. Probably better that the HFPA and NBC just scrapped the thing and waited until next year—to do it truly live and in one room, and hopefully under the auspices of a changed and contrite Hollywood Foreign Press.

It was all just so awkward. The horrifyingly cringe-y cuts to people Fey and Poehler had just made fun of, or who had just lost in their category (fine in the room, excruciating on Zoom or whatever). The stuttering “should I talk now?” confusion of various winners. The speeches that meandered without the guiding pressure of being up on a stage in front of peers. It was bad. Hopefully, the Academy Awards—being directed, in part, by Steven Soderbergh—will iron out or avoid many of those kinks in April. The Oscars have more of an inherent pomp than the Globes, which will presumably make some of those inevitable glitches more tolerable. The Globes, though, played even sillier—dare I say more useless—than usual. 

It’s hard to be so down on a show I used to love, a frivolous early-winter distraction that was a chance to watch Oscar acceptance speeches road-tested while wondering what all the celebs were talking about as the feed cut to commercial breaks. But that airy levity cannot survive under so much strife, and there was a heaping pile of that this year. I almost immediately felt sorry for the various first responders invited, as some kind of thank you gift, to be in the live audiences in New York and L.A. They, more than anyone else, deserved better. (That said, I did laugh a little at the pre-taped bit where various stars asked healthcare workers deliberately obtuse questions.)

Some of the winners were good, at least. Kaluuya, John Boyega for Red, White and Blue (part of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology), the lovely Minari in foreign language film, Chloé Zhao as best director for Nomadland, Andra Day pulling off a surprise victory for The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Jane Fonda, accepting the Cecile B. DeMille lifetime achievement award, gave a graceful and meaningful speech, citing many of the nominated films and TV series for helping her expand her own political and personal empathy.

Those moments were rare bright spots in an evening otherwise marred by internal ills and those imposed from without. Some naysayers on Twitter were declaring the Globes dead even before tonight’s broadcast, figuring the HFPA could never pull out of this particular tailspin. I wasn’t quite ready to get behind that pronouncement before the show. But by the end of the torturous ceremony, I was just about ready to join the funeral procession. “It’s always the most fun awards show,” The Crown creator Peter Morgan said of the Golden Globes while accepting the best drama trophy. I believe that it once was. But those good times can surely be had elsewhere, with far less weighty baggage. How’s about giving it a go again, Blockbuster Awards?

Gif by Peter Marquez/GIFRIENDS.

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Space startup Gitai raises $17.1M to help build the robotic workforce of commercial space - TechCrunch

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Space startup Gitai raises $17.1M to help build the robotic workforce of commercial space  TechCrunch

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This Virtual Events Startup Is Tackling “Zoom Fatigue” One Meeting At A Time - Forbes

Directions 2021: From vaccines to apps for truck drivers, Lincoln startups mark big year for investments - Lincoln Journal Star

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Space startup Gitai raises $17.1M to help build the robotic workforce of commercial space - Yahoo Tech

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Buffett’s ‘Tone Deaf’ Annual Letter Skirts Major Controversies

(Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett’s 15-page annual letter to shareholders on Saturday made mention of the pandemic that ravaged the globe in 2020 exactly once: One of his furniture companies had to close for a time because of the virus, the billionaire noted on page nine.Buffett likewise steered clear of politics, despite the contested presidential election and riots at the U.S. Capitol, and never touched on race or inequality even after protests and unrest broke out in cities across the nation last year. He also avoided delving into the competitive deal-making pressures faced by his conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a topic routinely dissected in past year’s letters.“Here you have a company with such a revered leader who’s held in such high regard -- whose opinion matters, who has businesses that were directly impacted by the pandemic, insurance companies that were influenced by global warming and social inflation -- and there was not one word about the pandemic,” Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA Research, said in a phone interview. “That to me was striking. It was tone deaf and it was disappointing.”Buffett, 90, has been unusually quiet since last year’s annual meeting in May amid a multitude of issues facing Americans. His annual letters are often seen as a chance to offer investors help in understanding his thinking on broad topics and market trends, in addition to details on how his conglomerate is faring.But the Berkshire chief executive officer carefully weighs his words, and some topics, such as the pandemic, risk veering into highly controversial political territory, Jim Shanahan, an analyst at Edward D. Jones & Co., said in an interview.“There’s been a lot of comments about the pandemic and the impact on the businesses, but by not saying something in the letter, I think it’s just a way to try and avoid saying something that could be perceived as a political statement, which he’s been less willing to do in recent years,” Shanahan said.A representative for Buffett didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment placed outside routine office hours.Buffett also stayed quiet on topics that are key to his conglomerate, such as the market environment amid a tumultuous year -- and the work of key investing deputies like Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, according to Cole Smead, whose Smead Capital Management oversees investments in Berkshire.“There’s more found by what’s not in the letter,” said Smead, the firm’s president and portfolio manager. “I think just time and time again in this letter were sins of omission.”Here are other key takeaways from Buffett’s letter and Berkshire’s annual report:1. Buffett Relies on Buybacks Instead of DealsBerkshire repurchased a record $24.7 billion of its own stock as Buffett struggled to find better ways to invest his enormous pile of cash.And there’s more where that came from: The conglomerate has continued to buy its own stock since the end of last year, and is likely to keep at it, Buffett said Saturday in his annual letter.“That action increased your ownership in all of Berkshire’s businesses by 5.2% without requiring you to so much as touch your wallet,” Buffett said in the letter, which pointed out that the company “made no sizable acquisitions” in 2020.Berkshire did make a small amount of progress in paring the cash pile, which fell 5% in the fourth quarter to $138.3 billion. Buffett has struggled to keep pace with the flow in recent years as Berkshire threw off cash faster than he could find higher-returning assets to snap up, leading to the surge in share repurchases.2. Apple Is as Valuable to Berkshire as BNSF RailroadBerkshire’s $120 billion investment in Apple Inc. stock has become so valuable that Buffett places it in the same category as the sprawling railroad business he spent a decade building.He began building a stake in the iPhone maker in 2016, and spent just $31.1 billion acquiring it all. The surge in value since then places it among the company’s top three assets, alongside his insurers and BNSF, the U.S. railroad purchase completed in 2010, according to the annual letter.“In certain respects, it’s his kind of business,” said James Armstrong, who manages assets including Berkshire shares as president of Henry H. Armstrong Associates. “It’s very much brand name, it’s global, it’s an absolutely addictive product.”Buffett had always balked at technology investments, saying he didn’t understand the companies well enough. But the rise of deputies including Combs and Weschler has brought Berkshire deep into the sector. In addition to Apple, the conglomerate has built up stakes in Amazon.com Inc., cloud-computing company Snowflake Inc., and Verizon Communications Inc.3. Buffett Concedes Error in $37.2 Billion DealBuffett admitted he made a mistake when he bought Precision Castparts Corp. five years ago for $37.2 billion.“I paid too much for the company,” the billionaire investor said Saturday in his annual letter. “No one misled me in any way -- I was simply too optimistic about PCC’s normalized profit potential.”Berkshire took an almost $11 billion writedown last year that was largely tied to Precision Castparts, the maker of equipment for aerospace and energy industries based in Portland, Oregon.The pandemic was the main culprit. Precision Castparts struggled as demand for flights plummeted, prompting airlines to park their jets and slash their schedules. Less flying means lower demand for replacement parts and new aircraft. Precision slashed its workforce by about 40% last year, according to Berkshire’s annual report.4. Profit Gains Thanks to Railroad, ManufacturersDespite the pandemic’s effects continuing to hit Berkshire’s collection of businesses, the conglomerate posted a near 14% gain in operating earnings in the fourth quarter compared to the same period a year earlier.That was helped by a record quarter for railroad BNSF since its 2010 purchase and one of the best quarters for the manufacturing operations since mid-2019.5. Good-bye Omaha, Hello Los AngelesBerkshire’s annual meeting has for years drawn throngs of Buffett fans to Omaha, Nebraska, where the conglomerate is based. This year, the show is moving to the West Coast.While still virtual because of the pandemic, the annual meeting will be filmed in Los Angeles, the company said Saturday.That will bring the event closer to the home of Buffett’s longtime business partner, Charlie Munger. Buffett and Munger will be joined by two key deputies, Greg Abel and Ajit Jain, who will also field questions.Buffett and Abel, who lives closer to Berkshire’s headquarters, last year faced “a dark arena, 18,000 empty seats and a camera” at the annual meeting, Buffett said in his letter. The 90-year-old billionaire said he expects to do an in-person meeting in 2022.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

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If Stimulus Checks Get Cut, That’s Potentially Bad News For Student Loan Cancellation - Forbes

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It’s possible that you may not get a stimulus check after all.

Here’s what you need to know — and what it could mean for your student loans.

Student Loans

The House passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package. The good news is that the stimulus package includes a $1,400 stimulus check for individuals and a $2,800 stimulus check for married or joint filers. The bad news is that the Senate hasn’t passed the stimulus package—which means things could change. Specifically, the income threshold of who gets a stimulus check could change in the Senate. Currently, to get a $1,400 stimulus check, you must have annual income of $75,000 or less. For married or joint filers, the annual income threshold is $150,000 or less. However, even though the House already voted to approve the stimulus package, Biden is open to a lower income threshold for the new stimulus check. Depending on your income, this could mean you may not qualify for a stimulus check.

On Fox News Sunday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden is willing to target stimulus checks to “ensure they hit the Americans who need that help the most.” This means he could be willing to agree to a lower income threshold, which means certain Americans would no longer be eligible to get a stimulus check. However, Psaki noted that Biden is unwilling to lower the amount of the stimulus checks. It’s unclear what income threshold, if any, will replace the $75,000 and $150,000 thresholds, which were the same as the first stimulus check and second stimulus check.

---

What this means for student loan cancellation

If Biden is willing to lower the income threshold for stimulus checks, this could spell bad news for student loan cancellation. Why? If fewer Americans get a stimulus check, it would be done to appease moderate Senate Democrats and potentially some Republicans, who are concerned about the size of the stimulus package and lack of targeting stimulus checks to those who are struggling financially. The same compromise could happen with student loan cancellation. For example, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) plan $50,000 of student loan cancellation by executive order for borrowers who earn $125,000 or less in annual income. This amount is $50,000 higher than the current income threshold for the stimulus check. If Congress decides to limit the income threshold for stimulus checks, it could be used as a barometer for student loan forgiveness too. While Republicans aren’t expected to support any student loan cancellation, targeting wide-scale student loan forgiveness to a smaller portion of the population could garner support from moderate Democrats such as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). It’s also possible that Congress doesn’t apply the income threshold from the stimulus checks, and instead sticks with the $125,000 annual income cut-off or chooses a different qualification criteria.

---

Pay Off Student Loans

The debate in Washington to cancel student loans continues. Congress didn’t include student loan cancellation in the new stimulus package, which brings further disappointment to student loan borrowers hoping for student loan forgiveness. Congress also dropped student loan cancellation from the last stimulus package too. This has left some borrowers wondering when, if ever, Congress would cancel student loans. Biden may cancel student loans, but has said he’s unlikely to do so and doesn’t think he has legal authority—even if progressive Democrats in Congress says he does. If you have student loans and are hoping for student loan forgiveness, make sure you understand all your options because it’s unclear if student loan forgiveness will come. Here are some potential options:

• Student loan refinancing (lower interest rate, lower monthly payment)
• Income-driven repayment plans (lower monthly payment for federal loans)
• Public service loan forgiveness (student loan forgiveness for federal loans)

---

Student Loans: Related Reading

Biden may cancel student loans after this happens

Here’s how to refinance student loans at ridiculously low rates

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ACV Auctions, Buffalo's first billion-dollar startup, files to go public - Buffalo News

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Troubled receiver Josh Gordon joins Johnny Manziel on team in Atlanta-based startup league, owner says - ESPN

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4:08 PM ET

Former NFL wide receiver Josh Gordon will return to the sport in the startup Fan Controlled Football league as a member of the FCF Zappers, team owner Bob Menery told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Saturday.

Gordon will join former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel -- who was Gordon's teammate with the Cleveland Browns -- on that team's roster.

The league, which began play this month, features 7-on-7 games in which fans set rosters, call plays and interact in a blend of traditional and esports environments.

Gordon's on-again, off-again NFL career ran into another roadblock last month when, as a member of the Seattle Seahawks, he was suspended indefinitely after the league rescinded his conditional reinstatement.

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An NFL spokesperson told ESPN at the time that the decision stemmed from Gordon, 29, violating terms of his conditional reinstatement under the league's substance-abuse policy. No other details were provided from the league.

The league suspended Gordon indefinitely in December 2019 for violations of its policies on substance abuse and performance-enhancing substances. That was Gordon's sixth suspension since the 2013 season and his fifth for some form of substance abuse, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Gordon was conditionally reinstated by the NFL in December and was set to practice with the Seahawks in the final two weeks of the regular season. Coach Pete Carroll said at the time that Gordon had a chance to play Week 16 against the Los Angeles Rams. But that same week, the NFL placed him on the commissioner's exempt list.

Gordon signed a one-year deal with the Seahawks before last season began.

In 63 NFL games, he has 247 receptions, 4,252 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was drafted by the Browns in the second round of the 2012 NFL supplemental draft, after playing at Utah and Baylor.

FCF teams are playing a six-week schedule, with games live-streamed on Twitch from a league-leased facility in Atlanta. The games last about an hour, and the field is 50-by-35 yards with 10-yard end zones.

Players have backgrounds from the FBS and FCS college levels, along with the CFL, XFL and the Indoor Football League, Manziel among them.

Before FCF, Manziel, 28, last played football in April 2019 for the Alliance of American Football and also has played in The Spring League and the CFL since the Browns released him in 2015.

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Troubled receiver Josh Gordon joins Johnny Manziel on team in Atlanta-based startup league, owner says - ESPN
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