ISSUE 026: José Bautista, Owner of Las Vegas Lights FC

Crafting your response to an important question

IN THIS ISSUE

  • 👋 Introduction: It’s a Pathway first

  • 👨‍🎓 Soccer Thought Leader: José Bautista, Las Vegas Lights FC

  • ⚽️ Soccer Jobs: 5 new jobs for your consideration

  • ✨ Do This now: Craft your response to an important question

INTRODUCTION

It’s a Pathway first - on multiple fronts!

Today, we share our first-ever conversation with:

  • A former MLB All-Star (Six times!) ⭐️

  • A former MLB HR king (twice!) ⚾️

  • An owner of a pro soccer club 👔

We’re pleased to share below our conversation with José Bautista, who became the new owner of Las Vegas Lights FC just a few months ago.

The decorated Major Leaguer is in the midst of a full-on transformation project in Las Vegas as he looks to take a club that was more well known for its zany marketing stunts than its on-field success.

José shares his perspective on the opportunity in a booming sports market, the culture he wants to build at the club, and what success looks like in the coming months and years. The Lights are one to keep an eye on.

And be sure to scroll to the bottom of the interview where we link to three roles currently open in the Lights front office.

-Kyle Sheldon, Co-Founder & CEO

Did you spot a job that we need to include or have feedback on the newsletter? Drop us an email!

SOCCER THOUGHT LEADER: JOSÉ BAUTISTA, LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC

“I believe if we find a strong group of humble and like-minded professionals that want to create something great we'll have a lot of success.”

It was never going to be easy.

José Bautista officially purchased Las Vegas Lights FC on January 16 of this year. He had all of 53 days before the club’s March 9 season opener to hire a sporting director, a head coach, and then sign 25 (!) brand new players.

While he’ll admit there’s still a lot of work to be done across the club, the early on-field returns have been impressive. In eight games so far this season, the club has already matched its win total (3) for the entire 2023 season.

With only four full-time employees in the front office when he took over, José has now turned his attention to building out the business side of the organization as he looks to reinvent soccer in Las Vegas - and build a club for which the city can be proud.

-Kyle Sheldon, Co-Founder & CEO

Questions and answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity (and any emphasis below is ours).

PATHWAY: José, can you tell us your soccer origin story and what first drew you to the game?

JOSÉ: I've always been a fan since I was a little boy. Who didn't become a fan every time the World Cup came around, right? But, coming from the Dominican Republic, Dominicans and baseball are basically synonyms to each other. So, when I was growing up it wasn't the most popular sport, but it's grown a lot, obviously.

So, I first became a fan around the time when the World Cup came about. And in understanding how tough the sport is, how great these athletes truly are, the skill that they need to develop, what they can do with a ball at their feet, and how they can do stuff creatively to put the ball in the back of the net - it was just always something that I've admired from a distance. 

And from there, I kept up with the game as I navigated my own life in pro sports. Then later on, finding out that my family came from a small town near Barcelona and then becoming a huge fan of their club, obviously, with the heightened awareness around their club because of a guy named Lionel Messi and all the trophies they were winning across Europe. 

PATHWAY: Since your playing career ended, you've been very active as an investor and entrepreneur - what is it that you enjoy most about those business endeavors?

JOSÉ: For me, it’s just the challenge of learning. I take a lot of pride in being able to adapt to different situations in life. And a lot of that comes with dropping your ego and having a willingness to learn and just figuring out what it's gonna take to get it done at whatever new arena you may be navigating on a particular day. 

So, just going in as a student and being completely open and humble to learning the rules of engagement from scratch, but also bringing your past experiences into it and figuring out a way to get a competitive advantage. Learning is, by far, my favorite aspect of business after my playing career. 

PATHWAY: In purchasing Las Vegas Lights FC, you've taken on the challenge of transforming a club - what was it about soccer in Las Vegas specifically that drew you to the club and opportunity?

JOSÉ: The way that I think about it is, I'm a realistic dreamer. I just feel like the addressable market is there in Las Vegas. And it was an opportunity to get a club in one of the hottest sports markets in the nation, pun intended [laughs]. But, it’s also a market that has the right demographics and the love for the sport. And while it's challenging to now have competition with other pro sports teams in the same city, the love for soccer runs deep. 

There are a lot of great tailwinds coming from past global events that have happened in soccer in Las Vegas - and there’s a lot more to come in the next five to eight years. So, the awareness of the sport is going to be there for those who have not yet come to love the game. The environment is ripe for this type of opportunity and we have the right market, so the upside is huge. 

It’s also a matter of wanting to take pride in having a positive impact on a community that needs it and is striving for it and would welcome it. Part of it is running a successful business and enjoying the fruits of that, but not exclusively, right? You want to also have a great impact on the communities you're involved in. 

I've been a professional player and have been part of organizations that have had great impact in their local communities and I see how it affects the people that follow their teams. I want to have that same relationship with the people of Las Vegas. And not just with me as a person, but in their relationship with the club. 

PATHWAY: In just a couple months, you've completely rebuilt the sporting department - and now you're hiring for multiple roles on the business side. How do you describe the type of culture you want to build at the club?

JOSÉ: I want to have a team of willing, thoughtful, creative, outside-the-box thinkers that can be resourceful and are actively asking - how do we make our team better every single day? And they don't have to be led to take that direction. It's the purpose with which they wake up every single day because they want to be valued, because they want to add value, because they want to be associated with greatness. 

And that's the type of personality I'm looking for more than what your resume or your titles or diplomas may say. At the end of the day, this is a people business and it takes being a team player and realizing how the sum of our parts is greater than the outcome of the individuals involved. I believe if we find a strong group of humble and like-minded professionals that want to create something great, I think we'll have a lot of success.

We also want to be known as a player-centric organization. We understand that nothing happens without us taking care of our number one asset, which is the players. We're always in this constant pursuit - how do we give them all the tools and resources and put them in the best position to succeed? If we do that well, their collective effort will lead to more wins throughout the tough 10 months of the season. We're on a big stage and we’ve got to set the stage in order for our players to come give us their best performances.

PATHWAY: What does success look like in the next 12-24 months for the Lights?

JOSÉ: Hopefully, we're playing meaningful games down the stretch in a playoff run and creating long-lasting memories for our fans. We want to create those moments and host games and events that people can rally around. 

We want people to enjoy time away from the difficulties of everyday life, to be able to enjoy a beverage on a hot Vegas night - or in their living rooms when we play on the road - just hanging out with friends and family and cheering on their hometown team. And, hopefully, they’ll start to redevelop the love and affinity for the club that has been lost in the last few years. 

I think this club in the next three to five years can - and it should be if I do my job and I put the best team that I can together and they do their job - I think we can be the best club in the best market in the USL. I think what's going to really set us apart as an organization is to create, develop, and foster that relationship with our fans where they want to rally around all the great stuff that we're doing and the winning culture that we hope to create. We want to become a household name where people are proud to say that they're from Las Vegas and that we are their soccer team.

And, hopefully, at the end of the day, we're in championship games and holding a trophy over our heads. That's the ultimate goal. 

PATHWAY: What's your favorite thing about working in soccer?

JOSÉ: It’s the excitement of the game and the moments. It's just watching the game for 15 minutes straight, watching your team holding their defensive positioning and then pulling the ball away from the other team and building up the field to create an attempt on goal. That's the most attractive part, right? It's just being fully immersed and engaged in the game. No phones, just you watching the team. That's what gets me the most excited - the beauty of the game itself. 

Ed. note: You can connect with José on LinkedIn and follow him on X [Twitter!] and Instagram.

Go work with José! The Lights currently have three open roles in its front office - read the full job descriptions and apply via the links below:

SOCCER JOBS: THE MOST INTERESTING NEW JOBS IN SOCCER

Here are a few other new jobs we spotted for your review and consideration! 🙂

Want to see all the soccer jobs in one place? Sign up for our weekly “Pathway Jobs Newsletter” where we aggregate as many as 100 new soccer job listings - and drop it into your inbox every Friday.

DO THIS NOW: CRAFT YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS IMPORTANT QUESTION

Have you ever found yourself in this scenario?

You’re having a conversation with a friend or family member, discussing aspirations in your life or career, when suddenly they pose the question: “What is it that you want to do? What truly interests you?”

It sounds like a simple question, doesn’t it? Yet, it often proves surprisingly difficult to answer. I’ve stumbled through this response many times, trying to articulate something that makes it sound like I’ve actually given this question the thought and attention it deserves. 

For me, the struggle to answer this question has come at a recent turning point in my life – I’ve left coaching at the team level and am trying to reinvent myself professionally – applying skills and experiences I’ve had in coaching to different contexts (such as writing a newsletter!).

Writing a newsletter was not something I had done before, nor did I know I had an interest in it. But, what it does do is offer a chance to build community and connect with others – which is something I love doing. So, in a way I didn’t expect, it makes a lot of sense to lean into the newsletter and community-building space.   

Recently, I went through an interesting exercise with a mentor to help answer this question in more detail, specifically as it relates to working in the soccer industry. You can steal that framework below - and solidify your personal answer to a very important question.

I hope it helps!  

-John Bello, Co-Founder & COO

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  3. And, if you’re a club or brand looking to hire the most ambitious talent in soccer, drop us a line and we can tell you about our process, our growing talent pool, and the services we offer.

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See you next week, soccer friends!