NFL Vet Jenkins Moves VC Fund and Clothing Line to Holding Company
New Orleans Saints veteran safety and two-time Super Bowl champion Malcolm Jenkins has announced the formation of Malcolm Inc., a holding company that will house a half dozen of Jenkins’ various business and philanthropic ventures.
The company will be parent to six divisions, beginning with Broad Street Ventures, a $10 million venture capital fund Jenkins co-founded in October 2020 and backed entirely by black NFLers past and present, among them Devin and Jason McCourty. The firm focuses on growth stage investments in consumer products and tech companies, like Airbnb, Fortnite creator Epic Games and car-sharing company Turo, all of which Broad Street Ventures has invested in.
Ralonda Johnson, a childhood friend of Jenkins, will serve as chief investment officer of Malcolm Inc. and CEO of Broad Street Ventures.
Also included in the Malcolm Inc. portfolio are Disrupt Foods, a northeast-based franchise restaurant operation and investment company; E&R Real Estate Group, Jenkins’ real estate investor and developer vehicle; Listen Up Media, the safety’s multimedia production company; and Damari, a custom clothing company that makes men’s and women’s suits. The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation, the star’s philanthropic organization serving underprivileged youth, will also be a part of the Malcolm Inc.
“I have a vision that there’s so much more to be gained and done with the idea of group economics,” Jenkins said in an interview. “The biggest thing is not only how do we move into these spaces, but how do we open up the door for other athletes and entertainers, who can leverage their celebrity and their capital to get into some quality deals that allow us to get the returns that we see from the top entrepreneurs in the country.”
Jenkins says his business acumen came in large part from Johnson, who always stressed the importance of putting his money in the right places. Before co-founding Broad Street Ventures, Johnson gained a decade of experience leading operational and financial audits at Prudential Financial, Tiffany & Company and Ernst & Young LLP.
“You’ll always hear the statistics about 78% NFL players two years after they retire file for bankruptcy—and I’ve always had in my mind that this was not going to happen to [Malcolm],” Johnson said in a phone interview. “[From there, it was about] what do we need to put in place to make sure that whenever his career ends, he’s still financially safe.”
Johnson said young players “have to make sure they have someone on their team that’s looking out for them. They still have to make sure they have a basic financial knowledge…. You won’t build generational wealth if all you’re saying is save money, and I’ll have money when I retire.”
While Johnson takes the lead on Broad Street Ventures, her husband, Joe Johnson, will be the chief operating officer and oversee day-to-day operations of Disrupt Foods and E&R Real Estate Group. Disrupt Foods, which focuses on quick service restaurants, has more than a dozen franchised restaurants so far.
Jenkins will manage his clothing brand Damari himself.
On the marketing side, India Robinson will oversee marketing and brand partnerships for Malcolm Inc., while also steering Listen Up Media as president. Robinson previously worked for Cornerstone Agency/Fader, an entertainment agency and media company.
Jenkins’ foundation is headed by his mother, Gwendolyn V. Jenkins, who spent 20 years in public service as a New Jersey Superior Court executive and is also the president of the Professional Football Players Mothers Association. The foundation will launch a financial literacy and freedom initiative this month.
As he heads into his 13th NFL season, Jenkins recognizes that his football career is closer to its end than its beginning. “I’m still working out [what I want to do, but] all of these businesses are going to be in my long-term plan. At this point in my life I’m starting to find other passions,” he said. “But I love the game of football and talking about it comes very easy to me, so I definitely can see a space for broadcasting. I won’t waste the platform that I have.”
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