Whether he’s regaling his nearly 500K Instagram followers with tales of his gambling exploits or hosting his entrepreneur competition show The Partner on his YouTube channel, Northwestern grad and business mogul John Cerasani continues to win fans for his investment savvy and charismatic personality. Last year, we got to know the entrepreneur in a wide-ranging profile. Here, the serial entrepreneur gives us an update on how it's going in 2024, and what we can expect from him in '25.
What has been your big news since we caught up in 2023?
From an investment standpoint, I have a cool story about Chicago suburbs-based fitness company, Speede. They have been acquired by a company called Hydrow in a stock deal. The merger should allow faster go-to-market, and we expect great things. The founders, Dan Mooney and Greg Tepas, have really done a great job with staying the course and being opportunistic with this deal. It came at a time when many other start-ups in this category decided to shut their doors, largely due to the inability to raise additional venture money in today’s environment. For me personally, this was especially interesting because I am a partner in a venture/growth fund led by Aaron Rodgers named Rx3. Rx3 has ownership in Hydrow. I had been invested directly in Speede, now here comes a company that is backed by Rx3 to come and acquire them. As you can probably guess, I will definitely be cheering for Hydrow’s success over the next few years.
What has been your favorite episode of the 2000 Percent Raise Podcast?
I recently had former Bears quarterback Jim McMahon on as a guest, and we talked at length not only about Chicago, but about his cannabis company Revenant as well. Jim is an entrepreneur that is out there grinding, and he is also a huge advocate for former NFL players’ safety and disability when it comes to CTE (injury from concussions). The reason that this was my favorite interview had a lot to do with the content, but it also had a lot to do with how we connected in the first place. In December of 2023, I was at a dive bar called Usual Suspects on the Marina in Cabo San Lucas. It was a hot afternoon. There was nobody there except me and one other person. That other person was Mr. McMahon. Needless to say, we hit it off, and he joined my family and me on a yacht I chartered the following day. Good times had by all.
Photography by: Photos courtesy of John Cerasani
