NFL quarterback turned-founder Colin Kaepernick on the challenges facing disrupters

Former NFL quarterback and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick took the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 on Wednesday to talk about the challenges that people who want to disrupt something are facing — both inside and outside of the tech world.

“One of the biggest challenges that you will likely face when you try to disrupt something — or you try to do something you’re passionate about, and it ends up disrupting something in that process is you face a lot of resistance,” Kaepernick said. “There will be difficult times, and during those times, you want to have those people that you can lean on, the people that can support you, and that’s really what gives you that endurance.”

Kaepernick is no stranger to disrupting the status quo, as he made national headlines in 2016 when he took a knee to protest racial injustice. The former NFL star says that while he faced a lot of resistance, he also saw a push to create a better and more equitable future.

“When you do that and you see such a strong response to it, it really gives you perspective and insight,” Kaepernick said. “We have such a long way to go. But, the other part that I learned during that time period, there are also a lot of people that want to go that long way with you, and I think that has been the beautiful part coming out of that is while there has been resistance to it, there’s also been a lot of organizing.”

As someone who has had thousands of stories written about him, he now wants to help creators take control of their narratives with Lumi. The startup is aiming to empower creators by helping them independently create and publish stories and content.

As for founders who are looking to disrupt and explore their passions, Kaepernick offered a few words of advice.

“Do you do your homework and know why you’re doing what you’re doing,” he said. “And then two, once you know that, go after it passionately and go after it with everything that you have and bring people with you. I would not be sitting here today and none of you would know me at all if there weren’t a whole lot of people that helped me along the way, and that’s everyone from my wife to family and friends to teammates to coaches, some of the investors and advisors that I’ve had along the way. So have those people with you, because that makes us, that makes you sustainable for the long run.”