Ex-CIA employee raised capital for young golf talent
Donnie Dotson founded Carry at the end of 2021, after many years working in the US Department of Defense, Goldman Sachs and the CIA. On LinkedIn, Dotson now lists contacts in Charleston, South Carolina.
He opened Carry, operating under the crowdfunding model because he wanted to help promising new players to professional golf but carry a financial burden. "They want to follow top golf after graduating from university. That orientation is just like starting a company. The first thing is to raise capital to cover initial operating costs. That's why I came up with a call to community. co-investing for talents to pursue their dreams," Dotson explained his vision on Golf Digest on March 16.
In 2022, Carry only targets investors with a lot of money. But this year, business owners changed to a more "friendly" tactic, setting a starting investment of $250, or $50 per share. The list of 10 players selected by Carry from the PGA Tour's Korn Ferry Tour men's second-place system, the LPGA Tour's women's Epson Tour division, and former US college-university golf champions ( NCAA).
They will receive an advance of 45,000 - 50,000 USD to spend in two seasons, mainly competition fees, equipment purchases, training, accommodation, and transportation.
In terms of benefits for investors, Carry offers two dividend payment options, applied according to the input capital level, including 15% of the player's bonus for each tournament with a bonus fund of at least 1.5 million USD in the year. the next four years and 15% of revenue from promotional activities during the program period. The "responsibility for refund" milestone for the beneficiary is common on the Asian Tour, LPGA Tour, and DP World Tour Europe. As for the PGA Tour this season, the lowest prize pool is at $3.8 million – Corales Puntacana Championship from March 23 to 26 in the Dominican Republic.
In addition to financial benefits, investors will be regularly updated on the situation and interact directly with the goal of supporting as well as receiving incentives for shopping or playing golf at Carry's partner system.
Before Carry's crowdfunding, the American golf world once recognized Steve Flesch and Zach Johnson's success on the PGA Tour from equitization.
