Jason Koonce is the founder and CEO of One Team International Agency (OTIA Sports), located just outside of Ann Arbor. OTIA Sports is a sports card company dealing in sports cards and sports memorabilia and is currently regarded as one of the most trusted companies in the industry. Jason Koonse first got into the sports industry in the 1990s as a teenager, owning the rarest sports cards, and through that, he successfully made countless connections with collectors and dealers alike.
He quickly discovered sports card shows, which led him to develop buying and selling cards as a side hustle, which eventually became his primary business. According to Jason, his newfound business became very profitable during his late teens, and since then, he hasn’t looked back.
As the principal owner of OTIA, Jason has been working tirelessly in the sports card and memorabilia industry for more than twenty years. Traveling worldwide for shows and events helped create the relationships with dealers, athletes, and agents they have today. Over time, his network has expanded to include actors, musicians, CEOs, and celebrities all over North America. Thanks to his years of experience, he has had the opportunity to work with and build collections for Fortune 500 business people, musicians, celebrities, and athletes.
Jason notes that being in the business has allowed him to rub elbows with some top agents and athletes. “Those connections allowed me to expand my business further and do public and private signings with athletes. As the industry has evolved, so has my business. When I started, I went to the post office every day after school, sending exact changes in the mail for cards and hoping I didn’t get scammed. Now, most transactions are online, and I am doing six and seven-figure deals weekly. I have also really worked on expanding my social media presence and educating collectors as best I can to help them use cards as an investment opportunity,” he explains.
His unrivaled expertise and strategic relationships allow Jason to be a go-to guy for any number of things, be it a rare card, a specific memorabilia piece, or a connection to a celebrity or athlete.
Jason attributes his motivation to his business acumen and unparalleled work ethic. He started the OTIA Sports partly to formalize the industry presence he had already established. For him, building his business came out of necessity. The growth that he experienced allowed him to expand more and more every year.
According to Jason, his struggles over the years have shaped him into who he is today. He recalled the time he was 23; he went into retirement, sold his first business, and dumped all his money (eight figures) into Florida real estate. What followed was a loss of all his investment, and during that depressing phase, he realized he should have stayed in his lane. However, he could bounce back, rediscover his lost touch, and become even more motivated than ever, and since then, he has been on an upward trajectory business-wise.
Noting that there have been many changes in the last five years, Jason hopes to see the number of collectors increase tremendously. He wants to see millions of people worldwide start to invest their money in sports cards over the stock market. “I want to continue to help people make smart decisions not just on who they invest in, but also having fun with their investments (the industry is, after all, a lot of fun too!) rather than just dumping their money into something and never looking at it, hoping it will go up.”
To learn more about OTIA Sports, visit their website.
