Three Questions with... Jeremy Bloom, Donn Davis and Ben Horney

This week's guests went deep in thought on mistakes, purpose and passion. Jeremy's evolution is sensational, Donn's entrepreneurial spirit at 55 is remarkable and Ben hitting his stride with a new sports, financial column that launches today! Hope you enjoy Three Questions With... Jeremy, Donn and Ben.

Jeremy Bloom is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and the first athlete to ever compete in the Winter Olympics as a skier while being drafted into the NFL. He is a US Ski and Snowboard board member and spent several years co-founding and leading software business, Integrate. Last December, Jeremy became the CEO of X Games. As part of his role, he will oversee the expansion of the brand’s global presence, the introduction of new sports disciplines, and the development of innovative ways for fans to engage with athletes and events. And make sure to check out a special nonprofit Wish of a Lifetime that Jeremy launched in 2008. An incredible evolution during his professional life!

MISTAKE: When I transitioned from professional athletics into tech and became a Founder/CEO, I underestimated the challenge of motivating an entire company. In the early days of my startup, I could get the go-to-market teams fired up—big vision, big energy—but it didn’t resonate the same way with engineering. Some engineers seemed disconnected; others overwhelmed. I was curious why, so I got certified in the MBTI personality framework to better understand how people process information and pressure. What I learned completely shifted how I lead. Engineers tend to be sequential thinkers—1+1 needs to equal 2. They tend to want clarity, structure, and logic, not just inspiration. My fast-talking, big-picture style was creating stress instead of alignment. Once I understood that, I started adapting— ambitious vision in real-world impact, bringing engineers into strategic conversations earlier, and making space for deeper thinking. That adjustment helped unlock real trust and high performance across the org. 

PURPOSE: It starts at home—being the best dad I can be to my four- and two-year-old. It’s the most important job I have. Everything else flows from that grounding: patience, presence, and love. Professionally, my purpose is to create clarity and momentum. That means first locking in the strategy—where we’re going, why it matters, and how we’ll win. From there, it’s my job to make sure we have the correct capital structure needed to pursue that vision. Then I focus on building and scaling the right team—people who are not just talented, but humble, resilient, fast, and tenacious. I spend a ton of time redundantly communicating the strategy until there’s zero confusion—because a team that knows where it's going moves faster. I hold high standards and hold people accountable, and I expect the same for myself. And I’m deeply protective of the culture—because if that breaks, the whole thing falls apart. Every day, I show up with urgency and clarity, trying to remove blockers, unlock people, and keep the entire system moving forward. 

PASSION: Outside of my family and profession, my biggest passion is health. I break it down into five core pillars:

First, what I eat. I stick to clean, unprocessed food, no added sugar, nothing artificial, 90% of the time ☺️. I treat food like fuel, and I can feel the difference when I’m dialed in.

Second, how I relax. I try to make time daily for meditation or mindfulness to slow my brain down and reset. This is my biggest weakness, but I’m working on it. Just 10 minutes of presence can shift my whole day.

Third, how I sleep. I treat sleep like a performance tool. Cold room, blackout curtains, total quiet—it’s all dialed in. When I sleep well, I operate at another level. When I don’t, everything suffers.

Fourth, how I socialize. With the limited time I have, I make it a priority to connect deeply with my inner circle—close friends who push me, support me, and keep me grounded. That emotional health piece matters more than people think.

And fifth, how I move. Fitness has always been part of my DNA. Whether it’s mountain sports, lifting, or just finding a way to sweat every day, movement clears my head and re-centers me. It’s not just about staying in shape, it’s how I reset, focus, and show up strong in every area of life.

Donn Davis is Founder and Chairman of Professional Fighters League (PFL) the #2 MMA company worldwide. Donn is Founding Partner of venture capital firm Revolution Growth. Previous in his career, he was President of AOL Interactive Properties Group, President of Tribune Ventures, CEO of Exclusive Resorts, and Chairman of Miraval Wellness Spa Resort. He started his career as an attorney at Sidley and Austin. At age 29 Donn was the youngest team attorney in MLB as Chief Counsel for the Chicago Cubs. And let’s not forget, a fellow Miami University alum.

MISAKE: I have always been good at “sales” … from recruiting executives to raising capital to getting new initiatives approved. Savvy businesspeople know “Everything Is Sales” and I have always worked to be more effective.

Except … I was not a good listener.

Listening is critical in the sales process. Listening is vital to know the needs of the other person. Listening is imperative to know the obstacles in any deal. Listening provides the roadmap to compromises and solutions.

I had to get older, become more mature, lose some deals, and fail to secure too many sales to figure out I was not listening.

PURPOSE: Professional Fighters League (PFL) is EVERYTHING to me. I started the company from scratch at age 55 and it is the entrepreneurial capstone of my career.

PFL is now the #2 MMA company worldwide and we are innovating the industry with unique “win and advance” product and “Champions League of MMA” international strategy.

I have always prioritized work and worked very hard, but PFL is the first time that I’ve been emotionally consumed by work. For the past 7 years, PFL is all I do every single day and PFL is all I think about every single hour.

PFL is not about making money for me. PFL is about creating something important that won’t be done unless I do it. PFL is about delivering for those investors who bet on me. PFL is about being successful for the fighters, employees, and partners who believed in us.

PASSION: I’m most passionate about whatever work I’m doing. Whatever my current company and job being my passion. That won’t sound cool or good to younger generations who value “balance” or non-work missions. Work has always been my top priority in life.

I love accomplishment, achievement, and impact in business. That is fun for me. The best is building a new product, new division, or new company. I even get satisfaction from excellence in everyday tasks such as perfecting on-screen graphics or writing fundraise pitch deck. Over my 35-year career I chose companies and jobs that are important and interesting to me, so the immense time and personal sacrifice are worth it.

Ben Horney is the deals reporter at Front Office Sports, covering finance, private equity, and ownership. Prior to FOS Ben spent 12 years at Law360, most recently as assistant managing editor overseeing sports betting, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and private equity.

MISTAKE: When I was younger, I was embarrassingly shy. To the point where my dad, a chiropractor, used to bribe me with trips to the store to buy packs of NBA cards if I would agree to say ‘hello’ to his staff. This self-conscious timidity followed me into young adulthood. When I started working in journalism, it was painful picking up the phone and calling potential sources. 

What changed? Nothing, really. I wanted to do good work and quickly learned that a story is only as good as its sourcing. It doesn’t matter how strong a writer you are if you can’t comfortably have conversations. So, I just kept picking up the phone until little by little, it got easier. It didn’t happen overnight, and to this day you can sometimes find me lying in bed at night, ruminating over some awkward phrasing I used in a phone call.

But those feelings pass. You move on to the next. The truth is that we are all human beings, and time never stops. So why worry about a particular conversation or something that happened in the past?

Deep down, that shy kid still exists in me. But at some point, a more confident adult blossomed. The not-so-hidden secret of journalism is that it’s just about picking up the phone and asking questions. It’s not that hard. 

PURPOSE: There’s a mantra my dad has been repeating out loud, every morning, for decades: each day, in every way, I’m getting better and better.

That’s my purpose, it’s really that simple. Speak my own reality into existence. Each day, in every way, I’m getting better and better.

PASSION: Life is all about passion. What’s the point without it? I’m passionate about sports (go Knicks!), books (give me any Stephen King novel), music (Blink 182 for life) and of course my work (subscribe to Asset Class, my new twice-weekly newsletter that launches today!).

But most of all, I’m passionate about my family. My wife, son and dog (a border collie named Willow). My immediate family (mom, dad, brother and sister). My extended family (too many to list). Did I say life is all about passion? It’s really all about family.

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