During a 14-year run with the Red Sox, Ortiz won three World Series championships, was selected to ten All-Star teams and led the American League in 2006 with 54 home runs, a career high. He lured endorsements with Coca-Cola, JetBlue, Mastercard and sports apparel line New Balance, and in his final year as a player, in 2016, Forbes estimated Ortiz was making $6 million from endorsements—a total that would be the third-best in baseball in 2022. “My personality,” says Ortiz, “has brought attention to so many different companies. But at the same time, the secret in being involved with so many companies is your effort.” He adds: “I want my personality to pop. I want to give you 100% of what I am.” In 2016, Ortiz joined former MLB stars like Nolan Ryan, Vernon Wells, Barry Larkin and Torii Hunter to start Dugout Ventures, an Austin-based private-equity firm that invests in consumer product companies. The firm initially raised $10 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. “I’m all over the place,” Ortiz says of his business portfolio. Dugout has a stake in Performance Kitchen, an e-commerce food delivery platform that sells nutritional meals to insurance providers and has raised $81 million to date, including $12.3 million in 2018 from Dugout, according to Pitchbook. New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter is also an angel investor in Performance Kitchen. In 2020, Dugout sold its stake in Marucci Sports in a deal that valued the sports manufacturing company at $200 million. Ortiz, who is a director at the PE firm, pointed to authenticity as a key when exploring companies to provide capital. “Your product,” Ortiz says, “has to be legit. I don’t like to get behind a product that is fake.” Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jabariyoung/2022/07/11/before-cooperstown-david-ortiz-expands-eyeglass-deal-and-holds-fast-on-crypto/?sh=5877bfb24f59 Subscribe to FORBES: null Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com/ Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes: http://forbes.com/ Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.