Darren Prince
Darren Prince started a mail order company selling baseball cards at the age of 14 called Baseball Card City and also traveled around the country doing trade shows. At the age of 20 he sold his company for $1.0M and formed Prince of Cards which became an industry leader in private autograph signings for sports and celebrity memorabilia with athletes and celebrities. A-List celebrities like Muhammad Ali, Magic Johnson, Pele, Joe Montana, Smokin’ Joe Frazier, Dennis Rodman, Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra and Jenny McCarthy all worked with Prince.
Life and career
1996
In 1996 Prince started a new venture called Prince Marketing Group (PMG) which represented athletes and celebrities for marketing deals consisting of endorsements, licensing, TV, Movie, book deals, autograph signings and appearances. His first client to sign with the firm was none other than Magic Johnson. Soon after Smokin’ Joe Frazier, Pamela Anderson and Dennis Rodman followed.
1998
In 1998 Prince sold his memorabilia company Prince of Cards for an undisclosed amount after forgeries started to hurt his industry and Prince found himself in trouble as he was questioned by the FBI for unknowingly selling some forged signatures. Prince offered refunds to all his customers who accepted one. The experience left a bad taste in Prince’s mouth so he wound up just focusing on representing athletes and celebrities after that.
Present
With PMG growing at an enormous pace Prince added Hulk Hogan, Roy Jones Jr, Evel Knievel as clients over the past 6 years. In 2009 PMG started working with Golden Globe winner and Oscar Nominee Mickey Rourke, Gold Medal Olympic star Usian Bolt and American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi.
The sports/entertainment industry is a small world and very competitive,” says Darren Prince, CEO of Prince Marketing Group. “Prince Marketing Group has prospered over the years by delivering out of the box thinking for clients and building relationships through the practice of good business and effective networking.”
Prince Marketing Group is currently a multi-million dollar business that has negotiated over $200 Million in deals and secures marketing deals, arranges signing/memorabilia appearances, commercial licensing, voice-overs as well as negotiates television and movies deals. Darren is a true entrepreneur as he has been able to continuously reinvent himself and continue to grow his business over the years. He has been featured in outlets such as Your World With Neil Cavuto, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Hannity & Colmes, ESPN, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, USA Today, Forbes’ Sports Money, On the record with Greta Van Susteren, Howard Stern radio and a variety of others for his marketing expertise.