Daniel Render, Partner and Co-Chair, Sports and Sports Facilities

As the Co-Chair of the Sports and Sports Facilities team, Daniel Render represents a wide range of clients in the professional sports teams and technology industries: including National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, National Football League, Major League Soccer, Major League Baseball, Women’s National Basketball Association, National Women’s Soccer League, United Soccer League and NBA G-League teams, arenas and stadiums, investors and sponsors.

Daniel counsels clients on a variety of transactional matters, including among them acquisitions and sales (including private equity investments in sports franchises), debt and equity financings, media rights agreements, sponsorship agreements (including naming rights agreements), venue ticketing agreements, retail merchandising agreements, concessions agreements, and coach and executive management employment agreements. Clients describe him as “thoughtful and thorough.” (Chambers USA 2026) As a result, Daniel was named in the prestigious "Forty Under 40" list by Sports Business Journal, the premier sports business industry publication in the United States, and as a Rising Star by Law360, a top legal industry publication. Additionally, in a widely-read recent Katten report detailing how dealmakers are balancing hope for a steadying private equity market against lingering economic and policy uncertainty, Daniel was featured as a leading voice.

Matt LaPorta brings a rare combination of elite athletic credibility, private equity deal experience, and deep relationships across the sports and family-office worlds to every engagement. A former MLB first baseman, 7th overall pick in the 2007 MLB Draft, and 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist with Team USA, Matt has spent the years since his playing career building expertise at the intersection of sports, capital markets, and wealth. He holds an Executive MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and is a two-time SEC Player of the Year from the University of Florida.

At Dynasty Financial Partners, Matt serves as Executive in Residence, connecting an institutional wealth platform to a world of relationships- professional athletes, founders, and family offices- that traditional financial firms struggle to reach.

As a current board member and former partner of True Up Capital, Matt works alongside family-office principals and UHNW investors as both an advisor and co-investor across the sports landscape. His deal experience spans professional franchises - including MLB and WNBA transactions - down to youth sports platforms. He has led or contributed to transactions ranging from eight to ten figures, bringing the same performance mindset to the boardroom that defined his career on the field. His athlete network and insider credibility provide access to ownership pipelines, league relationships, and co-investment opportunities that remain invisible to traditional institutional capital.

Through Wayfinder Capital Partners, Matt targets founder-owned businesses in sports, sports services, recreation, and adjacent industries with EBITDA of $3M–$10M. His focus is on buy-side acquisitions where his background as a professional athlete accelerates trust, unlocks proprietary deal flow, and creates a differentiated path to value creation that traditional PE firms simply cannot replicate.

Matt’s greatest differentiator is relational. Having lived the professional and Olympic athlete experience, he speaks the language of the clients he serves -bringing peer-level trust and credibility alongside real financial and deal sophistication. For the professional athletes, founders, and families in his network, that combination opens doors and earns confidence that traditional financial firms cannot replicate.

Matt is married to Dara -a better athlete than he’ll ever be - and together they are raising four incredible kids in Tampa, Florida. When he’s not closing deals or coaching youth tackle football and baseball, you’ll find him on the golf course, where he brings the same competitive intensity that got him to the big leagues (with slightly less success).

Greg Grissom - Executive Director, Sports Investing

Greg Grissom serves as Executive Director of Sports Investing at CAZ Investments, where he partners with the firm’s investment management leadership to evaluate sports investment opportunities, strengthen relationships across professional sports ownership groups, and help expand CAZ’s growing sports investing platform.

Prior to joining CAZ, Greg spent nearly 25 years with the Houston Texans, most recently serving as President. Throughout his tenure, he held senior leadership roles across corporate development, revenue generation, operations, and business strategy, ultimately overseeing the full scope of the franchise’s business operations. He began his career in professional sports with the Houston Astros before transitioning into NFL leadership.

Drawing on his extensive network of team owners, league executives, and industry leaders, Greg brings a unique operator’s perspective to sports investing. His experience leading a world-class professional sports organization provides valuable insight as CAZ continues to invest across professional sports franchises and related opportunities.

Greg earned his degree from Baylor University and is actively involved in the Houston community through nonprofit service, including the United Way of Greater Houston. He resides in Houston with his family and enjoys golf, travel, and supporting Houston sports teams.