Iman Shumpert Reveals Early Uber Bet, Says He Flipped It For Multiple Profits

Shumpert explained what motivated him to invest in the billion-dollar company — and why he ultimately chose to cash out.

Iman Shumpert revealed how his early investment in Uber resulted in some profitable returns for the former basketball star.

The retired NBA player appeared on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast to speak to Shannon Sharpe about life, love, and apparently, his investment portfolio. Shumpert revealed how he was able to jump at the opportunity when the start-up just began, despite his lack of knowledge in the stock market.

He decided to invest in the venture as the concept reminded him of a scene from classic Black ’90s film, “B.A.P.S.” In the film, a fictional cab service, Page-A-Cab Luxury Cab Co., had a similar business model to the ride-sharing app.

“I ain’t know nothing about nothing. I was broke,” shared Shumpert. “They gave me some money, somebody said something about that. Uber sounded like, you remember rent a cab. In B.A.P.S., they basically was talking about Uber. What if you could have a private driver whenever you want… And when I heard of Uber, I’m like, ‘That’s kind of like’… And I’m like, ‘But wait a second, let me put a little money in there.'”

The “little money” invested ended up yielding substantial profits. Although he sold his undisclosed shares relatively early, the payout still amounted to a lofty sum. Shumpert told the podcaster how he sold the stock after seeing the money make itself back, plus more.

“Soon as I seen it was making a little money, I got up out of there,” he added. “That sh-t flipped about two, three times. Well, I took that money out so quick and bought something…”

As to why he cashed out so quickly, Shumpert lacked confidence in the company’s ability to make it big. Despite this, he still feels that he made a good deal, as he did not lose much in the end.

Shumpert continued, “I still made my money. I just didn’t make as [much money].”

However, given the company’s current market cap valuation at over $155 billion, according to Yahoo Finance, Shumpert seemingly missed out on an even bigger payday. However, his willingness to initially bet on the growing company still provided him with some gains in the process.

Shumpert does not wholly regret his investment moves, speaking about selling his stocks in a 2020 interview. Calling it “inexperience,” the faux pas with Uber has made him a smarter investor today.