This story appears in the October 2025 issue of Utah Business. Subscribe.
When it comes to athletes and business, the first thing that comes to mind is probably a well-known player advertising a product or a brand. But the minds behind Coinlete, a Utah-based consulting and branding firm, think the partnership should be much more involved.
Founded by Xavier Jackson and Brett Horrocks in 2022, Coinlete offers its services to businesses interested in growing their customer base and athletes and influencers who want to invest in businesses they care about.
Coinlete’s mission? “To move culture by introducing new influences to diverse communities and amplifying their impact through influencers,” according to the company’s website.
In 2020, Jackson’s high school friend and former Utah Jazz player Royce O’Neale suggested Jackson move from Atlanta to Utah to pursue a business opportunity with him and fellow former Jazz athlete Donovan Mitchell. Shortly after, Jackson met Jazz owner Ryan Smith, who expressed his vision of how athletes could influence Salt Lake City and its culture.
“He wanted to use the athletes to make [Salt Lake City] a better place and make it more attractive to people who don’t want to come here,” Jackson recounts. “He wanted to build the city up so it has the things that it lacks.”
Jackson noticed professional athletes spend most of their time at home, rarely venturing out into the community. When they did, though, local businesses were thrilled that the players made appearances.
“That’s when I noticed that, this whole time, the businesses in the community haven’t been having any association with the athletes,” Jackson says. So he started small, inviting business owners to sit courtside at games and hosting private events in order to build relationships between the owners and the athletes.
Jackson then connected with Horrocks, a marketing strategist with a sizeable business network who was helping Brigham Young University (BYU) develop NIL (name, image, likeness) opportunities at the time. Soon, interest in athlete partnerships was through the roof.
One example of a Coinlete success story is the facilitation of former Utah Jazz athlete Jordan Clarkson’s involvement with the indoor virtual golfing simulator Tee Box.
“Jordan Clarkson brought [Tee Box] into his world, and the influence from him … lit fire on everything they were doing,” Jackson says. “So it pretty much was the biggest case study of how well or how fast your company can supersede and go to new heights as soon as you bring the athlete on board.”
In addition to the Jazz, Coinlete has worked with Utah’s university sports programs, helping both BYU and the University of Utah secure NIL deals with their players.
As for what’s next, Horrocks says the Coinlete team will keep doing what they do best — put their heads down and build long-lasting brands for businesses and athletes in Utah and abroad.
“We’re quiet. We work in silence,” Horrocks says. “We don’t care to be in the forefront. That’s why what we do is so successful.”