Max Fleming is making strides in sports marketing by fusing traditional talent management and digital innovation. As Founder & CEO of Motive, he’s established what he describes as “the one-stop shop where teamwork fuels community in the creator economy,” representing influential voices at the intersection of sports and entertainment in the digital space.

The Teammate Philosophy

Motive distinguishes itself through Max’s unique approach: operating as teammates rather than traditional managers. “My goal was to solve creator, talent, and athlete problems by having a teammate in the weeds with them,” he says. “Not a manager, not an agent – even though I run a management company. I want to be referred to as a teammate who, no matter what will always protect, serve, and fulfill the client’s best interest.”

This philosophy emerged from Max’s experience at traditional talent agencies like Buchwald, where he mastered talent representation fundamentals but identified opportunities for innovation. “When I started Motive, I wanted to do everything differently,” he explains. “Nobody’s ever wearing a suit to work. We are a team environment where everyone is incentivized to win and can look to the person next to them to ask how we can get better together.”

Fleming applies this team-centered approach to both achievements and setbacks. “When we lose or fail, it stands for our First Attempt In Learning mindset. You can’t skip failure – it’s a necessary step on the journey to being good at anything, let alone great. That is the culture that I emphasize with our team and our incredible  clients.”

Creating Success Through Human Connection

Motive’s business strategy centers on two fundamental principles: human connection and relatability. 

“We are looking for relatability at all costs,” Max points out. “How can we humanize these mega stars from which we consume information all day to make them feel like you and me? That is our business. It is so specific and strategic, but it has worked well for us.”

This focus on genuine connection has proven particularly effective with clients like The Pointer Brothers, who produce original sports-adjacent comedy content that resonates with viewers. “They are day in and day out, scripting, writing, creating their sports-adjacent comedy content that is so relatable at its core that we have an audience to integrate with,” Max explains. “With relatability, you’re going to be able to integrate any brand or form of marketing because you need to be able to reach a specific audience, not the masses. It’s a dedicated audience.”

Max contrasts this approach with response-based content strategies. “It’s challenging for us to work with a creator that doesn’t prioritize their own tone and voice. While reacting to trends, current events, or pop culture is valuable, we look to those with unique perspectives and original voices–creators who stand out as thought-leaders in our space.,” he says. 

Instead, Motive helps creators develop original content that builds lasting audience connections. “Everybody’s trying to nail down the algorithms,” Max says. “If we can find creators and talent that stay true to what they believe, create what they want, and are relatable to you and me at their core, we have a business to build.”

Safeguarding Creator Interests

Today’s creators face many obstacles in managing complex contracts and brand partnerships. Max identifies problematic contract elements around perpetual rights, exclusivity, and usage that can disadvantage creators’ ability to be successful over the long term. 

“These contracts contain perpetual, exclusivity, and usage language that takes advantage of the creator and what he/she is creating,” he explains.

Motive takes a strategic approach to brand collaborations, often initiating the pitch process. “We don’t like responding to RFPs because the brand already knows what they’re looking for,” Max explains. “We like to get to the brand first, pitch an idea that the client had already created alongside us so that we can act as the ad agency and solve the brand’s problem by creating amazing marketing vehicles for them.”

Creating Emotional Impact Beyond Numbers

While analytics matter, Max stresses that successful campaigns must create genuine emotional connections. “KPIs, metrics, analytics, impressions – are super important for our buyers,” he acknowledges. “Our buyers are often ad agencies that must report these high-value data points to their branded clientele.”

The company’s approach has yielded impressive results. “We just did a huge licensing deal with Fathead, a company that has the license to the NCAA, the NFL, the MLB, and more,” Max shares. “Now, as we break barriers, you can also throw our sports creator clients’ heads and faces on the wall (The Pointer Brothers). From a sales perspective, conversion data is an integral metric we aim to reach for our buyers and clients. Many creators can harness huge view counts, but can they drive customers to buy? When aligning on a partnership, our streamlined goal is always conversion.”

Expanding the Vision

As 2025 approaches, Max has ambitious growth plans. “The goal is to scale Motive into a leading force at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and innovation,” he explains. “From a digital standpoint, we will keep building that business over time. But my skill set is not in many other categories, such as food, alternative content, music, etc. We are assembling a diverse team of individuals with unique skill sets, united as a community to empower and elevate brilliant minds..”

The company plans to launch Motive Fashion, led by Max’s brother Jake Fleming, whom he describes as “the Jim Carrey of fashion on the Internet.” “He’s received partnership deals with eBay, Coach, Instagram Fashion, and more.”Max shares. “He’s going to spearhead Motive Fashion come the New Year, where we’re gonna have the initiative to bring on amazing fashion clientele with the figurehead being a creator himself.”

For creators and athletes considering Motive, Max highlights accountability and receptiveness to feedback. “We want to be surrounded by people that are effortlessly smarter than us,” he says. “And we want to be surrounded by clients willing to hear critical feedback and implement it into their work so that they can succeed over time. Those who can teach us new things – I want to learn from my clients daily because they’re the most amazing artists, athletes, and creatives on this planet.”