In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, the legendary quarterback recalled how former offensive tackle Harris Barton and former safety Ronnie Lott approached him with an idea to start a “fund of funds.”

“And because we lived around all the guys who were running Sequoia, Kleiner, Excel, all the top-tier funds, we’re going to leverage our friendships into access,” Montana said.

Silicon Valley and the NFL are converging again on Sunday as the Super Bowl will be played in San Jose, where the 49ers now play their home games.

Back when Montana first got into investing, he and his associates initially raised $15 million, and the fund grew from there, helping them get into leveraged buyout funds, hedge funds, and real estate funds, he said.

But Montana later moved two hours away from San Francisco to the Napa wine country, forcing him to step back from investing.

Then he connected with angel investor Ron Conway because their kids attended the same school. The cofounder of SV Angel introduced Montana to tech incubator Y Combinator and encouraged him to start his own fund, Liquid 2, in 2015.

Conway advised Montana, who shared a key lesson he learned from the legendary Silicon Valley investor.

“Everybody thinks it’s always about product,” he told CNBC. “But as early as we invest, most of the time it’s about people, and what you’re betting on are the founders.”

Montana also said his Liquid 2 work is more interesting than the fund of funds as his current job requires deeper involvement in his portfolio companies, especially in the early stages.

For his part, Conway told Worth magazine that Liquid 2 is now as big as SV Angel, adding that he and Montana invest together a lot.

“Because of his affable personality and his brand, he is able to get into really good syndicates and have lasting relationships,” he said.

Liquid 2 has invested in over 800 companies and was an early backer of GitLab, Rappi, Anduril, and Pipe, among others, according to Worth.

While Montana didn’t want his athletic fame to define his fund, he still draws on his experience in pro sports to help him invest. He said NFL coaching icon Bill Walsh showed him how to assemble a good team. Montana also learned to see parallels between great founders and elite athletes.

“It all stems from what’s inside them and their drive to succeed,” Montana told Worth. 

A memorial for the victims of a deadly fire at a new year party in Switzerland caught fire early on Sunday, probably sparked by candles left burning inside, police have said.

The memorial was a makeshift tribute to the 41 people killed and the 115 injured in the fire that erupted in the early hours of 1 January at Le Constellation bar in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana, which was packed with mainly teenagers and young adults.

Laden with flowers, candles and messages of condolence, it had been set up near the site of the tragedy. It caught alight shortly before 6am on Sunday, regional police in Switzerland’s south-western canton of Valais said in a statement.

Images broadcast by Swiss public broadcaster RTS on Sunday showed the blackened top of a white, igloo-like tarpaulin erected over the memorial to protect it from the weather, visible behind a white screen and police tape.

“Thanks to the rapid intervention of the emergency services, the fire was quickly brought under control,” police said.

No one was injured in the fire at the memorial, they said, though “several commemorative objects were damaged by the flames”.

A large book of remembrance, filled with messages of condolence left by those who have visited the memorial over the past five weeks, had been saved, the statement said.

Police said an investigation had been opened into what caused the blaze at the memorial, which had initially been placed in front of the burned-out bar but which had recently been moved a bit farther away.

“According to initial reports, the fire started near the candles placed on a table in the centre of the memorial,” the statement said. “At this stage, third-party involvement can be ruled out.”

Investigators believe that the new year inferno at Le Constellation started when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised too close to a ceiling in the bar crowded with revellers, igniting sound insulation foam.

The French couple who co-owned the bar, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are facing charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.

Crans-Montana’s head of public safety and a former local fire safety officer are also under criminal investigation in connection with the blaze at the bar, which had not undergone mandatory annual fire inspections since 2019.

Following weeks of harsh criticism of local and regional authorities’ handling of the crisis and the investigation, family members voiced consternation upon learning of the fire at the memorial.

“What to say?” Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, whose 16-year-old son Arthur Brodard was among those who died at Le Constellation, posted on Facebook over a link to a report about the memorial fire. “It is the municipality’s responsibility to ensure a memorial that is secure.”

MISSOULA — Tyler Thompson keyed a second-half eruption, and Montana got back in the win column Saturday with a 73-68 Big Sky Conference men’s basketball win over Idaho at Dahlberg Arena.

The Grizzlies, who entered the day on a two-game skid, made just six field goals and scored a paltry 19 points in the first half to trail 29-19, but they bettered that in the first eight minutes of the second half. Thompson canned his first 3-pointer less than 30 seconds in, proving a precursor to Montana’s ensuing explosion.

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Second-half explosion leads Montana men to win over Idaho

After the Griz and Vandals traded buckets, Idaho led 34-24 with 18:29 to play, but Thompson hit another 3 — this one kick-starting a 19-0 Montana run. Thompson had three 3s in the stretch, Te’Jon Sawyer had a powerful put-back dunk and another basket, and Money Williams and Kenyon Aguino each made 3s. Aguino’s 3, which came as the shot clock wound down, banked off the backboard, hit the front rim and bounced off the backboard again before trickling in.

Following Aguino’s 3, Montana led 43-34 and wouldn’t trail the rest of the way. Idaho got back within two points — 48-46 — with eight minutes to play, but Sawyer and Brooklyn Hicks combined for an 8-0 spurt to keep the Vandals at bay.

Montana led by as many as 14 points — 70-56 — in the second half after trailing by as many as 13 in the first 20 minutes.

Williams led the Griz with 14 points, and Sawyer had 13. Thompson, Kepley and Hicks each added 12 points, as Montana made 19 of 28 field goals in the second half after going 6 of 24 in the first.

Biko Johnson scored a game-high 22 points for Idaho, which shot just 25 of 66 (37.9%) for the game.

The win gave Montana the season sweep over Idaho. The Griz (14-11 overall, 8-4 Big Sky) are back at home next weekend when they host rival Montana State on Saturday.