Meet Antoine Esber | Founder & Director of Oasis Futsal Academy

We had the good fortune of connecting with Antoine Esber and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Antoine, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
After I graduated from Duke University I worked for two years at an Investment Bank in NYC. It was a proper introduction into the corporate workspace. Routine, office work, and a constant learning curve to get to the next stage. As a first job it was perfect, but it also made me realize I did not want to do this for the rest of my life. I decided that if I could put the same amount of hard work into my biggest passion, I would surely be able to make a living from it.

So I decided to pursue Soccer. It has been my favorite thing in the world since I was a little kid. I figured if I worked with soccer I would be able to put more hours than I did at the investment bank, and be even happier. I left my job and decided to travel the world on a budget to do some research. I went backpacking down the western coast of South America, and then made my way to Australia. throughout the journey I volunteered in several youth soccer foundations, and finally got a full time job working in a larger soccer academy in Sydney. After my travel and work experience, I combined the know-how of running a youth academy and the structure of working in an investment bank. These are the fundamentals behind my company – Oasis Futsal Academy, which I launched back in my hometown Miami, FL.

Starting a business for me was not about an opportunity to make more money than I was earning in my first job, or to work less and have a better lifestyle. It was a vehicle for me to pursue my true passion and also be able to make a career out of it.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Oasis Futsal Academy is a club-neutral environment for youth players to improve on their technical skills. Futsal is a version of soccer with five players on each team. It is very popular in Latin America and serves as a great introduction to soccer for the youngest players 3-14 years old.

We are club-neutral which means we do not compete against other clubs and schools. We rather serve as the perfect complement for their players to improve their skills with us on the Futsal side when they have their off-days. We also follow the “Teach For America TFA” model when it comes to coaching. We use exclusively college students who are Futsal or Soccer superstars to teach our players. This provides our sessions with a fresh energy, and creates coaches who have a “role-model” feel for our students. Our players have coaches who they look up to and want to be when they are in their early 20s.

Getting any business off the ground is far from easy. It is not glamorous either. It takes endless hard work, for very little reward along the way. Things that I have learned is how important it is to find your niche. If I wanted to create another general soccer team or league, there would be many competitors which would have created a large barrier to entry. By finding our niche in the Futsal/technical training space, it provided us a market which wanted us to exist. This does not mean its smooth sailing at all, but it allows you to then put in the hard work and watch it grow.

The most unique part of our brand is our modern approach to teaching. We are developing a mobile app to teach our players off the field, we have young coaches who were in our players’ shoes not too long ago, and we create an environment at practice that promotes confidence and respect vs winning the “old school way”.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Miami is a city that has a little bit of everything. For me – the best reason to be here is the beach. Whether its Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, or anything else up the coast – you cannot go wrong. The sand is beautiful and you find people playing beach sports (padel, soccer, volleyball) and swimming or snorkeling in the water. If you are lucky, you can even surf some waves in South Beach.

For a long weekend my friends and I like to eat traditional Venezuelan food for breakfast in la Uchireña in Doral. This is a small hole in the wall that has the best carne mechada (shredded beef) in the world! For drinks, Cantina la Veinte in Brickell provides a fun environment with a great view of the channel and Brickell key. Finally the best spinach and artichoke dip in town is at Hillstones in Coral Gables. You cannot miss that one!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are too many people who have contributed to my project directly as employees or indirectly as mentors or supporters.

I would definitely want to dedicate my shoutout to my family for standing by all of my decisions. Despite moving back to Miami without a job, they have always been respectful of my vision and have encouraged me to go after my passion. This is support that not all founders have the luxury of, and it has been my greatest asset. No matter what you do, being a founder is a lonely journey and finding pockets of support is critical.

A second shoutout, which may seem silly, but has been incredible as well is to Guy Raz and his “How I Built This Podcast”. In the early days of my business I would play this in the car on my drive to our summer camp. It is incredible how founders of some of the biggest companies have gone through many of the same problems as small business owners in their early days. It really puts into perspective the saying of “everyone has to start somewhere”. So a big shoutout to Guy for compiling those stories which are pure energy to any entrepreneur.

Website: https://oasisfutsal.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oasisfutsal/?igsh=MThpdnBuNzBkODFpag%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oasis-futsal-academy/?viewAsMember=true

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oasisfutsal

Other: TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@oasisfutsalacademy

Image Credits
Alex Arbide, Oasis Futsal Academy Video Production & Photography