Our Story
Trevor Paladino is a Tampa-based entrepreneur and active private investor. As the founder of Lakeside Capital, his private investment office, Trevor has made over 30 venture capital investments ranging across tech, sports, entertainment and consumer brands, including Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceX, Olipop, Betr and Unrivaled Basketball.
Prior to launching Lakeside Capital, Trevor founded The Players Locker, a leading wholesale distributor of autographed sports memorabilia. Working directly with professional athletes and retail partners nationwide, he built the company from the ground up and grew it into a multi-million-dollar enterprise over nearly two decades.
In 2007, at just 12 years old, Trevor launched his first business, Dino’s Authentics, transforming a personal passion for collecting sports memorabilia into a thriving enterprise. He hosted public and private autograph events with Baltimore Ravens and Orioles players, rapidly attracting significant fan engagement and establishing himself as an emerging figure in the memorabilia industry. This early success not only fueled his reputation in the memorabilia space but also laid the foundation for his entrepreneurial journey.
In 2014, he rebranded the company as The Players Locker and scaled it into a full-service wholesale distributor of autographed sports memorabilia, serving wholesale clients, retail partners, and industry dealers nationwide. The business specialized in hosting and participating in hundreds of private signings each year to supply autographed memorabilia sourced directly from athletes. Over the next decade, Trevor grew the company into a national operation, generating millions of dollars in annual revenue and securing exclusive autograph and game-used gear agreements with hundreds of professional athletes and Hall of Famers. Under his leadership, the company introduced innovative distribution models that redefined how memorabilia was sold at scale, setting new industry standards that were later adopted across the space, which ultimately positioned the company for its successful acquisition.
Lakeside Capital was established as Trevor’s private investment office to deploy long-term, high-conviction capital into category-defining companies. Guided by nearly two decades of entrepreneurial experience, Trevor brings a founder’s perspective to evaluating opportunities while maintaining a disciplined, thesis-driven approach to investing. Lakeside partners with exceptional teams, providing strategic guidance, network access, and patient capital to support companies as they scale and create lasting value.
Based in Tampa, Florida, Trevor serves as board member and advisor to several portfolio companies. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship from the University of Tampa and holds a Master of Legal Studies with a focus in Sports Law and Business from Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
From the early days — Joe Flacco’s first private signing in 2008 (left), and a public Ravens group signing hosted by Trevor at a local restaurant in 2010 (right).