Lance Bass Wishes He Took Britney Spears’ Investment Advice: ‘I am Definitely Kicking Myself’
Lance Bass was only 16 years old when he joined *NSYNC and had no idea the band would catapult him to fame. Since the group’s breakup in the early 2000s, he’s built a career in television and film, appearing as a host, actor, and occasional celebrity dance competition contestant.
He’s still on the entertainment scene and now, fans can catch Bass and his assistant on The Circle. But the former boy band favorite missed out on adding to his wealth after Britney Spears clued him in to a good opportunity.
Lance Bass and Britney Spears formed a friendship decades ago
Do the math and it’s hard to believe it’s been more than 20 years since artists such as Britney Spears, *NSYNC, and Backstreet Boys ruled the pop charts at the same time in history.
When *NSYNC came together in 1995, Bass was a late addition to the party. Justin Timberlake’s mother helped cajole his mom into letting him join the group.
Though Timberlake knew Spears since they were kids from their days on Mickey Mouse Club, the rest of *NSYNC befriended her too. Around the same time the boy band formed, Timberlake’s mother spearheaded a group called Innocence, and Spears was part of it.
Bass has said in the past he remembered when she first recorded “…Baby One More Time” as a solo artist, and he figured it would be a hit. *NSYNC started touring with Spears as their opening act, and at one time, they were all labelmates.
Britney Spears told Lance Bass to invest in Uber, but he didn’t
It’s 2021 and Uber is part of pop culture and people’s daily lives. Founded in 2009 as a tech startup, the app opened up shop for rides in 2010. In those early aughts, Uber received a series of investment funds behind the scenes, and singer Britney Spears got in on the action. And she advised her friend Bass to do the same.
During a recent interview with Daily Beast, Bass expressed regret that he didn’t jump on it. “I definitely am kicking myself,” he said. “I was like, ‘It’s very revolutionary and I think this could disrupt the taxi market.’ But my gut was like, ‘I don’t know, I’m just not ready.”
Along with Ashton Kutcher, Spears was ahead of the game. Bass said she told him about it early. “She was one of the first investors behind it,” he shared. “I don’t even know if most people know that, but I learned all about it from her.”
Bass is on a startup TV series
Undeterred by the Uber miss, Bass is going to appear on Netflix’s Unicorn Hunters, a reality series that follows the vein of Shark Tank. He’s one of the expert panelists that sits on the “Circle of Money” and will vet rising entrepreneurs and their companies in a quest to reach a $1 billion valuation.
The show will give viewers a chance to learn about investment opportunities and possibly fund the businesses they see on the show. Unicorn Hunters airs on Netflix on May 10.
