‘How Do You Not Know Such a Shocking Number?’ – Serena Williams on Her Eye-Opening Moment as a Businesswoman

Serena Williams is undoubtedly one of the greatest athletes of all time. The American has some of the greatest records to her name that have remained untouched for years. She has arguably been the best on-court performer for a long time. However, her performance is not just restricted to tennis. The 40-year-old is one of the best performers in the financial sector too.

With the dream to be one of the prominent names in the financial field, Serena launched her own venture capital firm Serena Ventures. 8 years down the line, the company today has invested in more than 66 startups, 13 of which are unicorns. However, these investments haven’t been made like other venture capital firms. Recently, in a one-on-one interview with Forbes, Serena opened up about her vision to invest in these founders.

Why does Serena Williams majorly invest in women founders?

Serena  started by opening up about her investing habits when she started the company. Being from a non-financial background, Serena also started investing like other investors. She confessed that she didn’t have a particular theme or a model at the start of the company. “When I started, I was like everyone else like, that’s the company I want to invest in, that’s a good company. I didn’t really have a theme or a model,” she spoke.

Like others, she had also already started investing in firms having good financial records. However, the 23-time Grand Slam champion had a sudden mind shift the day she came to know that less than 2 % of Venture Capital is going to female founders. Going further, Serena asserted that it was after knowing this that she had a mental shift. She asserted that it was after knowing this number that she decided to support these founders.

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She said, “I learned that less than 2% of the VC money was going to female founders, even less, to women and people of color. So, I thought, that’s what I need to do. I need to start supporting more companies like that.”

The next big challenge

The former World No. 1 claimed that raising awareness was one of the most important tasks for her.

Going in continuation, Serena said, “Also, just raising awareness about that. A lot of people didn’t know. How do you not know such a shocking number. I was like, how do I raise awareness about this and how do I take a lead on it. So, that was really important to me. To do that and to continue to do that.”

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Serena Ventures has been rising high ever since its incorporation. Keeping up with its motive of investing in women led companies, the firm today has around 60% of its investments directed towards women led firms. Early last month, the firm closed its first round of investment, raising a whopping $111 million. With the funds in hand, Serena Ventures is expected to invest in more women led companies in the coming future.