An Impossible Foods sign is displayed during the company's grocery store product launch in Los Angeles on Sept. 20, 2019. Tonal, a smart home gym, raised $45 million in Series C financing in April 2019 from a group of investors, including Serena Ventures. Serena Ventures focuses on early-stage companies and giving them the opportunity to be . Their mission aims to normalize the conversation surrounding women's hormonal health and menopause. Read more: How Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian and tennis superstar Serena Williams met and fell in love. Here is Forbes June 3, 2019, cover story on Serena Williams, republished in full. Description. The founding partners of Serena Ventures are Ms. Williams and Alison Rapaport Stillman. Serena Williamss early-stage venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, has raised an inaugural fund of $111 million that will invest in founders with diverse points of view, she told the DealBook newsletter. . The night was filled with incredible discussions, and we look forward to continuing to foster these connections! Authenticity | Accountability | Innovation | Founded in 2009, Spring Venture Group is a holding company made up of two direct-to-consumer . "We focus on how much revenue they generate and [the] chance they create, because we recognize the multiplier effect is in the communities they serve. And that voice is amplified exponentially when dealing with an early-stage brand, rather than one like Nike. Stillman explained that having a diverse team led by women ensures that the mission is met without straining. Theres Chris Lyons, from Andreessen Horowitz, who is an informal advisor and friend. Athletes are richer than ever, thanks to the explosion in TV rights fees for live sporting events, which trickle down to players. Noom, a subscription-based app for tracking a person's food intake and exercise habits, announced an investment for an undisclosed amount from Serena Ventures in 2019. Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals, Join to see who you already know at Serena Ventures, At Serena Ventures we ignite change by investing in opportunities that make the everyday lives of everyday people better. This business has not been in operation very long but it, Read More 20 Things You Didnt Know About Anduril IndustriesContinue, The healthcare industry has gone through major changes over the past few decades. The only exception is when they are really going to add value. And Williams is hardly the first to put newfound disposable income to active workin the NBA alone, LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant have all launched media companies, and Durant, Andre Iguodala and Carmelo Anthony are active venture capital investors. Yet some 60% of Williams investments so far have gone to companies led by women or people of color. The Saturday Im with her in Rome (she was in New York earlier in the week and will be in Paris the following one) carries extra significance. Founded Date 2014. But she is one of the few specifically gearing investments around a single north star: herself. While a dinosaur in the tennis world at 37, she still figures she has two or maybe even three years left. Or they're saying, 'My company can't succeed the way it looks like right now; it's not diverse enough.'". I dont jump off buildings, says Williams. #bossbeauties #barbie #web3, Congratulations to SoLo Funds for their feature on the CNBC Disrupter 50 list! In April, Williams formally announced that Serena Ventures is open for business, to fund others and launch companies herself. Serena Ventures has already invested in more than 30 companies, including the Wing, MasterClass, and Brandless. Courtesy Image. Once I did, I realized that there is something so beautiful about being strong, and Im proud to be a part of this Tonal campaign that celebrates that. His venture firms targets are traditionally more tech-focusedbig scores include Instacart and Patreon. "I want to be remembered for things I do off the court; lives Ive been able to impact and voices that have been heard through mine.". I told her, Dont change a thing.. I looked around and saw their faces. "No one is going to look at venture capital and say it's a success at diversity," Sykes says. The pair also partnered in a pitch competition in which two winners with female founders were chosen for funding from Serena and Bumble. By clicking Sign Up, you also agree to marketing emails from both Insider and Morning Brew; and you accept Insiders. According to The Global VC, Williams widened the eligibility criteria, and the venture capital firm will currently take on anyone with a good idea. Initialized and Serena Ventures have even co-invested on a few, including Gobble, which does weekly dinner-kit deliveries, and Wave, which offers no-fee transfers on money sent to Africa by phone. Serena Williams is leaving tennis to become a full-time venture - Yahoo Speaking with NPR's Weekend All Things Considered recently, Sallie Krawcheck, the CEO of Ellevest, said despite the fact that businesses run by female CEOs tend to get a very small slice of VC investment, the return on those dollars tends to be higher. The list includes the top 50 breakthrough companies that show promising scalability and the potential to disrupt established industries. Learn more about the other winners:ey.com/us/eoynewyork. Although the venture capital firm is usually described as a new early-stage firm, it has been in existence since 2014. The tennis superstar Serena Williams has found time to pick up a side gig on top of winning championships and taking care of her adorable daughter, that is. Other individual investors in the round included Jay Brown, Kirk Cousins, Paul George, Jay-Z, Trevor Noah, Alexis Ohanian, Kal Penn, Katy Perry, Questlove, Ruby Rose, Phil Rosenthal, Jaden Smith, will.i.am and Zedd. The rate of Williams investments has ramped up in lockstep with the onboarding of a portfolio manager. But they bonded over ambition. Using her platform to talk about our mission was the biggest support weve had besides her capital, says Georgina Gooley, cofounder of Billie, which makes razors priced to eliminate the pink tax that makes female-targeted products cost more than similar versions for men. nother benefit of early-stage investing: Even with 34 checks written, she has still sunk only an estimated $6 million into these companies. Now thats changing. Meet Serena: the . (The tennis star is also on the board of the social shopping platform Poshmark.). Serena Williams has a new game plan: venture capital : NPR Innovative tools and services empower creators to launch products while selling on social. Williams plans to launch an S by Serena jewelry line this year and one of beauty products in 2020. Congratulations to Zitti Inc. on the launch of their self-serve option! "It's kind of jaw-dropping," says Robinson, who earned his MBA from Columbia Business School. When megastar Serena Williams recently said that she plans to retire from tennis after the upcoming U.S. Open, she added an intriguing tidbit about her future: She will turn her focus to a. Sharon Bowen, chair of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), left, Serena Williams, pro tennis player and founder of Serena Ventures, and Alison Rapaport, managing partner of Serena Ventures, are shown during the opening bell on the floor of the NYSE on Aug. 26, 2022. "To have someone like Serena saying, 'I think it's important to be an athlete and a strong Black woman and a mother. Stay up to date with what you want to know. Its more romantic than it sounds: The Rome Cavalieri goes so far as to call its 15-acre garden a private park, littered with marble and bronze, lions and unicorns. Williams reasoned that the underrepresented groups would always scramble for the 2% Thus the problem of having to deal with a boys club even in venture capital funding would never be resolved. And sure, shell happily continue to rake in easy endorsement money from the likes of Nike and JPMorgan Chaseher $29 million total income over the past 12 months is the highest of her career. Her firm, Serena Ventures, is an active angel investor with a portfolio of 60 companies. "The way I train is always changing, but strength training has been fundamental to my performance, and thats why I love the Tonal so much. Shed already bet on 34 startups, focusing on companies started by women and minorities. Click the link below to read more! That change accelerated with the reckoning brought on by the racial justice movement that took off two years ago, says Melissa Bradley, founder of 1863 Ventures named after the year of the Emancipation Proclamation. Serena Williams invests in hiring platform - Bizwomen The virtual collectible will act as your ticket to career chats with inspirational women, exclusive Barbie x Boss Beauties merchandise, Barbie Career Collectors doll sets, and more. Still, that's not nearly enough, says Elliott Robinson, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. Using her platform to talk about our mission was the biggest support weve had besides her capital, says Georgina Gooley, cofounder of Billie, which makes razors priced to eliminate the pink tax that makes female-targeted products cost more than similar versions for men. The numbers are worse for black and Hispanic founders. We are so grateful to partner with a fund that is aligned with our mission to empower and support underrepresented founders. "Im a true believer that everyone should have easy access to a healthier life, which is why I decided to invest in Noom," Williams said in a release announcing the investment. Our very own Pavan Sethi will be a judge for the 2023 Untapped AI Startup Pitchfest! Legal Statement. Williams returned the favor when she hosted a baby shower for the Duchess of Sussex in February. Part of the problem is that 40% of all the jobs in VC are filled by just two universities Harvard and Stanford, Robinson says, and historically those schools haven't produced a very diverse candidate pool. Gobble is a weekly dinner kit delivery service that helps busy people cook dinner in just 15 minutes thanks to already prepped ingredients. Their fathers insistence that his precocious daughters avoid the private tennis academy machine and well-oiled junior tournament circuit left a mark on the younger one, especially after she won her first Grand Slam title at age 17. Power Game: Williams invested in 34 startups over the past five years. Serena Ventures (@serena.ventures) Instagram photos and videos Diversity Spotlight (US Headquarters Only). Custom Food Spend Analysis: Gain deep insights into your food spending habits and identify opportunities to optimize costs. While Serena Ventures, as her small firm is known, is among a tiny number of VC firms owned by Black women, that's changing, albeit slowly, says Sydney Sykes, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, a Silicon Valley-based VC firm that invests heavily in early-stage, female-led businesses. "But the statistics kind of speak for themselves.". Now with some hindsight, she prefers investing in startups, and three-quarters of the companies in the portfolio are in the early stage. That kind of investor-as-rainmaker power translates into another benefit: deal flow. That kind of investor-as-rainmaker power translates into another benefit: deal flow. With all this commerce, Williams says shell continue to abbreviate her on-the-court schedule, prioritizing the Grand Slam events that burnish her brand. Serena Ventures Serena Williams launched Serena Ventures in 2014 and has invested in over 60 companies. This story appears in the June 30, 2019 issue of Forbes Magazine. They provide a web and app-based platform for consumers to book services, including housekeeping, fitness training, plumbing, and beauty services. Andrew Ross Sorkin is a columnist and the founder and editor at large of DealBook. Allen Lee is a Toronto-based freelance writer who studied business in school but has since turned to other pursuits. Don't think there's a right or a wrong way to be a startup entrepreneur Samir Goel, Esusu Shes now the first athlete ever to hit Forbes annual list of the Americas Richest Self-Made Women, with an estimated fortune of $225 million, the vast majority of it having come via her brain and brand rather than her backhand.