Serena Williams, welcome to The Daily Show.
Thank you for having me.
It's truly an honor to have you here,
especially at a moment like this in life, you know?
Because it's not every day that I or anybody gets to talk to
one of the greatest of all time in any aspect, you know?
I-- Y-You've conquered the tennis court,
but now it seems like Serena is going to be conquering the
business world in a really meaningful way.
Serena Ventures. Congratulations.
The last I heard you raised-- is it $111 million
for the venture capital firm?
Yes, yes, we did. And, you know, I realized, uh--
I've actually been investing for about nine years, and then
I realized that, you know, the venture capital ecosystem
really needs, uh, more inclusive people, really.
When I learned that less than two percent--
at the time-- of women
got funding from all VC money, I just...
Honestly, I didn't believe that stat.
And so I thought it was necessary
for me to enter in-in a legit way.
And so I just kept building Serena Ventures for years,
and-and now here we are.
We're raising our first fund at $111 million.
It's-it's a really powerful place to begin a journey,
because, you know, a lot of people,
uh, you know, on the ground...
I mean, myself included. Many years ago.
I didn't know what venture capital was.
I didn't understand the importance of venture capital.
I didn't understand that, like, that becomes the seed
that essentially grows the tree
that is the biggest companies that we see
on every stock exchange, you know?
And so if you can get people in on the ground there,
you can change their lives forever.
Why did you decide to jump into a world
that, I mean, does not play nice,
isn't, like, the-the friendliest environment,
especially to women
and then especially to women of color?
Yeah. So, for me,
um, it was really important, just-just that.
Like, it's on the ground floor where you want more diversity
and where you want more people involved,
and that's where, if you're looking to create,
you know, wealth or however you want to look at it,
that's where it starts, you know?
And it's no better way to start there.
Also, I love technology. I have a natural love
and just thing that I just love about technology,
and I've always want to invest in these companies
and always wanted to just kind of be a part of it,
which, hence my journey that started so long ago,
um, into-into venture.
And then eventually,
when you invest in early stage...
So, we do early-stage investing.
And when you do that, you're really able
to not only help, um, how a company thinks
and how a company performs
but also the first hires of a company.
Um, so, those first five, the first ten are so key.
But if you really help a company shape how they hire,
then it has, "A," a better chance to succeed,
but it also has a better chance
to, um, think of in-inviting everyone to the table.
One of the craziest things I saw, um--
I mean, everyone saw it, you responded to it on Twitter--
was The New York Times posting about...
You know, like, they-they had an article
about your venture capital firm and the money and everything,
but then they used your sister's picture.
What you said was really powerful.
But I wondered, from your point of view,
like, what was the-- what was the emotion behind it?
Like, were-were you hurt? Were you disappointed?
-Were you angry? -(chuckles) Honestly, um,
me playing tennis in a sport that has been predominantly,
you know, white, especially when I first started,
you can't allow yourself to get too upset about those things
and em-- and emotionally take that home,
especially if you're a mom or you have a family.
It's-it's definitely not something
you want to be involved in.
You def-definitely have to just...
y-you know, just understand, say something about it,
like I did, and let it go.
For me, it was really just about letting people know
that there's still-- that this is why I started this fund.
You know, 'cause there's still space that needs to happen.
-Yeah. -There are things that need to happen
-that we need to grow upon. -Mm-hmm.
And so that was really important for me.
I couldn't help feeling from your response
that, like, that was a little bit of,
you know, your mom and dad coming through.
Now, I haven't met them,
but I'm one of the millions of people who watched the movie
and I feel like I've met your family
-because... -That was a great segue.
It-It's true though. It-It's-- That's how I felt.
But thank you for that. Um...
It-it felt like, you know,
the Williams family has this tenacious attitude.
The Williams family goes, like, "Hey,
"we're gonna address BS when we see it,
but we're not gonna let it derail us from what we do."
And I actually have a clip from the movie
that's one of my-- one of my favorite,
uh, moments in the film.
If we-- if we can just play that here.
Daddy, are you okay?
When I was your age, I used to have to fight every day.
If it wasn't the Ku Klux Klan or the police or...
the white boys from the next town,
somebody was always beating on me for something.
And I ain't had no daddy to stand in their way.
This world ain't never had no respect for Richard Williams.
But they gonna respect y'all.
I love that scene. I love it so-- I love-I love
-the portrayal. Yeah. -It's such a powerful scene, yeah.
NOAH: Is it weird to see Will Smith as your dad?
You know, it was. It definitely was.
I've gotten so used to it now that,
now when I see him, I'm like, "Hey, Dad." (laughs)
Um, but in the beginning, it was definitely weird
because it just was just weird.
But he did such a great job of just becoming Richard Williams,
to a point where it was-- it was actually like I was
looking at my dad or really remembering those moments
when, um, when we were together and when we were younger.
And, um, it...
it-it's really amazing how he--
everything that he did in that film.
It does feel like King Richard was just the origin story
for, you know, a burgeoning world.
Like, you know, there's sequels--
'Cause when the movie ends-- and I won't spoil it
for people who haven't seen it-- all I want to do
is see your movie now. I want to see your sister's movie,
-I want to see your family. -Right?
Yeah. I'm like, "Wait, wait, wait, wait,
what-what do you mean this is it? I want to s-- W-Wait!"
I-I couldn't believe it was over.
-I thought it was just getting started. -I know. Yeah.
Um, that journey is a really special one.
I-I would love to know how your family managed
to keep the love between and your sister so intense,
even when there were so many moments for the two of you
to have resentment towards each other, because you don't.
You-you love each other, you support each other,
and yet you compete against each other.
Mm. And that's really important because,
again, like, when you asked me about The New York Times piece,
it was like, "Well, we can't allow that to affect our lives."
And we grew up and we still are extremely spiritual people
and, um, really have a great grind-- great base of faith,
and we know that we have so much more to look forward to.
And then we also know that at the end of the day, like,
tennis, will last, you know, ten years, 20 years or whatever,
-but family lasts forever. -Right.
And even when I'm playing my sister,
I always think, "Okay,
this is just for this moment, this is just for this day."
And even if, you know, we're emotional about it
for a couple of days later, like, she's always gonna
be my flesh and blood, and nothing else is going to
ever come in between that.
And so, it was... it's really important for, um, us
to kind of feel that and just
why so much just kind of rolls off our shoulders,
and we just kind of just-just go with it.
Um, I have a few personal questions.
-While making a statement. -(laughs)
I have a few personal questions,
just as a fan from my side. So, number one-- who...?
So who's responsible for your backhand?
We didn't really get the answer in the movie.
I mean, your mom claims the credit.
Your dad wants to claim the credit.
-Who made the Serena backhand? -Oh.
Um, it was definitely a combination of both,
but I spent a lot of time on the court
with my mom growing up, um, when I was in that age.
But when I got a little older, it was just...
I would spend more time with my dad.
So, it's definitely a mix.
Okay, and then, with regards to your daughter,
she has two parents who come from extremely different worlds.
I mean, their worlds are merging now, funny enough.
But you know, you've got the tech dad,
and then you've got, like, the superstar sports mom.
What's the thing that she sort of gravitates toward more?
If you put, like, a computer in front of her,
or a tennis racket, what's the first thing she'd grab?
Well, probably the computer because it has, you know,
all her little TV shows on it and, you know, the movies.
So definitely that.
Um, but, you know, I-I... I'm just...
I'm a fan of tennis, and I definitely root for her to play.
But, also, I'm, like, you know, it could be a lot of pressure,
so, definitely looking at her playing different sports.
And, you know, we haven't quite decided, and it's so...
It's so interesting now how parents, I could say,
I think, think of it, 'cause it's like,
you know, my parents had a whole plan.
And we're just like, "Well, you know,
we'll see if she wants to do this."
So it's a completely different thing.
And, um, yeah, that's just... I don't... Yeah, I don't know.
My dad and my mom were really amazing, and personally,
I don't know if I could have done it.
I think you... I think you can do it
because you're a product of theirs.
I think you're doing it already.
Serena Williams, thank you for joining me on the show.
-Thank you. -Congratulations on everything you've done--
venture capital, conquering the court.
Um, congrats to your family and thank you
-for being here with us. -Thank you. Thank you for having me.
King Richard is available in select theaters,
on V.O.D., and of course, DVD.