Inside Serena Williams' $14 Billion Investment Company
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Serena Williams has spent the better part of the past two decades dominating the world
of women's tennis. But even she can't defeat Father Time. While Williams remains at the
very top of her sport, it's an inescapable fact that, with every tournament, her career
on the court is inching ever closer to its inevitable denouement.
What's next? Lots of things, probably. Williams is a superstar athlete, sure. But she's also
an author, fashion designer, actress and activist. In 2017, she gave birth to her first child.
She has always stayed busy. And in recent years, Williams has been focused more and
more on a side gig that seems to be attracting more and more star athletes: investing as
a venture capitalist. Williams’ firm has invested in more than 50 companies with a
total market value of $14 billion. Let's take a sneak peek at Serena Williams' $14 billion
investment Company.
So without any further ado, let's dive in:
Women investing in women: The clearest trendline emerging in Serena
Ventures' activity is a desire to challenge the gender gap in VC by investing in the sorts
of companies and founders that have far too often been overlooked or avoided by the old
boy's club of Silicon Valley. That includes names like The Wing, an operator of co-working
spaces and social clubs aimed at women that have raised more than $100 million in VC funding
to date, reaching a $375 million valuation. Founded in 2016 by Audrey Gelman and Lauren
Kassan, the business claims an illustrious string of backers in addition to Serena Ventures,
including Sequoia, Airbnb, WeWork and several members of the US women's national soccer
team.
Williams and her firm are also investors in Billie, another female-founded company that
sells razors and other body-care products aimed at women. Lola, which delivers tampons,
pads and other reproductive healthcare products to women, is also part of the Serena Ventures
portfolio. The list goes on. Floravere has raised cash from Serena Ventures to support
its business of selling wedding dresses directly to consumers. Mayvenn has brought in funding
from the firm to support its hair extensions and other beauty products. And HoneyLove has
turned to the firm to back its line of shapewear for women.
A Seat at the Table: Serena Ventures is also clearly interested
in the food. By far the biggest name it's backed in the space is Impossible Foods, a
maker of plant-based protein products that raised $300 million at a $2 billion valuation—a
round that closed as one of the company's biggest rivals, Beyond Meat, was seeing its
stock price skyrocket after a red-hot IPO. The firm is also an investor in multiple meal
delivery companies. One is Daily Harvest, which provides fresh fruits, vegetables and
other organic ingredients to customers on a weekly or monthly basis.
Another is Gobble, which delivers meal kits that are designed to be able to be prepared
in 15 minutes or less. That particular deal is an example of Serena Ventures keeping its
business in the family: Gobble is also backed by Initialized Capital, the firm led by Alexis
Ohanian, Williams' husband and a co-founder of Reddit. For smaller stomachs, Serena Ventures
is a backer of Little Spoon, which runs a delivery service for organic baby food. For
canine stomachs, the firm is an investor in Ollie, a provider of customized meal plans
for dogs. And for the wellness-inclined, there's the similarly named Olly, a seller of vitamins,
protein bars and related products.
Reaching into Retail: Williams has long been linked to the world
of fashion, both on and off the court. Her tennis attire has made headlines throughout
her career, including a skin-tight black catsuit she donned at the 2018 French Open that was
subsequently banned by the French Tennis Federation. And Williams is also a designer in her own
right, including her own lines of sportswear, eveningwear and handbags. That interest has
manifested in some of Serena Ventures' investments. The firm is a backer of Rockets of Awesome,
which makes bright and flashy clothes for kids, as well as Neighborhood Goods, an emerging
department store chain that sells apparel from a rotating group of different brands,
many of them born on the internet. Williams launched her latest clothing line at the company's
flagship store in Plano, TX.
Serena Ventures is also an investor in Brandless, a paradoxically named company that sells a
range of food, household goods and other products under its own label. The company pulled in
a $240 million investment led by the SoftBank Vision Fund. Serena Ventures took part in
a $9.6 million funding for Retail Zipline, a developer of tools that help retail stores
improve their communication with upper management.
The Best of the Rest: It doesn't fit neatly into any of the above
categories, but we'd be remiss not to mention that Serena Ventures holds a stake in Coinbase,
a breakout star of the bitcoin era that was valued at more than $8 billion. Williams'
investment wasn't publicly known until she announced the launch of her namesake firm.
Serena Ventures backed a $45 million Series C for Tonal, a Peloton-type company that sells
a wall-mounted fitness system and screen rather than a stationary bike—the sort of company
you might expect a professional athlete to invest in.
The firm's other notable portfolio companies include MasterClass, which sells online classes
in a variety of disciplines; Williams herself offers a tennis lesson on the site. There's
also Andela, which was valued at $700 million. The startup operates mainly in Africa, working
to connect software developers from the continent with tech companies around the world. Williams
sits on the board of directors at SurveyMonkey, which makes software for online surveys.
Serena Williams-backed SPAC to take printing: Velo3D Inc will merge with a blank-check company
backed by tennis star Serena Williams, in a deal that takes the 3D printing technology
venture public at a combined value of $1.6 billion. The deal with a special purpose acquisition
company (SPAC) Jaws Spitfire Acquisition Corp includes $155 million from Baron Capital Group,
Hedosophia, and other private investors. It will fetch $500 million in proceeds for the
combined company. Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion who joined Jaws Spitfire’s
board to lend her expertise “as an entrepreneur, investor, and brand-builder”, has long been
an investor in early-stage companies.
She formed her own venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, in 2014 to back startups that “support
diverse leadership, individual empowerment, and creativity.” Other 3D printing-focused
SPAC deals include Markforged and Desktop Metal Inc. SPACs are shell firms that allow
companies to go public with less regulatory scrutiny than a traditional initial public
offering. Jaws Spitfire was launched by Starwood Capital Group chairman Barry Sternlicht and
raised $300 million in an initial public offering. After the merger is completed, the combined
company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “VLD”.
Serena Williams invests in rent-reporting fintech Esusu:
Serena Williams is investing an undisclosed amount in Esusu, a fintech start-up that allows
renters to build and improve credit by reporting their rent payments to credit bureaus. The
tennis superstar provided the backing through her venture capital firm, Serena Ventures,
as part of the start-up’s first funding round. Esusu is really focused on credit building
and creating pathways to financial inclusion not only for working families but for individuals
as well. The Series A funding round raised $10 million dollars led by Motley Fool Ventures,
the investing arm of the personal finance site. Esusu, headquartered in New York City,
has raised more than $14 million.
Esusu was founded in 2018 by Abbey Wemimo and Samir Goel, who saw their immigrant families
struggle to pay for rent and build credit after moving to the United States. Approximately
41 million families live in apartments and 45 million Americans do not have a credit
score. Esusu uses its platform to record and report rental payments to the largest credit
bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.
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