Authenticity | Accountability | Innovation | Founded in 2009, Spring Venture Group is a holding company made up of two direct-to-consumer . The past decade has given rise to the celebrity VC investor, spurred by the success of people like the actor Ashton Kutcher and the musician Nas, who both have their own funds. The firm seeks to invest in e-commerce, fintech, health, sports & wellness, web3, edtech, enterprise, social, and climate technology sectors. makesense and Serena launch 80 million impact fund for French startups . Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. For more mature deals, traditional venture firms need to take large ownership stakes to hit return targets. Get ready for your trip to one of Missouri's State Parks. "We invested in Esusus mission and have a strong conviction in the potential of this space," Williams said in a statement at the time. She counts nearly 30 million followers across social mediaher posts of herself wearing Nikes swoosh generated more than $2 million in promotional value for the brand over the past 12 months, according to Hookit, which tracks celebrity influence on social media. Rapaport, a former asset manager at JPMorgan, will oversee the fund's portfolio and new investments. Create an environment where everyone feels seen Joanna Smith-Griffin, AllHere ", "On the other hand, my husband is white, and it's important to me to be inclusive of everyone," she writes. U: Consumer: Marketplace . Top performers include Billie, Daily Harvest, MasterClass and The Wing. FOX Business Flash top headlines for August 29. Only Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion, could draw the mix of bold-faced names who showed up at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows to watch her performance at the U.S. Open on Monday night: Mike Tyson sitting next to Martina Navratilova. Their #BossBeautiesxBarbie You Can Be Anything collection launches today, May 18th. She is determined to be great at everything she does, says Ohanian, who Forbes estimates is worth $70 million on his own. Therefore, it is no surprise that Stillman disclosed that Serena Ventures is interested in other sectors, such as online education. The new digital era has made it a requirement for most major healthcare providers to use digital record-keeping that replaces many of, Read More Five Companies Leading the Way in Electronic Health RecordsContinue, Urban Company is a privately traded company headquartered in Gurgram, India. The recent IPOs for Uber and Lyft included scores of musicians and Hollywood A-listers like Gwyneth Paltrow, Jay-Z and Olivia Munn, who got in early and cashed in big. But more important: She has figured out at Serena Ventures how to harness it. Billie is a wellness company that offers shaving supplies and body products. It can be challenging to find the right company to invest in, but thanks to Serena Ventures broadening its vision, it only needs a recommendation from those already in its portfolio. participation from Serena, ISAI and Frdric Mazzella, et al. Custom Food Spend Analysis: Gain deep insights into your food spending habits and identify opportunities to optimize costs. Sign up for notifications from Insider! Were excited to announce Serena Ventures is among the top 100 new venture funds. Top performers include Billie, Daily Harvest, MasterClass and The Wing. The founding partners of Serena Ventures are Ms. Williams and Alison Rapaport Stillman. Founded in 2014, Serena Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Washington, District of Columbia. "It's kind of jaw-dropping," says Robinson, who earned his MBA from Columbia Business School. Since the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer, billions of dollars in new money has come from Black investors, much of it being funneled into Black-owned businesses, she says. And that voice is amplified exponentially when dealing with an early-stage brand, rather than one like Nike. Serena Williams ' venture capital firm Serena Ventures and dating app Bumble have joined a funding round for Alice, a tech company that helps small businesses launch and scale and asks. As word spreads around the club that the worlds most famous tennis player is hitting balls in their midst, a crowd predictably gathers, the youngest among them squealing, Serena!, the oldest snapping and sharing pictures. 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. Of the 34 companies shes backed through Serena Ventures, more than three quarters are early-stage. She shared a pair of videos in an Instagram story of her entourage eating Daily Harvest meals ahead of her hosting duties for the Met Gala. Investment Stage Early Stage Venture. Founded Date 2014. She added that it is not about having the biggest company on board but about having that one company that has a major social or global impact. An Impossible Foods sign is displayed during the company's grocery store product launch in Los Angeles on Sept. 20, 2019. Serena Williams talks mom guilt, her venture capital firm & 'King . Now, she's looking at giving back in sports by partnering with Secret to find ways to push . Which piece of advice is most helpful to you at this point in your career? 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. That optimism, she says, is in contrast to just six years ago, when she co-founded BLCK VC, a network of Black venture capital investors with the stated aim "to connect, engage, empower, and advance Black venture investors." "But what I will say is now founders are the ones that come to investors and say, 'I want to diversify my capital.' Click the link below to read more! And a 2020 Brookings Institution report concludes that a shortage of businesses owned by African Americans in the U.S. "throttles employment and the development of Black communities.". As one of the better product endorsers of this century, its something shes honed in ways that most musicians and actors (who turn up their noses at most product deals) have not. 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. SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Alice, a free platform that guides business owners through the growth of their company, today announced Bumble and Serena Ventures as investors in Alice that will ensure every founder, no matter their background, has the opportunity to launch and scale. Rapaport arrived at Williams home outside San Francisco for a Sunday meeting at noon armed with investment ideas and two bags of takeout, make-your-own tacos, and she handled Ohanians rapid-fire follow-up emails with aplomb. Ms. Hirsch studied comparative literature at Cornell University and has an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. I dont gamble. Still, that's not nearly enough, says Elliott Robinson, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. After 20 years in the spotlight, Williams knows how to handle the star power. Tennis great Billie Jean King spoke in a tribute to Williams after the match (in which Williams defeated Danka Kovinic of Montenegro in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3), recalling how she first met Williams and her sister Venus in April 1988 at a tennis clinic for 1,200 kids, when Serena was six and Venus was sevenand how even then, Serenas serve stood out. Investments will go into early-stage companies that value "individual empowerment, creativity and opportunity," according to the, Serena Ventures' investments span numerous industries, including food, health and wellness, e-commerce, and fashion. Other investors that participated in the round included Oak HC/FT, Temasek, Novo Holdings, Sequoia Capital, RRE and Samsung Ventures. Congratulations to Zitti Inc. on the launch of their self-serve option! Stay up to date with what you want to know. Serena Ventures was created to give opportunities to a diverse set of founders, the firm said, particularly women and people of color. Allen Lee is a Toronto-based freelance writer who studied business in school but has since turned to other pursuits. Athletes are richer than ever, thanks to the explosion in TV rights fees for live sporting events, which trickle down to players. Additionally, the investment firm will work to mentor young founders and emerging entrepreneurs. Serena Ventures - Investments, Portfolio & Company Exits - Crunchbase The dating and networking app Bumble added Williams as an endorser for 2019, including a Super Bowl ad. It really shaped me for the rest of my career both on and off the court in terms of taking a chance and how to be different and how to stand out, Williams says of his strategy. The rate of Williams investments has ramped up in lockstep with the onboarding of a portfolio manager. 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. Thank you for your leadership and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, especially for women and women of color, King said, to cheers from the sold-out crowd. I want to create a brand that has longevity, kind of like my career, she says. Between Reddit and his $500 million fund, Initialized Capital, Ohanian does his part. YC-backed fintech Numida raises $12.3M led by Serena Ventures to extend I think it is the best of all opportunities, and she can essentially cherry-pick from the top VC firms on deals that are interesting that come her way and at the same time she still has her own deal flow from folks who want her to invest., Change Agent: "A lot of people say what I do on the court is amazing, but I feel like thats just the beginning," says Williams. That kind of investor-as-rainmaker power translates into another benefit: deal flow. Youd see different people walking down the street with AK-47s and think, 'Time to get in the house,' she remembers of those early years. Williams already has invested in over 60 startups through Serena Ventures, arguing that the best way to nurture them to greatness is by being involved in their growth at the early stages. The list includes the top 50 breakthrough companies that show promising scalability and the potential to disrupt established industries. Of the 34 companies shes backed through Serena Ventures, more than three quarters are early-stage. Serena Ventures, with its motto "Play to Win," has funneled money into promising new ventures, raising $111 million of outside financing for new investments so far this year, Williams says. #restaurants #restaurantbusiness #restaurantmanagement #hospitalityindustry #foodservice #restaurantowners #IndependentRestaurants #FoodCostControl #restaurantoperations #KitchenEfficiency #MenuEngineering. 4 min read Serena Williams. The company developed an autonomous platform. What We Know About Serena Williams Venture Capital Firm - Money Inc This feature is in beta and may change with future updates. And over the past five years, shes been quietly dropping money into 34 startups. This story appears in the June 30, 2019 issue of Forbes Magazine. Serena Ventures Serena Williams launched Serena Ventures in 2014 and has invested in over 60 companies. The Firm Has Broadened Its Vision Since Its Founding, It is Looking for New Sectors to Invest In, 20 Things You Didnt Know About Anduril Industries, Five Companies Leading the Way in Electronic Health Records, 20 Things You Didnt Know about Urban Company, How Rayna Vallandingham Achieved a Net Worth of $600,000, How Sean Payton Achieved a Net Worth of $24 Million. Williams plans to launch an S by Serena jewelry line this year and one of beauty products in 2020. 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. https://lnkd.in/eh5zyfsD, Congratulations to Esusu Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, Wemimo Abbeyand Samir Goel,for becomingEYEntrepreneur Of The Year 2023 New York Award winners! She is more passionate than 99% of the people in this space, says Lyons. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/g2pWT_bh What better way to preach that message? asks Williams. he story of how sisters Serena and Venus Williams reached the top of the tennis world is the stuff of Hollywood legend: A black father with limited tennis experience homeschools his two daughters and teaches them on the streets of Compton, California, to penetrate and then dominate a lily-white sport. 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. Serena Ventures Investments With all this commerce, Williams says shell continue to abbreviate her on-the-court schedule, prioritizing the Grand Slam events that burnish her brand. Just 2.3% of the total venture capital invested last year in the U.S. went to women-led startupsand even when including firms with both a male and female founder, youre just at 10%. Esusu is available in 2 million homes representing more than $2.4 billion in gross lease value nationwide. Ive been really leaning on Alexis, she says. But like a ground stroke with torque, Williams bets she can eventually dwarf those figures by leveraging some of her own cash with her name and fame. The night was filled with incredible discussions, and we look forward to continuing to foster these connections! And she says, No, its true. And I literally couldnt wrap my mind around the fact that 98 percent of all of this money were talking about billions of dollars goes to one type of individual.. I dont gamble. Serena Ventures has already invested in more than 30 companies, including the Wing, MasterClass, and Brandless. Bumble and Serena Ventures invest in Alice Series A We asked startup founders (including some funded by Serena Ventures) for their best advice Currently, Lee is practicing the smidgen of Chinese that he picked up while visiting the Chinese mainland in hopes of someday being able to read certain historical texts in their original language. "Furthermore, the underrepresentation of Black businesses is costing the U.S. economy millions of jobs and billions of dollars in unrealized revenues," the Brookings report says. Now thats changing. As their business has, Read More 20 Things You Didnt Know about Urban CompanyContinue, Jack Ma, a teacher who created Alibaba, began operations in 1999. Global Startup Funding & Investors Data [July-Dec 2021] Five months later, in a cover article in Vogue, Williams, 40, announced she would retire from tennis after playing at the U.S. Open. Gift this new digital Barbie doll to women and girls in your life to inspire them to dream big! Smoller, her longtime endorsement agent, recalls a recent meeting at Nike. When everyone zigs, she zags. I want to be the brand, instead of just being the face. Given her longtime background in style and design, that means overweighting on fashion lines, jewelry and beauty products. I go up to her afterward and asked, Tell me about this 2 percent I know maybe you misspoke, Ms. Williams recounted. Im the most non-taking-a-chance kind of a person, but I felt like seed was where we wanted to be., Given the exponential riskiness involved in pre- and early-revenue companies, Williams has built a team of Silicon Valley mentors around her, much as Patrick Mouratoglou has guided Williams on the court and WMEs Jill Smoller has handled her endorsementsalmost a quarter-billion worthfor nearly two decades. Read more: How Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian and tennis superstar Serena Williams met and fell in love. Williams returned the favor when she hosted a baby shower for the Duchess of Sussex in February. The numbers are worse for black and Hispanic founders. While shes known as a fashion icon, she has cashed in only via others platforms, whether through endorsements or partnerships. While Serena Williams Plays Her Final Matches At U.S. Open - Forbes Rapaport arrived at Williams home outside San Francisco for a Sunday meeting at noon armed with investment ideas and two bags of takeout, make-your-own tacos, and she handled Ohanians rapid-fire follow-up emails with aplomb. Whether you're a small local eatery or a growing chain, Zitti is here to help you thrive in the ever-evolving food industry. 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 appeared on Forbes 2022 list of Americas Richest Self-Made Women in June worth an estimated $260 million. Market data provided byFactset. 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. According to Crypto Potato, she teamed up with Cash App to offer an avenue for women and people of color to invest in bitcoin. 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. Williams has a net worth of $260 million, according to real-time tracking by Forbes. As one of the better product endorsers of this century, its something shes honed in ways that most musicians and actors (who turn up their noses at most product deals) have not. #EOYUS #EOYNY, Our incredible portco Calico AI, a production management platform for DTC brands, is hiring! The tennis stars firm, Serena Ventures, will invest in founders with diverse points of view. Although the venture capital firm is usually described as a new early-stage firm, it has been in existence since 2014. Serena Ventures invests in companies that embrace diverse leadership, individual empowerment, creativity and opportunity. But Serena Williams wouldnt be one of the all-time great competitors without also needing to invest more in herself. "But I am more optimistic than I have ever been. Yes, theres a social purpose to that decision. Overall, Ohanian is skeptical of the trend. But more important: She has figured out at Serena Ventures how to harness it. The regal surroundings befit a historic figure of American sport, who has 23 Grand Slam titles and has blown away any number of barriers and stereotypes. 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. And the unicorns? I want to be in the infrastructure. he story of how sisters Serena and Venus Williams reached the top of the tennis world is the stuff of Hollywood legend: A black father with limited tennis experience homeschools his two daughters and teaches them on the streets of Compton, California, to penetrate and then dominate a lily-white sport. Smoller, her longtime endorsement agent, recalls a recent meeting at Nike. See the latest thinkpieces and advice from our unparalleled network of founders, business leaders, influencers and the team behind Serena Ventures (including Serena Williams and Alison Rapaport Stillman). With over 50 portfolio companies with a $33 billion market cap and 60 percent diverse founder investments, Serena Ventures is making waves in the venture capital world by investing in mission-driven companies. Ive been really leaning on Alexis, she says. Three executives of companies in the Serena Ventures portfolioDaily Harvest, the woman-centric co-working space The Wing, and Lola, a natural tampon brandnetworked at the first-ever Bumble Fund Summit in April. The 23-time Grand Slam winner has taken an interest in investing in start-ups since meeting her . SportTechie is brand of Sports Business Journal, which is affiliated . Serena Ventures, Bumble fund tech company with MeToo 'morality clause' But it turns out that Williams has quietly been playing that game, too. Investments will go into early-stage companies that value "individual empowerment, creativity and opportunity," according to the company's website. The numbers are worse for black and Hispanic founders. The two celebrate, in part, with the kind of outing anyone whos not the most famous woman athlete in the world takes for granted: a stroll in a hotel garden with their joint venture, 22-month-old Olympia, in tow. Stillman explained that having a diverse team led by women ensures that the mission is met without straining. Shes at a level where she wants to understand the process and methods, which I think a lot of people dont expect. In May last year, Serena Ventures launched a self-funded, direct-to-consumer clothing line, S by Serena. In 2019, the year that Williams became the first athlete to appear on Forbes annual list of Americas Richest Self-Made Women, Forbes interviewed Williams about her plans as an investor and featured her in a cover story for the magazine. Onstage at an event, Ms. Seidman-Becker said less than 2 percent of venture money went to women. But she is one of the few specifically gearing investments around a single north star: herself. On Serena Williams calendarwhich is to calendars what Jackson Pollock paintings are to artSaturdays are designated family time. Serena Ventures has a portfolio of 60 companies, including SendWave, MasterClass, and Daily Harvest. Serena Williams raises $111 million for new venture fund. And the unicorns? Stefan Mitu, VU Venture Partners In 2014, Serena Williams launched Serena Ventures with the mission of giving opportunities to founders across an array of industries. While a dinosaur in the tennis world at 37, she still figures she has two or maybe even three years left. "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. The 50 highest-paid athletes in the world made $2.6 billion last year, versus $1 billion 15 years ago. Im the most non-taking-a-chance kind of a person, but I felt like seed was where we wanted to be., Given the exponential riskiness involved in pre- and early-revenue companies, Williams has built a team of Silicon Valley mentors around her, much as Patrick Mouratoglou has guided Williams on the court and WMEs Jill Smoller has handled her endorsementsalmost a quarter-billion worthfor nearly two decades.
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