{"id":97998,"date":"2025-10-14T00:16:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T00:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2025\/10\/14\/serena-williams-shares-her-vc-philosophy-and-why-she-backs-startups-solving-for-the-98\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T00:17:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T00:17:26","slug":"serena-williams-shares-her-vc-philosophy-and-why-she-backs-startups-solving-for-the-98","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2025\/10\/14\/serena-williams-shares-her-vc-philosophy-and-why-she-backs-startups-solving-for-the-98\/","title":{"rendered":"Serena Williams Shares Her VC Philosophy and Why She Backs Startups Solving for the 98%"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n

23-time singles Grand Slam champion Serena Williams is searching for tech founders with a compelling story to inform.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The tennis icon turned focused on know-how lengthy earlier than retiring from the game in 2022. In 2017, whereas nonetheless on the skilled event circuit, Williams teamed up with Alison Rapaport Stillman to discovered Serena Ventures, a enterprise capital agency investing in early stage tech firms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The agency raised $111 million for its inaugural fund and has since constructed out the staff to incorporate six different members. Serena Ventures has backed firms like gaming upstart Bunch, education-focused social platform Fiveable, Black- and Latinx-focused digital healthcare firm Hued, and a smattering of fintech and web3 firms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the Zeta<\/a> Dwell 2025 convention, Williams spoke candidly about her method to investing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A deal with private connection<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Although Serena Ventures seeks out early indicators of progress and market match, these aren\u2019t the primary components it considers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOne factor that we actually search for is a real story. After we discuss to founders they usually say, \u2018Oh, it is a nice white house,\u2019 we love that, however normally, we\u2019ve discovered that founders don\u2019t do as nicely except they’d some form of private expertise\u201d tying them to their mission, Williams mentioned. \u201cClearly, there must be a market for it, and a market match, however [a personal connection] is among the major issues that we have a look at in founders.\u201d<\/p>\n

One founder within the Serena Ventures portfolio\u2014whose firm she known as a \u201cmain unicorn\u201d\u2014informed her that his mom needed to promote her jewellery to fund his ambitions. He struggled financially to get began, and now, Williams mentioned, \u201che was tackling an thought not as a result of it was a white house\u201d however as a result of he was personally compelled by fixing a particular downside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Serena<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

Dedication to the 98%<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Past a private narrative that signifies a founder\u2019s potential, Williams seems to be for startups that purpose to handle widespread wants.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite a lot of VC focuses on 2% to three% to 4% of the inhabitants. We actually deal with that 98%,\u201d she mentioned.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

She pointed to fintech startup Esusu for example. The corporate experiences hire funds to main credit score bureaus, serving to tenants construct credit score\u2014a profit hardly ever out there since hire has traditionally not counted towards credit score scores.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know the way many individuals are affected by that, and how one can\u2019t construct credit score?\u201d Williams mentioned. \u201cYour automotive invoice works for credit score, however your hire doesn\u2019t. In order that downside is going through [a huge percent] of the inhabitants. And so we strive to have a look at firms that the majority VC folks [would pass up because they] need to deal with that smaller quantity. These are trillion-dollar industries that we\u2019re that have an effect on many of the inhabitants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Backing ladies and other people of coloration<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Since its launch in 2017, Serena Ventures has prioritized ladies founders and people from underrepresented backgrounds, in addition to upstarts growing revolutionary options that search to enhance fairness for ladies and other people of coloration.<\/p>\n

As of final 12 months, greater than half of the businesses in Serena Ventures\u2019 portfolio are women-founded. The portfolio additionally contains virtually 50% Black founders and over 10% Latino founders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a Black lady enterprise capitalist, Williams is uniquely positioned to bolster companies run by folks from underrepresented teams, she mentioned, as a result of \u201cyou must begin on the prime. In case you don\u2019t change that, it doesn\u2019t move down in any respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s actually about who writes the checks,\u201d she continued. \u201cAs soon as you modify who\u2019s writing the checks, then you definitely get totally different founders. When it\u2019s the identical folks writing the checks, they\u2019ll get the identical buyers, and it\u2019s a vicious cycle, proper? <\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve got a number of ladies on our staff. We discover extra underrepresented founders. We discover extra ladies founders. That\u2019s why our portfolio has a lot variety\u2014as a result of we see issues in another way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"FanDuel<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n