GOAT to Venture Capitalist

In the fast-paced world of sports, few names resonate as powerfully as Serena Williams.

Her dominant career was not only incredible but also financially staggering, more than doubling the second highest earner of all time in women’s tennis.

But Serena showed the world she’s more than just a tennis player. Despite her unparalleled success on the court, over two-third of her net worth stems from her ventures beyond the court.

So how did Serena turn from tennis prodigy to business mogul?

Table of Contents

• Who is Serena Williams?

• What is Serena Williams’ Net Worth?

• Serena Williams’ Business Ventures

  • Venture Capitalism

  • Entrepreneurship

  • Media

• The Success Strategies of Serena Williams

• The Bottom Line

Who is Serena Williams?

Born in 1981, Serena, along with her sister Venus, were raised on the rough courts of Compton, California, coached by their father.

A decade later, their journey took a turn when they moved to Florida to attend IMG Academy, a private boarding school for top athletes, setting the stage for Serena’s meteoric rise in the world of tennis.

Serena turned pro at the age of 17, turning heads with her powerful strokes and flawless form.

It only took her 4 years to win her first Grand Slam, a feat most players dream of their entire career.

From there, she soared to unprecedented territory, securing an astounding 23 Grand Slam Singles titles over her 27 year career, just one short of the record on both the women’s and men’s tour (as of the date of writing this).

Before retiring in 2022, she also earned 14 Grand Slam Doubles titles and 4 Olympic Gold medals.

Simply put, Serena was one of the most dominant athletes in the history of sports.

ButSerenais a trailblazer in business too, amassing a net worth that rivals any athlete or businessman.

What is Serena Williams’ Net Worth?

While her on-court prize money is impressive, amassing $94 million in career winnings, Serena’s off-court ventures have pushed her net worth to a staggering $300 million.

As most athletes of her talent do, she signed endorsement deals with industry giants early in her career, including Puma and Nike. 

While most of her contracts are private, we do know she signed a $12 million with Puma in 1998, followed by a $55 million contract with Nike in 2003 that would pay out over eight years.

Serena continued to sign contracts with Nike for undisclosed amounts, and also landed major deals with top-tier brands such as Audemars Piguet, Beats by Dre, Gatorade, Intel, Gucci, Michelob Ultra, and Lincoln.

Serena raked in $45 million just in 2022, earning her rank 49 on Forbes highest paid athletes in 2022-2023, making her the only female to break the top 50.

Serena Williams’ Business Ventures

After retiring from Tennis, Serena Williams channels her time and energy into three distinct ventures spanning across four entities.

Despite juggling a diverse portfolio and early motherhood, Serena continues to showcase her ability to excel across multiple domains.

Venture Capitalism

During a JP Morgan Chase conference in the early 2010s, Serena was presented a sobering statistic: Only 2.4% of venture capital funding was allocated to startups led by female founders, with an even more glaring disparity for people of color. 

Motivated by a shared vision to uplift underrepresented founders, Williams co-founded Serena Ventures in 2013 alongside Alison Rapaport Stilman.

Headquartered in San Francisco, the firm actively seeks early-stage investments, ranging from series A to seed funding, and has received substantial foreign funding support totaling $111 million as of 2022.

Williams has stated that her dedication post-retirement lies with her family and Serena Ventures.

Chase Your Purpose

As of 2024, Serena Ventures boasts a portfolio of over 80 companies.

An impressive 54% are led by female founders and 79% are founders from historically underrepresented backgrounds, including 47% Black and 11% Latino. 

Among the notable investments in female-founded companies are:

• OURS, an online wellness and couples counseling platform, where Serena Ventures participated in pre-seed and seed rounds totaling $5 million.

• Hued, a healthcare access platform catering to African and Latin American communities, which received funding of $1.6 million in 2021.

Serena Ventures has also supported founders from underrepresented backgrounds, including:

• Noom, a subscription-based health and fitness app, funded by Serena Ventures in 2019.

• Esusu, a fintech company revolutionizing rent reporting and credit solutions, which received Series A funding of $10 million in 2021.

• Tonal, a smart home gym system, backed by Serena Ventures in a $45 million Series C round in 2019.

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Another notable investment is Karat, a tech startup facilitating African-American engineers' job placements, securing $110 million in Series C funding in 2021, which Serena Ventures participated in.

Her portfolio currently includes 14 companies valued at over $1 billion.

Serena Ventures is well on the way to achieving Serena’s goal of empowering underrepresented communities and supporting female-founded startups.

Entrepreneurship

Serena has explored entrepreneurship across various industries.

Her first businesses include S by Serena, a clothing line, and Serena Williams Jewelry. However, it appears these ventures didn't achieve the anticipated success, as the websites no longer appear operational, instead redirecting visitors to her main portfolio site.

However, her latest venture serves as the culmination of what she has learned from her previous endeavors.

Problem Solver

Williams recently started Wyn Beauty in collaboration with Good Glamm Group in Q2, 2024.

The crux of Wyn Beauty's inception lies in Serena’s own quest for a solution. 

Priced affordably between $18 and $29, these vegan products are tailored to endure sweat and an active lifestyle.

Serena was faced with the challenge of finding makeup that could withstand her active lifestyle during her entire tennis career. 

But she never found a solution. So, she created one.

Timing is Everything

In 2023, prestige beauty sales surged by 14%, a ripe moment for an entrance into the industry and an opportunity Serena seized.

She recognized there was a niche to fill for makeup suited to an active lifestyle, an idea she had long before the launch of Wyn Beauty.

But Serena didn't rush her venture to market. 

Despite the growing demand for celebrity beauty brands, she prioritized quality over haste. Serena shared that the process of selecting ingredients and ensuring the product met her standards took more time and iterations than initially expected. 

She not only found an opportune moment to launch her brand, but also took the time to create a superior product and delivered precisely when the market was primed for it.

Reviews have been positive so far for Wyn.

Focus on Alignment

Serena shows a deep understanding of her personal brand—a fact that became even more apparent with the launch of her health and wellness brand, Will Perform, in December 2022.

Once again, she addressed a significant pain point she experienced during her playing career: the absence of a reliable recovery solution.

In her quest to find the right partner for this venture, Williams connected with Eric Ryan through a mutual acquaintance in the venture capital world, a seasoned product innovator known for co-founding several successful digital brands.

Williams swiftly recognized Ryan shared a similar vision for her brand: From fitness classes to the rise of athleisure wear, health and wellness are integral aspects of modern lifestyles, particularly for millennials.

Together, they identified a gap in the recovery market. In an industry that predominantly targets older, male consumers, Will Perform would pursue a younger demographic.

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The company raised $3 million in 2023 and has since made its way from Shopify to the shelves of Target and Walmart stores.

Hands-On Leader

An overarching lesson Serena Williams gleaned from her older sister, Venus, is the importance of hands-on involvement—a principle she applies across all her endeavors.

While Williams admits she has had to learn to delegate, she remains deeply engaged in every aspect of her ventures. 

Whether it's Wyn or Will Perform, Williams insists on being hands-on.

For Wyn, personally testing each product was non-negotiable.

Likewise, with Will Perform, Williams was intimately involved in the design of the product's packaging and testing.

The outcome? She has not only delivered products she would personally endorse but also honors her commitment to her fans.

In an era where many leaders opt for a more detached, big-picture approach, Williams embraces an "in-the-trenches" mentality.

Media

Williams' foray into multimedia production began with the launch of Nine Two Six Productions in Q2 of 2023.

Fresh off the success of her role as Executive Producer of the Oscar-nominated film "King Richard," which told the story of her father, Serena joined forces with Caroline Currier, a notable figure in the entertainment industry.

With several projects already in the pipeline,Williams again assumes a hands-on approach, overseeing every aspect of production at the studio.

Consistent Message, Consistent Purpose

In her multimedia endeavors, Serena remains consistent in her commitment to empowering women and diverse individuals through storytelling.

Williams understands the power of storytelling to effect change and inspire audiences, and her unwavering dedication to providing opportunities and amplifying voices within underrepresented communities is both admirable and inspiring.

By bringing stories that reflect diverse experiences and perspectives to life, she seeks to produce content that not only entertains but educates and motivates viewers to think critically about social issues and foster positive change in their communities.

Across her Production Company and Venture Capitalist firm, Williams maintains a consistent message around her personal brand, underscoring her clarity of purpose in her post-retirement pursuits.

The Success Strategies of Serena Williams

1. Pain Point Recognition: Serena keeps an eye out for pain points and creates solutions to her problems.

2. Hands-On Leader: In a world where many leaders tend to section themself off to the “big-picture,” Serena stays actively involved at every stage of development.

3. Two Sides of Time: Serena took the necessary time to craft a superior product, but still remained vigilant to not miss out on launching while the product market was exploding.

4. Alignment: Serena remains authentic in her personal branding and ensures her products and partnerships align with her entire ecosystem.

5. Purpose-Driven Pursuits: Serena has found fulfillment and success by relentlessly pursuing her purpose.

The Bottom Line

Serena embodies the traits of a true leader and has found success and fulfillment in the pursuit of her purpose 2 years into retirement.

By looking introspectively to identify problems and crafting authentic solutions, she has used her entrepreneurial ventures to fit seamlessly into her personal brand.

She has remained consistent in her pursuit to to mission to support female founders and underrepresented backgrounds, and has built multiple platforms to ___ her message.

Serena’s ventures go to show that helping others not only leads to a fulfilling life, but can also lead to success in business also.