Serena Williams: 2% funding for women sounds like an “embarrassing mistake”

“If women and people of colour aren’t on [a company’s] cap table, why would you invest in them?” Serena Williams asked during a conversation with veteran tech journalist Kara Swisher at HubSpot’s Inbound conference in Boston.

On top of being one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Williams has run her own VC firm, Serena Ventures, for the past 10 years. For Williams, ensuring underrepresented voices hold real power in companies is critical for equity, as well as building businesses that reflect the real world.

From the court to the boardroom: How Serena Williams’ upbringing shaped her venture into investing

Williams was interested in business from a young age. Her father, Richard Williams, played a pivotal role in shaping her approach to investing, instilling the importance of having a backup plan.

“[My dad] always said that you have to have a plan B… an athlete’s career could be over any minute, anything can happen,” Willians said.

“So my dad always said ‘education first’. We couldn’t train unless we got straight A’s. If we brought home a B, we would miss tennis and do tons of school work.”

This mindset pushed her to look beyond sport and consider what her life might be like after her athletic career ended, ultimately leading her into the world of investing.

And this began long before she put down her racquet professionally. During the interview, she recalled seeing early advertisements for big tech companies such as Google while on the court, wondering how she could get in on similar ventures during their infancy.

This experience has driven her focus on investing in “boring but important” companies that may not be glamorous but solve critical problems.

Part of William’s decision to start her own VC firm was the realisation of how few women were receiving funding.

“I was in a room with a lot of people that didn’t look like me. And that’s where I learned that less than 2% of women were getting VC money. I thought it was a misquote, I thought it was a mistake,” Williams said.

“I think everyone in this room — when they hear these numbers of how many women are getting invested — should have the same reaction I had. That it can’t be true. That somebody made a mistake — an embarrassing mistake.”

That statistic became a driving force behind her mission to help shift the landscape of who gets funded.

Why Williams believes diversity and “boring” companies are the future of VC

William’s first fund raised $111 million – a number chosen due to her determination to always be number one.

The fund currently has 24 companies in its portfolio and primarily invests in pre-seed and seed stage startups, but is also pushing into Series A.

Her investment thesis is centered on broader impact: “When we go in, we ask, ‘Is this affecting a lot of people’s lives?’ Because, let’s face it, it’s the 98% of the world that really makes a difference, not the elite 2%. That’s the kind of impact I want to make as a founder and an investor.”

Williams stressed she’s interested in investing in what some might call “boring” companies that solve everyday problems.

She ties this to the need for diverse founders and people on cap tables. They’re going to be better positioned to create products and services that truly address the needs of the broader population.

“I love the story of the woman who created diapers, and men were like, ‘Nobody would ever use that. It’s a freaking diaper,” Williams said.

One of the examples she gives from the Serena Ventures portfolio is Esusu – a company that helps renters build credit by reporting on-time rent payments—something traditionally not factored into credit scores.

“It’s not just about the CEO or the founder. It’s about who’s holding the money and making the decisions,” she said.

Williams says there are limitations to her individual efforts, but she hopes that her work in the VC space will have a knock-on effect.

“We are absolutely not going to be able to change the landscape, but my voice will be heard,” Williams said.

“Then maybe someone else will catch on and then someone else and then someone else. And I feel like that is starting to happen.”

Williams said there are amazing women investors out there, but change starts from top to bottom – from investors, to founders to being on the cap table.

“We need that representation completely,” Williams said.

“I feel like that was something that was calling me – to use my platform so I can shout out – ‘invest in women!’”

The author travelled to Inbound in Boston as a guest of HubSpot.

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