Serena Williams VC fund courts diverse founders

While many may know her as the 23-time Grand Slam champion, Serena Williams is forging a new path in venture capital (VC) with her fund Serena Ventures.

Speaking at Okta’s identity event Oktane22 in San Francisco this week, the entrepreneur and athlete told audiences that her focus as an investor is on improving the stats when it comes to access to capital for female and diverse founders.

“I learned a while ago, that at the time less than two percent of all VC money went to women, I worked backwards from there and started to work on a fund. Because I said the only way to change that number is to change the people writing the cheques,” said Williams.

“If we put women and we put people of colour in these positions, it's going to be more diverse. For me, it's really just changing how the top of the game, the top of the chain evolves.”

While Serena Ventures was founded in 2014, it raised its first outside capital last year, with an inaugural fund of US$111 million directing the capital largely towards women, black and Latino founders.

“We want to just get rid of the unconscious bias and just invest in founders and invest in people that have great ideas,” she said.

“We don't care what you look like, if you have a good idea that can return our fund, we are going to invest in you.”

Despite the lack of diversity across Silicon Valley, Williams is working to improve the problem from the inside out, starting first with her own company.

“We're not trying to change everything, but if everyone looks inside their own company and change how they do some things, and see how other successful companies do it that's how you create real change.

"But it starts with you. It starts with each individual trying to do that and that's what I want to do for myself and I would never want to build a company any other way.”

When it comes to the future of Serena Ventures, Williams is ambitious – looking to create more unicorns and even decacorns.

If anyone can do it, why not a world champion?

“I dream big,” she ended.

Velvet-Belle Templeman travelled to San Francisco to attend Oktane22 as a guest of Okta.