Lupe Rose, The CEO Launching A New Era Of Women’s Sports
Learn how this CEO is ushering in a new age of female empowerment
What is a maverick? Someone who breaks the rules, achieves success, and changes the world.
Who is Lupe Rose?
Lupe Rose is the president of She Beverage and CEO of the Women’s Football League Association. Having started her career in radio, she has worked as a brand developer and entrepreneur in the entertainment industry for over a decade.
Kicking Off the Women’s Football League Association (WFLA)
Lupe is fighting for equality in sports by introducing the first professional women’s football league to pay its players. Female athletes, en masse, are severely underpaid in comparison to their male counterparts. By using the NFL’s structure as a guideline, Lupe is collaborating with stadiums and negotiating TV licenses to set a better standard for women’s wages in sports. As CEO of She Beverage, Lupe also plans to use her brand to help fund the WFLA and usher in a new era of female sports.
The Queen of Ale
Lupe grew up in Baldwin Village, once known as “The Jungle” of Los Angeles. Because her family struggled with poverty, Lupe was forced to work hard for everything she had. After obtaining a degree in business and marketing, she began her career working in radio. At age 21, she sold her first original idea to McDonald’s for $500,000.
Eventually, Lupe founded West Swagg Music Group where she helped music artists creatively and landed a distribution deal with Universal. In 2009, she and her business partner founded She Beverage, which catered alcoholic drinks specifically to women. After trademarking “The Queen of Ale” they officially launched in 2014 and branched out to include vitamin water. When another company offered her $500M for her product, Lupe knew she was onto something spectacular and declined the offer.
While developing products for the Dodgers and working with the WNBA, Lupe heard several stories of women expressing desire to play in the NFL. In order to fulfill this desire and eliminate discrimination in a male dominated industry, Lupe decided to launch the WFLA. By creating this league, Lupe is able to push female empowerment in sports while also creating new opportunities for women.
She Beverage as an IPO
According to Lupe, She Beverage is days away from going public and is the first female and minority owned company of its kind to do so. She excited is excited about the many new opportunities this brings to her brand, which has already acquired many subsidiaries. One of these companies includes Pickupp, a transportation service similar to Uber. They will also be launching She Meets, a new dating app geared towards women.
The WFLA has many teams open for investment and recently sold the New York Stars to Ja Rule. Several colleges have already reached out to Lupe and the league asking about recruitment opportunities for their students. Next year the WFLA will hold exhibition games to introduce the league and its players to the public. The WFLA is expected to officially launch in 2021.
What Keeps Her up at Night?
“Honestly, since we decided to go public and I have investors, friends, and family who believed in me and this company, the thought that consumes me the most is doing right by them — keeping my word, pushing as hard as I can to build something they are proud to be a part of, and building a legacy for my family.”
If She Had a Billboard for 24 Hours, What Would it Say?
Never Give Up!
What is Lupe’s GREY Style?
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
