Serena Williams on becoming an investor and cultivating a new pandemic lifestyle

This week in the #TogetherApart edition of KindredCast, we are thrilled to feature an interview with Serena Williams. With 23 Grand Slam singles titles, four Olympic gold medals, and countless other accolades, it’s hard for many to think of this icon outside of the tennis court. But over the past few years, Serena has proven herself in another competitive sphere; her business acumen and investing eye leave us wondering if there’s anything she can’t do.

LionTree CEO Aryeh Bourkoff joined Serena in conversation on Zoom to discuss how she’s spending her time during the COVID-19 pandemic and what’s on the horizon. Here’s what we learned:

1. Remote work is helping Serena innovate in her entrepreneurial life.

While many entrepreneurs and business leaders are struggling to keep up with the changes necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Serena is moving to the edge of technology to activate her brand.

“Now I feel like there’s going to be an interesting conversation on, first of all, I can reach international better,” Serena said. “I can have calls with Tokyo and London. I don’t have to fly 100 hours a week.” Like many jet setters in quarantine, Serena has come to find that a Zoom, Google Hangout, or Google Meet call can be phenomenally productive, leaving more time for other priorities.

2. Serena tries to spend as much quality time with her family as possible.

With all that travel time freed up, Serena is focusing the extra energy on quality time with her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian Sr., and their two-year-old daughter Olympia. “Like I have my workout now that I’m training again, I’m working out in the mornings and then I have my time, a small block of just straight business, so focused. And then the rest of the day I try to spend with Olympia and I maybe have one more call, but I really try to focus on spending time with my daughter.”

3. Serena invests more than just capital in the companies she supports.

The motto of Serena’s venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, is “ignite change.” Her investment portfolio holds a $12 billion market cap, with the majority of her investments going to companies with diverse founders. More than just an investor, Serena tracks portfolio companies like Billie, Masterclass, Daily Harvest, and Neighborhood Goods as they change the world. “Every time I see something else pop up I’m like, that’s a part of us,” Serena said. “We do love to invest in seed rounds, so we are a really early investor. A lot of our stuff is seed or maybe A. We don’t really like to do too much more after that. I would say about 85% of our portfolio is founded that way. And yeah, I was

saying that sometimes when I’m looking on Instagram or wherever and I see an ad for Masterclass, which is one of our portfolio companies, I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool.’ And I’m like, ‘Wow, Anna Wintour just did a master class. Yes!’”

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Check out our interview with Serena Williams on KindredCast, embedded below or available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the full video of this interview on our YouTube channel.

https://radiopublic.com/kindredcast-insights-from-dealmak-8XRLPj/s1!c5381