A world-class athlete, businesswoman, and philanthropist, Serena Williams has announced her venture capital firm Serena Ventures.
The savvy entrepreneur went to Instagram to announce her 2014 launched firm which has been secret since it was founded.
“I launched Serena Ventures with the mission of giving opportunities to founders across an array of industries. Serena Ventures invests in companies that embrace diverse leadership, individual empowerment, creativity and opportunity. We have so many exciting things coming up!” she wrote on her Instagram page which reaches over 10.9 million users.
Her VC fund has invested undisclosed amounts into over 30 companies across multiple industries in education, cryptocurrencies, e-commerce, food and beverage, fashion, health and wellness among others.
Williams is also an investor in Bumble Fund, Bumble dating app’s arm for investing into businesses founded by women of color. She is also a board member of Poshmark and SurveyMonkey and runs her own clothing line, Serena.
Apart from Andela and Coinbase, Serena Ventures has invested into smoothie and bowls delivery service Daily Harvest; Billie, a women-focused razor subscription startup; and co-working startup The Wing and Propel, a financial software for low-income Americans.
“Serena Ventures focuses on early stage companies, and giving them the opportunity to be heard. As we grow, we hope to mentor young founders and take burgeoning entrepreneurs to the next level. Serena Ventures extends relationships, encourages collaboration among portfolio companies, and expands partnership opportunities across my vast network. Similar to many of the companies we have invested in, we are just getting started and are hoping to make a difference,” the firm said on its website.
The fund is run by Alison J. Rapaport. As Vice President of Serena Ventures, Alison oversees portfolio management and sourcing new investments. Previously, Alison worked at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in Multi- Asset Solutions and led the development of the firm’s Alternative Beta offering.
Alison graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, with a Bachelor of Science in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Operations & Information Management and a minor in Psychology. She is a CFA charterholder and earned her MBA from Harvard Business School.
