by Jeroslyn JoVonn
September 12, 2025
Serena Williams is channeling her aggressive edge into the boardroom, sharpening her funding technique as startup founders develop into “extra picky.”
Since launching Serena Ventures, the tennis legend has grown the agency right into a $111 million fund with stakes in 16 unicorns, startups valued at over $1 billion. But regardless of her title and status, Williams nonetheless faces challenges securing investments in right this moment’s extremely aggressive market.
“Founders are getting extra picky,” Williams instructed Enterprise Insider.
The quickly shifting tech business is reshaping enterprise capital as high traders pull again, corporations elevate smaller funds extra slowly, and AI startups entice the majority of latest investments. For everybody else, funding is tougher to come back by, pushing founders to weigh whether or not traders provide extra than simply capital.
“Founders are actually evaluating who they wish to companion with,” mentioned Beth Ferreira, a Serena Ventures common companion. “In the event that they don’t consider that our community and the concepts we now have about their firm can change outcomes, we’re not going to get into the deal.”
“I feel more often than not, these founders are realizing that that is completely different and will very a lot complement the remainder of their funding base,” she added.
Amid the business’s shift, Williams famous that her agency is investing as a lot because it did three or 4 years in the past, reflecting the extra cautious market of right this moment. New Serena Ventures acquisitions now demand a more in-depth take a look at whether or not founders are really fixing the issues they got down to handle, a change Williams views as a wholesome shift that pushes each traders and entrepreneurs to be extra strategic about the place capital flows.
“Not all cash is nice cash,” Williams mentioned.
With investments spanning cosmetics, media, and even skilled sports activities groups, Williams emphasised that she’s a companion at her namesake agency, not the only captain steering the ship.
“I stay a companion at Serena Ventures, not in an operational function,” Williams tweeted in response to an “inaccurate” information story about her function on the agency.
“To say that Serena Williams, an individual, and Serena Ventures, an establishment, are one and the identical is inaccurate,” she added.
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