Serena Williams on Tennis Discipline Fueling CEO Drive
In a feature for her new show, Serena Williams discussed how the discipline she cultivated during her tennis career has been instrumental in her role as a CEO. The former athlete explained that the focus and resilience required in professional sports are directly applicable to the challenges of leading a business.
- The new show is a Prime Video docuseries titled "The CEO Club," which follows Williams and other female executives as they manage their businesses and personal lives. Williams also serves as an executive producer for the series through her company, 926 Productions. - Serena Ventures, her venture capital firm founded in 2014, raised an inaugural fund of $111 million in 2022. The firm focuses on early-stage companies and has a portfolio where 79% of founders come from underrepresented backgrounds, with 54% being women. - Her investment portfolio includes over 60 companies, with 14 having achieved unicorn status (a valuation of over $1 billion). Notable investments include MasterClass, Impossible Foods, Tonal, and Noom. - In December 2022, Williams launched "Will Perform," a brand focused on clean, cruelty-free topical pain relief and muscle care products. This venture was co-founded with CPG veterans Hank Mercier and Eric Ryan, who was behind brands like Method and OLLY. - Williams expanded into the beauty industry in 2024 with the launch of "Wyn Beauty." The brand offers a range of "makeup you can move in" and donates a portion of its profits to support maternal health organizations. - Beyond her own companies, Williams has a significant stake in the NFL's Miami Dolphins, which she and her sister Venus acquired in 2009, making them the first Black women to hold a minority stake in an NFL team. She is also a co-owner of the NWSL's Angel City FC. - Her long-standing partnership with Nike, which began in 2003, has evolved beyond endorsements. It now includes the Serena Williams Design Crew, an apprenticeship program founded in 2019 to promote diversity in design by giving emerging designers a platform. - To prepare for her career in venture capital, Williams spent time in Silicon Valley, sitting in on offices, and calling CEOs to ask questions. She also served on the boards of companies like Survey Monkey and Poshmark to learn the process of taking a company public.
