2024 has already been predicted as the year when the global women’s sports industry will finally break the $1 billion barrier, and guess what? That’s a straight 300% increase from 2021! While talking about the rapid rise of women’s sports, how can we forget this 41-year-old internet entrepreneur and investor? Serena Williams’ husband has recently invested quite a lot of his time and money toward the growth of women’s sports, and here’s what he has to say about his successful run as a women’s sports investor.
Recently, Ohanian won ADWEEK’s Brand Genius Award for all the work he has done over the last few years, not just in developing companies but also in contributing to communities by elevating women’s sports. Just like Reddit, the world of female athletes has until recently been defined by under-appreciation, both in terms of commercial potential and cultural impact. However, Alexis Ohanian considers this oversight more of an advantage than anything else in the digital age.
Be it Angel City FC, Athlos NYC, or Off Season FC, we have seen multiple initiatives taken by Serena Williams’ husband over the last few months. His portfolio of women’s sports enterprises keeps increasing!
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Reflecting on his initial thoughts about investing in women’s sports during an interview with ADWEEK, Alexis Ohanian stated, “The silver lining of women’s sports being so underinvested was that they were so easy to invest in. You can try anything you want. There is no way that things have been done before.”
Polls of the day Poll 1 of 5 Do you think Alexis Ohanian’s efforts will revolutionize women’s sports? Absolutely Maybe Not really No way What makes Alexis Ohanian’s recognition so special? His groundbreaking work Support from Serena and Venus Impact on the tech industry His dedication to family Whats your Perspective on: Is Alexis Ohanian the unsung hero behind Serena Williams’ success and women’s sports revolution? Have an interesting take? Join The Debate Do you think Grigor Dimitrov’s cryptic comments about ITIA’s role in the Sinner doping controversy are justified? Absolutely Not at all Maybe Need more information Who do you think will dominate the WTA Seoul match? Diana Shnaider Carol Zhao Too close to call Neither
via Getty AUSTIN, TEXAS – MARCH 13: Alexis Ohanian Sr. speaks onstage at “Featured Session: Empowering the Next Generation to Build a Better Future” during the 2023 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Hilton Austin on March 13, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Amy E. Price/Getty Images for SXSW)
Previously, while speaking on his investments in Angel City FC, he had also stated the same about how women’s soccer, in particular, was “tremendously under-resourced, under-marketed, undervalued, underappreciated, under-supported…” So, it was more about taking the opportunity and doing something extraordinary for him. According to Ohanian, social content is mostly driven by women. He believes every platform that has become a success in social media is because of teen girls.
According to multiple reports, female college athletes generate four times the total audience engagement of male athletes. So, this clearly gives us an idea of what Serena Williams‘ husband is trying to make us understand. Who was the main driving force behind such investments in women’s sports for Alexis Ohanian?
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“Serena Williams is the prototype…” – Alexis Ohanian gives credit to his wife for being the major driving force behind these investments
During a conversation on the rise of women’s sports on CNBC, Alexis Ohanian admitted, “The core phenomenon here probably came from a certain someone I’m married to, right? Serena Williams is the prototype for how you can show women’s sports is and can be and should be on the same level as men’s.” Later, he also spoke about how stalwarts like Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Billie Jean King played a crucial role in increasing viewership in women’s tennis compared to men’s events.
Are these the only names that inspired Ohanian to take this route? Well, not really! In an interview with On Her Turf, he revealed that his elder daughter, Olympia, who is also a big soccer fan, played a crucial role in motivating him to invest in Angel City FC. “A big part of the reason why I started Angel City FC was because Olympia was running around, this is 2019 in a Alex Morgan jersey,” said Ohanian. However, he also made it clear to fans that it’s not just them, but many other people and things that helped him start this new journey with women’s sports.
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According to him, the main thing women’s leagues are lacking at the moment is proper investment. “What I think has been missing in all these other leagues is they’re not started from, in Tech we say first principles, they’re started almost as like a well-intentioned charity,” he said in April 2024 during a previous interview.
Share your thoughts on Alexis Ohanian’s heavy investments in the growth of women’s sports.