"It's really important for me to share my story" - Serena Williams at Black Tech Week in Cincinnati
Serena Williams attended the Black Tech Week in Cincinnati as the keynote speaker and represented her $111 million venture capital fund Serena Ventures.
She spoke about how she invested little by little, while making the occasional bad investment.
"Little by little, I would start investing in one company, and one company, and I made a bad investment here or there," Williams said.
Tennis legend Serena Williams will be the keynote speaker during the Black Tech Week Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio
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With 98% of the funding going to white men and only 2% going to women and people of color, Williams said that it can only be changed if people who look like her are the ones writing the big checks.
"I think the only way to change that is to have people that look like me ... that look like you guys to be writing the big checks. That's when I said I want to start Serena Ventures and expand the angel portfolio, because that number I can't compute," Williams stated.
The 23-time Major champion also said that it was important for her to share her story as people might relate to it and it could help 'get them over the hump'.
"It's really important for me to share my story because you never know you might hear one word that's like 'I've experienced that' or 'I know what you're talking about', and that can get you over the hump," she said.
Serena Williams to compete at Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati
Serena Williams will be back in action in the coming weeks. She is set to compete in the National Bank Open and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, with her name featuring in their respective entry lists.
The 40-year-old will enter both tournaments using a protected ranking and is also on the entry list for the US Open.
Serena made her comeback during the grasscourt season, competing in the doubles tournament at Eastbourne before featuring at Wimbledon. In the latter, she lost to Harmony Tan in the first round.
Having had a taste of game time, it will be interesting to see how Williams fares in the forthcoming tournaments. While she won't be a favorite, she cannot be written off either due to her experience and mentality.