Woman of Influence Serena Williams is a #GirlBoss. Serena is an outlier and the most impressive part of her story is winning not just on the tennis court but winning in the boardroom as well.

Being the brand and not just the face:

I want to be a part of it, I want to be in the infrastructure. I want to be the brand, instead of just being the face. In 2014, (yes, I know I can keep a secret) 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.

Serena Williams Instagram

Drive to succeed

Serena is not your typical tennis player. She is African American woman in a game ruled by upper class, blonde and blue-eyed women. She had to learn how to be comfortable standing out and fitting in with the culture of tennis.

Meghan and Serena are both California girls with a drive to succeed. Meghan in her fashion business and philanthropic work and Serena in tennis and now venture capital. Both Serena and Meghan believe in women’s empowerment a passion and drive for excellence that cemented their friendship.

Women need a seat at the table, they need an invitation to be seated there and, in some cases, where this isn’t available, well then you know what, then they need to create their own table.

The Duchess of Sussex when she was Meghan Markle

Serena Ventures a Total Boss Move

Serena has set her sights on venture capital and launched a venture fund called Serena Ventures. This is a total ‘Boss Move’. Its focused fusion is on early-stage investments in companies led by women and people of color. These are the companies that have trouble getting funded in the world of venture capital. Serena is empowering individuals who have created their own tables to grow in purpose and profit. Serena Ventures has already invested in more than 30 companies.

State of Female Entrepreneurship

• Men get most of the funding from venture capitalists.
• Serena Ventures centers on companies founded by women and minorities to solve the problem of access to capital.
• 2.3% of the total venture capital invested 2018 in the U.S. went to women-led startups
• Women of color get a small fraction of the 2.3% of venture capital (Pitchbook

We are both the same age, love hot sauce, and adore fashion, but what connects us more than those things is perhaps our shared level of ambitiousness.

Meghan Markle

If you want to be great then you must surround yourself with greatness. Meghan Markle’s best friend is history maker and achiever the GREATEST OF ALL TIME Serena Williams. Both Duchess Meghan & Serena are successful in their careers as entrepreneurs ; role models and philanthropists. Their friendship began more than a decade ago read all about it on Meghanpedia.

Duchess Meghan did not wait to be chosen but created her own opportunities. Going forth we intend to share insights on purpose and profit to ensure that young people who look up to the Sussexes will also follow their example of entrepreneurship and create their own opportunities. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spoken about the need to address youth unemployment and this is our small way of amplify the work the Sussexes are doing.