Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, husband to Serena Williams, and father to 7-year-old daughter Olympia is speaking out and sharing how his eldest daughter inspired a $100 million business deal. And trust us, the details are so sweet, you’ll want to hear them.
Speaking at the at the Forbes 3050 Summit in Abu Dhabi over the weekend, Ohanian detailed how just before he parted ways with Reddit in 2020, he was looking for other business ventures to either invest in or start. Little did he know that the idea would come during the 2019 FIFA World Cup through his daughter and a simple jersey she was sporting of former soccer player Alex Morgan.
This, in turn, would inspire him to create his venture capital tech company Seven Seven Six, which he used to invest in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team Angel City FC. Additionally, he also founded Athlos NYC, an event centering all-women track and field sports.
“I commented to my wife, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be nice one day if Olympia played on the national team?’ And without missing a beat, Serena said, ‘Not until she’s paid what she’s worth.’ And I said, ‘Alright, challenge accepted,’” he explained as captured by Essentially Sports.
He continued:
Olympia was in many ways my North Star and I said I want to keep building businesses and I want to be doing it in a way that I know I’m gonna be proud of and so that’s why I started 776, seeded it with $100 million of my own money and said I am going to use this to drive the best business outcomes in a way that I can brag to my daughters and grandkids about one day.
Additionally, and as noted by MSNBC, Ohanian further reiterated his desire to see both a change in women’s sports and a huge return on his investment.
“Investing in women’s professional sports was unthinkable five years ago,” he said. “I had so many random people on the internet, to other investors who I respected — they all told me I was going to lose all my money — it would never work and I’m very happy to prove them wrong.”