A few months ago, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian proudly tweeted, “A lot of people are shocked by the sudden surge in valuation around women’s sports. Do you know who is definitely not shocked? Me.” Ohanian’s confident tone expressed his belief that women’s sports are on the cusp of receiving the long-overdue recognition. Now, months after that impactful statement, Serena Williams’ husband made another prediction, envisioning a promising future for women athletes.
Ohanian attended Sportico’s Invest in Sports conference in New York’s Nasdaq Marketplace where he made a big prediction about women’s sports. This Reddit co-founder and his venture firm Seven Seven Six have been pivotal advocates of equality in sports highlighting women athletes especially. Ohanian also owned the largest shares of NWSL’s Angel City FC before it was sold to Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife Willow Bay. Ohanian’s passion project, a women’s only track and field initiative, Athlos speaks volumes of his dedication to empowering women athletes financially and socially. This tech stalwart’s vision brought a change and Angel City FC is the most valuable women’s sports franchise in the US with a value of $250 million. Now, Ohanian’s latest prophecy for women’s sports highlighted his belief in the expansion of women’s sports.
Ohanian was asked one question at the Sportico conference’s Business of Women’s Sport panel and it was whether he believes this sector would reach a billion-dollar value in the future. Needless to say, Ohanian completely agreed with the fact saying, “For sure”. The Reddit co-founder shared the moment on his IG platform and wrote, “As I said at the @sportico Business of Women’s Sports Panel, there will be a $B women’s sports franchise by 2030. Mark my words!” His words showed his confidence in the expansion. After this, Ohanian revealed how the idea of investing in this field came to his mind.
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View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alexis Ohanian Sr. (@alexisohanian)
This Reddit co-founder revealed the unique investment aspect in women’s sports compared to early-age startup investment. He said the Angel City FC was founded because of his discussion with Alex Morgan, a former NWSL and USWNT player, and a businesswoman currently. “I decided, okay, I got to do it, Started talking to existing owners (about) buying their teams. And by the end of 2019, had paid a million dollars, which was in price for an expansion at that point for what would become Angel City FC. And most of my friends in investing said I would lose all of my money at the same time,” he said.
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Now, Serena Williams‘ husband is a true feminist and his dedication to empowering women’s sports proves that well. He recently donated a large sum to the University of Virginia’s women’s basketball team offering them great exposure, limelight, and opportunities.
Alexis Ohanian boosted the motivation of the University of Virginia’s women’s basketball team
Ohanian recently visited his alma mater and made a mega donation for the progress of the university’s female basketball team. Although the amount is undisclosed, the donation definitely offers a huge prospect of progress for female sports attracting more investors. After the donation, Ohanian talked to the female basketball players and boosted their confidence by sharing that women’s sports deserve equal spotlight as their male counterparts. Ohanian vowed to help the athletes and thanked their coach for a great job in the team’s overall functionality. A video surfaced on Instagram showed Ohanian addressing the team and its coach by saying, “Coach, credit to you too. Their foundation starts here. It’s just so compelling and I see it out there. It’s gonna be a lot of fun to watch this program.” The Reddit co-founder also vowed to bring his wife Serena Williams next time.
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Alexis Ohanian’s dedication to women’s sports deserves applause. Despite more money-oriented investment opportunities in other fields, Ohanian chooses to work for the empowerment of female athletes – which speaks volumes of his incredible mindset. Ohanian’s hard work has the potential to bring women’s sports to a great height. Do you agree?