Tennis great Serena Williams’ Serena Ventures investment firm, launched less than two years ago, has invested in more than 30 companies, including Neighborhood Goods, MasterClass, Coinbase, Daily Harvest, Lola and the infant stroller-maker Colugo.
“Colugo is all about design,” she offered during a session at Advertising Week NYC on Tuesday, with CNBC correspondent Julia Boorstin and Verizon CEO Guru Gowrappan. Williams, 37, who returned to top tennis form after having a baby two years ago, admitted she often had difficulty opening up a stroller, which she “hated with all my heart … I don’t have to be a rocket scientist to open this stroller.”
She also said she was pleased her Serena clothing line was accepted into NYFW.
The clothing line, sold exclusively on her website, includes dresses and jumpsuits.
“We’re more in the fashion, off-the-court type, non-athletic-wear,” she told Boorstin. “It’s really just about being who you are, loving who you are and loving our product. It’s a direct-to-consumer brand because we wanted to cut out the middleman and bring really great fashion.”
On her overall investment strategy, she said, “We really want to take a focus and look at female founders and people who really want to make a difference. It’s also important for us to look at people across the board and have a really diversified portfolio.”


