“I am much more interested in building things from scratch because you get to move a lot faster,” Serana Williams’ husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian had said in the Citius Mag Podcast in August. Probably, that is one reason behind his focus on promoting women’s sports, since it has been plagued with a lack of attention and funding.

Whether it’s through investing in the game or speaking up for equality, the Reddit co-founder does not just preach, but practice the changes he wants to see in women’s sports. And his recent visit to his alma mater was no different. Taking the stage, Ohanian once again championed the challenges women face in sports, reminding the athletes of the opportunities they deserve.

The 41-year-old visited the University of Virginia to cheer up for the women’s basketball team. Ohanian ensured to boost their confidence with an intriguing message as he reflected that women athletes deserve immense limelight just like their male counterparts and expressed his desire to keep working to support them throughout their careers. 

In a video that surfaced on Instagram, Ohanian can be seen addressing some female basketball players. He promised that the next time he visits them, he would try to bring his wife, Williams, as well. He lauded the coach of the team as well and said, “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.” But what caught the attention was his remarkable admiration for female athletes and his desire to bring about a change. 

Speaking further to the athletes, Ohanian said, “I will keep doing the work on the court and off the court, will take care of the rest. This is the era of excellence of women in sports. So no matter how you are thinking like ‘how, well, should I do it now,’ like You all DESERVE EVERY BIT OF THIS!”

Continuing further, he also motivated them to understand their worth. “There is a new bar, there is a new standard Accept nothing less.” Right he is. Deloitte has predicted that in 2024, the global women’s sports industry will break the $1 billion barrier. That is a whopping 300% increase from 2021.

In this era of the rise of women’s sports, the 41-year-old entrepreneur has been playing his part in more than one way. Over the past few years, Ohanian has created waves with his unconventional investments in several women’s sports, the latest of which is the ATHLOS NYC, an all-woman track meet with the largest prize pool to date.

Ohanian announced the beginning of the initiative in April this year and highlighted that his venture Seven Seven Six would invest directly in the event. Athletes from the United States and abroad competed for a total purse of at least $500,000 in the event, with the winner securing $60,000. The second and third-place holders received $25,000 and $10,000 respectively. It is more than most events in track and field, men or women.

In September, Ohanian won ADWEEK’s Brand Genius Award for his contribution not just to developing companies but also to communities by elevating women’s sports. Female athletes have been historically under-appreciated, both in terms of pay and promotion. But Ohanian considers this more of an advantage.

Opening up about his thoughts on investing in women’s sports during an interview with ADWEEK, Alexis Ohanian stated, “The silver lining of women’s sports being so underinvested was that they were so easy to invest in. You can try anything you want. There is no way that things have been done before.” An incident in 2019 was crucial for Ohanian to spot this.

Reign FC, the Seattle outpost of the National Women’s Soccer League, was sold only for $3.5 million. As per Ohanian’s estimate, Reign’s star athlete, Megan Rapinoe, alone would have been worth $3 million. That was probably the first time he realized how under-invested women’s sports were. So, Ohanian took the call to do something about that.

In 2020, Ohanian became a founding investor in the Los Angeles NWSL team Angel City FC. The move did not fail him. This year in July, Disney chief executive Bob Iger and his wife Willow Bay, a dean at the University of Southern California, became the new majority controlling owner of the team, valuing it at $250 million.

In April, Ohanian invested in the Portland, Oregon women’s sports bar The Sports Bra. He plans to franchise the concept throughout the country. Interestingly, as a father of two daughters, Ohanian has started introducing her daughters to the sports landscape, but not in a usual way.

In 2020, Ohanian and Serena Williams’ elder daughter Olympia, who was two and a half then, became a co-owner of the Angel City FC National Women’s Soccer League franchise: WFC LA/Angel City beside her parents. That was not the end. In 2023, at the age of 5, Olympia became proud co-owner of the Los Angeles Golf Club, the first team in Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s tech-infused golf league, TGL, alongside Serena and Alexis. Surprised? Don’t be, there is more to it.

On August 22, 2023, Serena introduced the world to the newest addition of her family, Adira River Ohanian. She also has ownership stakes in both the franchises! And the moves are not just superficial, their roots run deep in the family. Ohanian has shared one instance from 2019 while speaking at ADWEEK’s Brandweek conference on September 23.

Alexis Ohanian credited Serena Williams for his passion for women’s sports

“We were watching the final of the World Cup in 2019 from our rented house in Wimbledon. Olympia was running around in her Alex Morgan jersey, and I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if she played on a national team one day?” Ohanian had said to wife Serena. Ohanian still remembers Serena’s reply. “And Serena was like, ‘Not until they pay her what she’s worth. And I was like, ‘Touché, okay, challenge accepted.’ And that’s what motivated me to buy a team and help be a part of the change,” he had revealed.

Alexis Ohanian looks up to his wife as much as the world does. He has often highlighted the positive influence the tennis great had on him and has reflected on how his life changed after meeting the 23-time Grand Slam champion. One of the many positive influences, according to Ohanian, is the awareness he started to develop about women’s sports after meeting with Williams. 

Ohanian attended Squawk Box’s discussion on CNBC in July this year and deliberated on the rise of women’s sports. Speaking in the interview, he credited his wife for the successful initiatives he took and lauded the star player. “The core phenomenon here probably came from a certain someone I’m married to, right? Serena Williams is the prototype for how you can show women’s sports is and can be and should be on the same level as men’s,” he said. Continuing further, he revealed how his views changed after meeting Williams.

“To be clear, I jumped on this bandwagon really when I met my wife. That was the first time I really watched tennis as a sport. But I really went whole hog in 2019; now I’m really into it.” Both Ohanian and Williams have made significant contributions when it comes to women’s sports. As time evolves, it would be interesting to what new efforts does the Reddit co-founder put in to make significant changes to the field.