If you want to set some ‘dad goals’ for yourself, look at Serena Williams’ husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian for instance. Tell us what he has not done for his daughters! That too, alongside his super-busy business life. From making pancakes to using AI for Olympia’s homework to making his daughters owners of sports teams before they reach double-figure age- the span is awe-inspiring. But it seems that the tech-mogul has more thoughtful and innovative moves to come for them in the coming days.

In an adorable Instagram post on November 7, Ohanian shared two pics with Olympia, spanning across the years. In one, the 7-year-old is in her father’s arms as an infant, while in the next one, the two are sitting side by side, spending quality time with a gadget in hand. The business dad seems to be passing a few crucial lessons to Olympia already!

He captioned the post with a heartwarming message, which displayed his spirit to go beyond boundaries for his daughters. Referring to the snippets, he wrote, “Then ➡️ Now. I’ll keep Fighting for you & your sis. And I’ll do better.” Behind the camera was Ohanian’s longtime favorite photographer, Russ Roe. And when we say longtime, remember how Ohanian had a realization through Roe’s lens six years back?

In November 2018, in an X post, Ohanian had revealed that he had Roe following him for a few days, apparently to capture him in different moments. But the snaps told him a ‘boring’ story. “All the photos are me talking to founders or pensively looking at my laptop or phone. Confirmed: VC life is boring to watch,” Ohanian had written on that occasion. But there have been moments of excitement as well the Roe has filmed.

Last year Roe traveled extensively with Ohanian for the latter’s 776fund campaign to capture the behind-the-scenes content. In fact, in Ohanian’s ATHLOS NYC, the women-only track event that took place on September 26, the ace lensman framed some adorable father-daughter moments. So, surely, all is not boring and pensive!

Ohanian has made a name for making things better. His Reddit, which initially did not see much success, has its stock value increased by 15% since it was first launched, after entering the public markets in March. This business acumen has translated into his moves for his daughters as well. Look at this.

In 2020, Ohanian became a founding investor in the Los Angeles NWSL team Angel City FC alongside his then-two-year-old daughter, Olympia, making her the youngest owner of a professional sports team. The decision was not a random one. Ohanian took his cue from one incident.

Reign FC, the Seattle outpost of the National Women’s Soccer League, was sold for a mere $3.5 million in 2020. According to Ohanian, its star athlete, Megan Rapinoe, alone would have been worth $3 million. Looking at that, he realized how under-invested women’s sports were. Making Olympia an owner also was not just out of the blue.

“As someone who spends hours kicking around a football with my two-year-old daughter, I want her to have a front-row seat to this revolution. I’m personally investing on behalf of my family because creating more opportunities in women’s sports is important to my wife and me, and we want to be a part of making a better future for our daughter,” Ohanian had said. The return of the move was smashing, to say the least.

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. As reported by Reuters, “Angel City have amassed numerous commercial partners and season-ticket holders and have played in packed stadiums since their debut season in 2022. In 2023, the club generated the highest revenue of any women’s team in the world, and topped the NWSL in attendance, sponsorship and total revenue.” Interestingly, that was not the only investment he made for his daughter in that year.

On August 7, on ‘The Twenty Minute VC (20VC),’ a podcast hosted by Harry Stebbings, Ohanian revealed one more investment he made in 2020. He had put in $250,000 through a trust in 2020. Riding on that, Olympia and Adira have already become multi-millionaires. Calling the “the smartest thing” he did back then, Ohanian had said:

“So the good news is I set that up. It’s not just for Olympia but all of our future kids. And they’re now actually, because of this latest round, they’re literally multi-millionaires because of that one investment four years ago. So there’s a part of that that makes me feel really good, which was like, ‘Hey, I saw something early’.”

Indeed, Ohanian likes to set the tone early. So, Olympia became a team owner again at 5 years when she had her stakes at the Los Angeles Golf Club, the first team in Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s tech-infused golf league, TGL. And guess what? Their younger daughter Adira, who just turned one two months back, is also a co-owner of both LA Golf Club and Angel City FC alongside her family! It seems that Ohanian’s background has something to do with these moves to secure the future of his daughters.

Ohanian’s forefathers were Armenian refugees and his mother immigrated from Germany. Understandably, he has a fair share of idea about the hardships of the people trying to establish themselves while starting afresh. Probably that is why he has significantly invested in startups. He often puts his money in seed rounds for companies that does not guarantee any success in future. Altan Insights and Splendid Spoon are two such instances. Ohanian invested in those in May 2022 and February 2022, respectively.

“I get so much joy with being able to build, especially from zero. It does not interest me to own an existing team. I am much more interested in building things from scratch because you get to move a lot faster,” Ohanian had said in the Citius Mag Podcast in August. Isn’t he doing the same in women’s sports?

Serena Williams’ Alexis Ohanian has no intentions to stop whether it’s for his daughters or women’s sports

Deloitte has predicted that in 2024, the global women’s sports industry will break the $1 billion barrier. That is a staggering 300% increase from 2021. And Ohanian has identified this immense possibility. 

During an interview with ADWEEK, Alexis Ohanian had said 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.” Ohanian did not only say, but has done it in reality. Look at the ATHLOS NYC ((previously called the 776 Invitational), a woman-only track meet that took place on September 26 at Icahn Stadium.

It offered the largest prize pool to date. The total purse is at least $500,000, with $60,000 going to first place, $25,000 for second, and $10,000 for third. The amount is more than most events on the professional circuit, men or women. He took the message of this same possibility and his commitment to women’s sports when he visited his alma mater, the University of Virginia, on Tuesday. He was there to cheer for the women’s basketball team from the John Paul Jones Arena for the Wahoos in their clash against the American University.

The Business dad went on to give a rousing speech to the team, as he lauded the coach and athletes for their efforts: “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. I will keep doing the work on the court and off the court and will take care of the rest. This is the era of excellence for 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!”

Ohanian makes sure to pass on to his daughter the importance of certain things, such as the power of voting rights among others. And the husband of tennis legend, Serena Williams, has taken it upon himself to raise the standard of women’s sports like never before. Now the father of two has two promises to fulfill, one to his daughters to never stop. And other to the women athletes to keep going on as he takes care of the rest! Kudos to the Williams-Ohnian family for their contribution.