Women need to ‘sign the checks’ to change stats, says Serena Williams

During the last lecture of Expert XP 2022 held on Thursday (4th) in São Paulo, the American businesswoman Serena Williams said the investments helped her achieve financial independence. The event raised debates on investment, entrepreneurship, technology, ESG and innovative actions. The businesswoman and 23-time Grand Slam champion gave advice to women who, like her, struggle to conquer more spaces.

Williams brought to the speech one of his great passions: sport. She said she uses tennis skills in investments, which she started working with 9 years ago. To do so, she studied in San Francisco, inspired by her father’s entrepreneurial soul and motivated by changing the low-investment pattern aimed at women. “The only way to change stats is when there’s a woman signing a check”, he said, reinforcing how the challenges are greater than gender.

Citing a case of entrepreneurship, he provoked by remembering the lack of black and female representation in places of protagonism in the job market. And to give strength to those who want to enter the investment world, Williams said it is important to start by setting goals and, like the athlete, have the competitive spirit of never giving up, never stopping.

Still during the lecture, she told about the experience of producing the film King Richards: “People were able to see my father in a true light. Will Smith did an excellent job representing him.” Her father, as she said, was a great inspiration who often encouraged her to organize her life to achieve her goals, because “if you don’t plan, you’re already planning to fail”.

The father figure was not the only one to gain relevance in his life: his mother also played an essential role in his career. Demanding, he was the one who taught her to fight and understand a piece of advice that she follows to this day and gives to founders who seek them: you have to have authenticity. But this, in the midst of the challenges, must rely on a humanized perspective on business, acting with resilience. “I had to develop resilience, I had to learn to struggle. it’s an exercise.”

In this sense, Williams recalled the importance of balancing professional and personal life, which, especially for black women who struggle to achieve stability, is a challenge. Closing the talk, she gave the women a piece of advice: “Enjoy what you do. be kind to everyone.”