Should you need to get up to speed on Coins2Day's Leadership Next podcast, you can find it at this recent episode. There, my associates Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller engage in a conversation with Alexis Ohanian. They explore the entirety of his professional journey, encompassing Reddit, artificial intelligence, and, naturally, the realm of women's sports.
TL;DR
- Alexis Ohanian discussed his professional journey, including Reddit, AI, and women's sports.
- Serena Williams initially discouraged Ohanian from investing in women's sports.
- Billie Jean King's fight for pay equity paved the way for stars like Serena and Venus Williams.
- Ohanian believes marketing excellence can elevate other women's sports as it did tennis.
Ohanian, a co-founder of the women's soccer club Angel City, has more recently been involved with the track and field event Athlos. He shared with Diane and Kristin that, surprisingly, his spouse Serena Williams initially discouraged him from participating in women's sports when the concept first occurred to him.
Upon my initial announcement of investing in women's soccer and establishing a team, she actually attempted to dissuade me. This was partly due to her personal experiences as an athlete within this sports and women's sports framework. The WTA stands out as a premier organization, wouldn't you agree? Thanks to Billie Jean King, pay equity was achieved. This equitable compensation led a few young women in Compton to dedicate their lives to tennis. Therefore, without Billie Jean King, we wouldn't have Serena and Venus, but conversely, without Serena and Venus, we wouldn't have generational talent that elevated the sport beyond country clubs, transforming it into one of the globe's most beloved pastimes. Given that these competitions occurred concurrently, they were able to agree, "Very well, we will promote the women as well." This then fostered incredible talent that propelled the sport's expansion significantly.
Seeing women’s tennis bring in big dollars made Ohanian confident that top-tier marketing would have the same outcome in other sports. “I can market excellence all day long,” he says.
Listen to the full episode on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.Hinchliffe@coins2day.com
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ON MY RADAR
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PARTING WORDS
"I have a platform because there is interest in my family. I can use that to uplift and amplify the organizations that I work with and share the wealth of information that I have access to."
— Phoebe Gates, on her approach to philanthropy
