Welcome to Last Week’s Wins #4!
One year ago this week, I said goodbye to my job at a CPA firm in order to take a leap towards a purposeful career in sports & entertainment.
I am proud today to be writing about movements that enhance collaboration through sport! This week we focus on opportunities for women in coaching as well as two incredible sources of funding for innovative ideas.
Thanks again for sharing the newsletter and subscribing to Win-Win-Win!
WINS THIS WEEK
US Soccer gets more Women Involved: Jill Ellis creates women coaching development model in US Soccer
Malcolm Jenkins Invests with Purpose: NFL Players create fund for black investors
Harvard Student-Athletes Fund the Future: Will Ventures fund supports sports tech innovation
WHY THESE WINS MATTER
US Soccer gets more Women Involved
Jill Ellis, former coach of the US Women’s National team that won back to back FIFA World Cups in 2015 and 2019, is working with US Soccer to establish a pipeline of development for women to get into top level coaching positions.
The path to coaching soccer in the United States is barricaded with high fees. Course schedules and class locations make planning tough for many people.
The Jill Ellis Scholarship Fund and the SheChampions Mentorship Program will open doors for aspiring coaches who otherwise would not be able to obtain their certification by covering 50% of tuition fees. Mentorships will also provide guidance for new coaches on how to navigate the especially difficult terrain of the US soccer coaching landscape.
Representation is so critical for creating awareness of opportunities and inspiring the next generation. Seeing someone who looks like you in a position of power and influence can lead to a curiosity towards that career. In terms of coaching, similar to teaching, looking up to someone who looks like you can drastically change a perspective and aspirations.
At the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 15 out of the 24 teams were coached by men. Ellis used this to drive the new program and target the goal of doubling the number of elite professional female coaches by 2024.
Jill Ellis has been planning this move since her departure from the national team in 2019. She credits a similar FIFA coaching development model as being an authentic approach to change.
The goals of these initiatives include:
Eroding financial barriers for women participating in higher coaching education.
Creating meaningful support, advocates and resources for individual female coaching candidates through their mentorship program.
Developing a community of professional female coaches.
Showcasing examples of top-quality female coaches as models for other women by promoting the program.
Elevating important conversations about diversity in the soccer community by promoting the programs.
Malcolm Jenkins Invests with Purpose
2020 has been the year of innovation. That innovation has also been in the form of a variety of funding sources.
A group of NFL players have launched a $10 million investment fund that focuses on investing in entrepreneurs and businesses of color. 2x Super Bowl champion Malcom Jenkins is joined by other NFL players including Devin and Jason McCourty, Rodney McLeod, Jordan Matthews and Philadelphia news anchor Sharrie Williams.
The group highlights that only 1% of venture capital founders are black. Similar to Jill Ellis’ attempt to increase representation of women as coaches, Jenkins is attempting to increase representation of people of color in investment and finance roles. The group plans to double Black investors in venture capital markets by 2024.
Any professional athlete can gather monetary resources to start a fund. However, to create a legacy and a sustainable fund, there must be authenticity and purpose. Jenkins has this with Broad Street Ventures, which he named to highlight his time in Philadelphia.
His passion, strong background knowledge, and on/off field leadership are evident in the creation and mission of the firm.
“My peers are the ones typically left out of the VC world. We are being very intentional to bring Black and Brown people in and make them aware of this opportunity.” - Malcom Jenkins
Harvard Student-Athletes Fund the Future
Four former Harvard student-athletes are leading the way in transforming the landscape for startups focused on sports tech. Two football players, a women’s lacrosse player, and a women’s basketball player joined forces to display the power of sports in business.
“Sports opens up massive adjacent markets, starting in sports and scaling to large markets – that’s our entire focus for the fund.” -Isaiah Kacyvenski, Founding Partner
Subscribers of Win-Win-Win know that we constantly promote collaboration and the influence of sports business on society. So, seeing a group come together to create a $55 million fund focused on purpose-driven sports tech innovation is right up our alley!
By gathering support from two universities, eight professional team owners, and private equity investors, Will Ventures is creating a framework for consistent and reliable funding towards innovations in sport that have the potential to shape society.
Will Ventures has already activated over $13 million from the fund into current initiatives in 2020. This year has been filled with new ideas and innovations. Groups like Will Ventures allow for those new ideas to flourish. By combining funding across multiple business sectors, the group is bringing the influence of sports business to life.
“Over history, during times of recession and depression, tumultuous times, there have been amazing ideas and companies created. People need community now in sports more than ever.’’ -Isaiah Kacyvenski, Founding Partner