Why entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian is doubling down on women’s sports | Leadership Next

Here's a comprehensive summary of the YouTube video transcript:

Key Concepts

• Investment in Women's Sports: Alexis Ohanian's significant focus and investment in expanding the profitability and visibility of women's sports.
• Athos: A professional women's track and field competition launched by Ohanian, aiming to provide year-round engagement and significant prize money.
• Community Building in the Digital Age: Ohanian's perspective on the evolution of online communities, the challenges posed by AI and bots, and the potential for new platforms.
• AI and its Impact on Business and Society: Discussions on how AI is changing entrepreneurship, content creation, and the nature of online interaction.
• Entrepreneurial Philosophy: Ohanian's journey from tech founder to investor, emphasizing grit, community, and adapting to new technological landscapes.
• Urban Sustainability and Business Role: The interconnectedness of city health and business viability, with collaboration as a key driver for urban transformation.

Alexis Ohanian on Investing in Women's Sports

Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and a prominent investor, is deeply involved in investing in women's sports, seeing it as a significant growth area with immense potential for profitability. He believes that within the next five years, a women's team will reach a billion-dollar valuation. This conviction stems partly from his personal connection to Serena Williams, who is also investing in this space, and his own successful track record as an investor in companies like Instacart, Coinbase, and OpenDoor.

Athos: A New Era for Track and Field Ohanian launched Athos, a professional women's track and field competition, which held its first event in Times Square in October. His motivation for starting Athos was rooted in his observation of the cyclical nature of women's sports popularity, particularly in the US. He noted that sports like women's soccer, despite having a strong following during events like the Women's World Cup, often see their visibility dissipate outside of these major tournaments. He felt this was a missed opportunity, especially given the consistent excellence of American female athletes in sports like track and field.

• Origin Story: Ohanian's involvement began about five years ago when he "rage tweeted" about the undervaluation of women's sports, particularly women's soccer. This led him to invest approximately $1 million in an expansion team for the NWSL (National Women's Soccer League), Angel City, which has since become the most valuable team in the league.
• Identifying the Opportunity in Track and Field: He identified track and field as another sport with a strong legacy of American female excellence that disappears between major events like the Olympics.
• Athos Launch and Impact: Athos was announced in April of the previous year. Ohanian immediately doubled the top prize money, making it the largest in the sport's history. A subsequent meet in New York attracted an estimated 4 to 4.5 million viewers.
• Future Plans: Athos is set to launch a full league next year, modeled after Formula 1, with three meets planned in major global capitals. The aim is to create team-based competition (e.g., Nike vs. Adidas hypothetically) to foster year-round engagement and capitalize on the energy that typically dissipates after the Olympics.

Athlete Collaboration and Needs Ohanian spoke with top athletes, including Gabby Thomas, Sha'Carri Richardson, and Tara Davis-Woodhall, who are now shareholders in Athos. Their primary request was investment, particularly in the form of increased prize money. While the previous top prize was $30,000, Athos doubled it to $60,000. However, Ohanian acknowledges that this prize money alone is often insufficient for athletes to make a living.

Beyond financial support, athletes also desired a more modern approach to storytelling and engagement. Ohanian's vision for Athos is to be a "tech-forward league" that tells the stories of these women continuously, not just during major events. He believes that the athletes' natural social media presence can be leveraged to build a larger, more consistent audience.

Team Format and Inspiration The team format in Athos is inspired by existing structures like the NCAA, where individual athletes contribute points to a team's overall score. Ohanian envisions athletes being miked up and cheering for their teammates, drawing parallels to the energy seen in other sports. He also referenced his experience investing in TGL, a golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, where athletes were encouraged to be more expressive and energetic, leading to a more entertaining product.

Lessons from Tennis and Serena Williams Ohanian draws parallels between the growth of women's tennis and the potential for other sports. He highlights Billie Jean King's pioneering role in achieving pay equity in tennis, which he believes was instrumental in inspiring athletes like Serena and Venus Williams. This generational talent, in turn, elevated tennis from a niche sport to one of the most popular globally. He emphasizes that in America, the "Ball Don't Lie" moment is measured in revenue, and the financial success of women's tennis serves as a powerful validation for investing in other women's sports.

Serena Williams initially tried to dissuade Ohanian from investing in women's soccer, having experienced the challenges within the sports system. However, her own journey and the success of women's tennis provided him with the necessary validation to pursue his investments. He notes that for American audiences, there's a strong association of soccer excellence with women's teams due to the men's team's performance, making it easier to market. Similarly, he sees a historical legacy of excellence in American women's track and field as a strong foundation for Athos.

Personal and Professional Philosophy Ohanian and his wife, Serena Williams, maintain a clear separation between their professional endeavors ("church and state") to ensure individual recognition for their achievements. While he acknowledges he will never reach Serena's level of athletic achievement, her experience as an undisputed best-in-class athlete provides him with a unique understanding of dedication and excellence. He learned early on not to give unsolicited advice to his wife, recognizing the importance of respecting her domain.

Genesis of Entrepreneurial Drive Ohanian's path into tech was not a traditional one. His parents' decision to buy him a computer in middle school, with the instruction to fix it if he broke it, set him on a different trajectory. While he was an "okay" programmer, his defining traits were grit, resolve, and a strong work ethic. He emphasizes that he wasn't from a typical "Ivy League" or "Stanford" background, highlighting his mother's GED and his father's attendance at Antioch College as indicators of his non-prototypical upbringing.

Community Building as a Core Competency A recurring theme in Ohanian's career is community building. He believes that if one can convince strangers on the internet to bond over something as niche as "stapling bread to trees" (a Reddit community example), then building a fan base around sports is a natural extension. He views community as a "cheat code" that has facilitated his transition into sports.

Community in the Age of AI

Ohanian expresses significant concern about the "dead internet theory," suggesting that much of the content consumed on social media is AI-generated or manipulated. He notes that even human accounts may use AI to draft content at scale, and strategies like buying moderator accounts for subreddits are being employed to control online communities and promote products.

Challenges and Future of Online Communities He believes that platforms that can guarantee "verifiable humanity" will endure. This might involve advanced authentication methods. The current "release valve" for authentic interaction, he observes, is group chats, which have become more active. However, these can become unwieldy with large numbers of participants.

Resurrecting Digg and AI's Role Ohanian has partnered with Kevin Rose to relaunch Digg.com, focusing on building it from first principles in the age of AI. This involves using AI to summarize relevant information for users and to automate the "janitorial work" of moderation, allowing human moderators to focus on directing AI tools. He is optimistic that AI can help solve some of the problems it has created, and he remains bullish on human community, seeing sports as a potential avenue for building social networks with verifiable human interaction.

The "Zuck Tax" and League-Owned Social Networks He criticizes the current model where major sports leagues have to pay platforms like Facebook (Meta) to reach their own fans, referring to it as the "Zuck tax." He envisions a future where sports leagues could function as their own social networks, leveraging the inherent proof of humanity associated with attending live events. Athos is exploring this by building social network features into its league apps.

Fairness and Entrepreneurship in the AI Era

Ohanian draws parallels between his past advocacy for net neutrality and current concerns about fairness in the tech landscape. He acknowledges the consolidation of power among large tech companies ("Magnificent Seven") but feels optimistic about the future of entrepreneurship.

AI as an Enabler of Entrepreneurship He believes that AI is enabling founders to build businesses more cheaply and reach revenue faster than ever before, fostering a new wave of startups. He also notes the current administration's "laissez-faire" approach to regulation, which he sees as conducive to innovation.

Example of Regulatory Change: Boom Aerospace Ohanian cites his investment in Boom Aerospace, a supersonic jet company, as an example of how outdated regulations can be overcome. A decades-old ban on supersonic flight over the continental US was removed relatively quickly after the CEO, Blake Scholl, gained the attention of the President. Ohanian commends this instance of removing an "antiquated" law to enable innovation, even if he did not vote for the administration responsible.

Underrated and Overrated in Tech and Sports

• Sports - Underrated: Women's sports remain "massively underrated."
• Sports - Overrated: Media deals for the "Big Four" sports are overrated, as the fan experience is becoming fragmented due to subscription fatigue. He is bullish on emerging sports due to their focus on making content easily accessible.
• Tech - Underrated: Space tech is underrated. Despite the success of SpaceX, the high cost per kilogram and long wait times for launches make the space economy prohibitive. As competition increases and costs decrease, a new wave of space tech companies will emerge. He stresses that this innovation is valuable because it will improve life on Earth.
• Tech - Overrated: Pitches around "AI agents" that aim to navigate existing human-designed UIs are overrated. He believes the future lies in "robots talking to robots" rather than AI agents hacking human interfaces. While agentic AI can be a positive, he predicts that in the long term, it will be more efficient to have systems designed for direct AI-to-AI communication.

Conclusion

Alexis Ohanian's insights highlight a forward-looking perspective on business, technology, and sports. His commitment to women's sports, exemplified by Athos, is driven by a belief in its untapped market potential and a desire to create equitable opportunities. He sees AI as a transformative force, capable of both disrupting and enabling entrepreneurship, and emphasizes the enduring importance of authentic human community in an increasingly digital and AI-influenced world. His entrepreneurial journey, rooted in community building and a strong work ethic, continues to shape his investments and his vision for the future.