AW1 1998 620x295 - Event Recap: Serena Williams in converation with Julia Boorstin and Guru Gowrappan Advertising Week @serenawilliams @gurugk @JBoorstin @advertisingweek

Event Recap: Serena Williams in converation with Julia Boorstin and Guru Gowrappan Advertising Week @serenawilliams @gurugk @JBoorstin @advertisingweek

On September 24, 2019,  Serena Williams, Olympic Tennis Athlete & Entrepreneur, was in conversation with Guru Gowrappan, CEO OF Verizon Media, and Julia Boorstin, Entertainment & Media Correspondent at CNBC at the Advertising Week conference in New York City.

AW1 1944 540x360 - Event Recap: Serena Williams in converation with Julia Boorstin and Guru Gowrappan Advertising Week @serenawilliams @gurugk @JBoorstin @advertisingweek

Topics of discussion included her retirement from tennis, her role as Chairwoman of Verizon’s Board of Advisors, her clothing company and venture firm, and, of course, strollers. 

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Serena said that her favorite brand of strollers are Colugo because

“Colugo is all about design…I just throw my baby in, and this is so much better than the other stroller that I hated with all my heart… I don’t have to be a rocket scientist to open this stroller.” 

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On retiring from tennis, with some jest she shared that she’ll “transfer out, you know, in 20 years, not anytime soon,” which received laughter and a round of applause. 

 

On how she has veered into entrepreneurship through her clothing brand, “S” and her Venture Firm “SERENA VENTURES,” she said that “we are literally just starting” and how thrilled she was when the brand got into New York Fashion Week, and in true champion fashion, after her moment of celebration, in true champion fashion, she thought to herself, “I just got into New York Fashion Week, okay, how do I get into Milan?”

AW2 6333 540x360 - Event Recap: Serena Williams in converation with Julia Boorstin and Guru Gowrappan Advertising Week @serenawilliams @gurugk @JBoorstin @advertisingweek 

“We want to stand up for what we feel is right, and we want to empower people to stand up for what they feel is right as well,” and that in all of her pursuits, she stated that “my main goal is to get rid of the word exclusive, and bring in the word inclusive.”

 

When discussing what she is looking for to invest in, she stated that she’s “really interested in technology and even more so, founders…we really focus on female founders.” A couple brands that she’s invested in are “Daily Harvest… Lola is another one that we love. Colugo.”

AW1 1962 540x360 - Event Recap: Serena Williams in converation with Julia Boorstin and Guru Gowrappan Advertising Week @serenawilliams @gurugk @JBoorstin @advertisingweek

Lastly, Serena discussed that her clothing brand is about “Changing the way you feel when you put on our outfit, you want to feel sexy, you want to feel confident, and you want to feel sure.”

Photo Credit: AWNewYork/Shutterstock

For additional information click here to visit the Advertising Week website

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