Randall Lane with Serena Williams at Forbes Under 30 Summit 2019.

In a time machine, where would historys greatest female athlete travel? I would go see what Jesus was up to or Moses part the Red Sea.

How many more years will Serena Williams compete at tennis? However much longer Roger Federer plans on playing.

If not tennis, what sport would she pursue? Golf. I can hit it really far; it just doesnt go in a straight line.

The same applies to Serena Williams career, as in recent years the 38-year-old, 23-time Grand Slam winner made career moves off the path that built her a $225 million fortune over the past two decades. Keynoting the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Detroit on October 28, Williams discussed the motivations and lessons behind her forays into fashion, investing and advocacyand indulged the young entrepreneurial audience in rapid Q&A, akin to rallying at the net.

Williams revealed a few of her favorite investments since she entered the venture capital game five years ago and has dropped money into 34 companies. Meal-prep subscription service Gobble and Alchemy 43, a Drybar-like destination for Botox and filler treatments, to name two, exhibit Serena Ventures focus on underfunded demographics: Only 2.3% of funding went to women-led startups in 2018, according to Pitchbook.

If Im the boss, Im going to give other people opportunities that normally wouldn't have had opportunities. Because I know what its like, she said. Or the narrative is never going to change.

The first athlete to make Forbes annual list of Richest Self-Made Women, Williams also discussed financial independence before a crowd of nearly 5,000 20- and 30-something professionals at Detroits Masonic Temple and a partnership aimed at reframing another narrative. A partnership with the Allstate Foundation, the Purple Purse initiative promotes financial empowerment as a rescue for victims of domestic violence. Research indicates that financial abuse occurs in 99% of domestic violence cases and is a primary reason victims stay in unsafe, unhealthy relationshipsperhaps one individual is preventing the other person from working or from accessing bank accounts.

We have to make those uncomfortable topics comfortable in order to make change, she said onstage with Forbes Chief Content Officer Randall Lane as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month draws to a close, an occasion for which Williams designed a handbag and a backpack for Purple Purse.

Serena Williams and Randall Lane in the at Forbes Under 30 Summit 2019, held in Detroit's Masonic ... [+] Temple.

Thats but one avenue where her professional portfolio beyond sport has ventured into fashion. Serena apparel line debuted in 2018 with affordable items ranging from dresses to denim to blazers, inspired by early sewing skills she and sister Venus learned from their mother in their Compton, California upbringing.

I think people definitely underestimate me, but thats what makes me most dangerous.

Originally posted here:

Playing Net Game With Serena Williams: Rapid Replies On Success, Investing And Business - Forbes