Investing in Human Potential

ACT I - Le Désir

4 a.m. An eight-year-old girl stands in her bedroom with her pointe shoes on.

Every fund has an origin story.
Hers doesn’t begin in a boardroom or on a spreadsheet.
It starts in a quiet studio in Japan, long before she knew what venture capital was.

Every morning, she completes 200 repetitions of échappés before she allows herself to go to school, perfecting the way her feet rise en pointe and learning how to balance with precision.

Tired, bruised, but determined to improve.

Ballet was her first venture investment — paid not in CAPITAL, but in DEVOTION.

ACT II - Le Rêve en Mouvement

At 13, Sayaka sacrifices family, friends, and school to move alone to Canada for ballet.

At 17, she nearly quit, navigating a ballet school culture where depression, pressure, and eating disorders were normalized.

At 18, Sayaka became the youngest principal ballerina in her company — not because it was easy, but because she refused to walk away.

Ballet opened the world to her. But the world wasn’t always graceful.

She danced in East Siberia at –40°C with no hot water, and lived through the Turkish coup d’état, watching military tanks roll through the streets.

These weren’t glamorous chapters.
And they taught her more about resilience, culture, injustice, societal impact and survival than any MBA classroom ever could.

ACT III - Le Nouveau Chapitre

Welcome to Act Three.

This act is about giving back to the next generation. 

It’s about investing in founders who remind her of the 4 a.m. girl in that small bedroom:


— founders with a fire-like burning passion,
— innovators who are delusional enough to see a vision that no one else can see,
— catalysts who have been through hell and carry that same 4 a.m. ambition to change the world for the better. 

This is no longer just about one determined ballerina.

It’s about LEGACY, MISSION, and SOCIETAL IMPACT.

MISSION COMES HERE

THE OPPORTUNITY

A once-in-a-generation is opening for female microfund GPs.

Across global venture, three seismic shifts are happening at the same time.

Institutional LPs Are Actively Funding

female-led,

underrepresented,

first-time GPs

— MACRO TREND 1 —

Global LPs aren’t just “supporting diversity.”
They’re reallocating billions toward female-led, underrepresented, and first-time managers.

For the first time, institutional capital is actively seeking out GPs who look different from the old model.

Here’s proof.

  • Recently, the British Business Bank (BBB) announced a £500m package to support diverse and emerging fund managers. This includes a new £400m Investor Pathways Capital initiative specifically designed for new and underrepresented VCs, along with an additional £50m earmarked exclusively for female-led venture funds—doubling their total commitment to £100m. The program directly supports the objectives of the Invest in Women Taskforce and signals a significant structural shift toward backing women in private capital.

  • On 27 June 2024, M&G announced it increased its investment into the $600 million Global Gender-Smart Fund, one of the world’s largest gender-focused investment vehicles, bringing its commitment to US$120 million. The fund targets the US$1.7 trillion gender gap in access to finance by supporting financial institutions that serve underserved women and female-led businesses in developing markets.

  • In June 2024, the EIF launched its Gender Smart Equity Investment Programme to promote women leaders in VC and PE across the EU. Germany and the Netherlands joined as early backers, and the programme is open to pan-EU funds.
    In November 2024, EIF committed €30 million to Sistafund, a €100m VC fund targeting women and gender-diverse founding teams.

  • The pension giant is expanding its Emerging & Diverse Manager Program, allocating nearly $10 billion across nine emerging managers and twelve diverse managers for FY 2024–25. They’ve also formalised clear criteria for women- and diverse-owned firms, signaling long-term structural support for underrepresented GPs.

  • The 2X Challenge and 2X Global coalition—DFIs, MDBs, and private investors—has already mobilised US$33.6 billion into gender-lens investments since 2018. In 2024, they announced a new US$20 billion target for 2024–2027 focused specifically on women's economic empowerment.

Family Offices Are Actively Seeking

Culturally-Aligned GPs

— MACRO TREND 2 —

A Generational Shift Toward Meaning

A major shift is happening among family offices and UHNW families.
They are moving away from large institutional funds and gravitating toward smaller, more personal, more culturally aligned GPs — especially women-led ones. Why?

Because families increasingly prefer:

  • Boutique funds over mega-funds

  • Cultural sophistication and global perspective

  • Women-led and diverse GPs

  • Theses aligned with impact, wellbeing, and next-gen values

  • High-touch relationships and direct access to the GP

“ 72% of next-generation investors say they value “legacy and cultural impact” over pure financial return.”
— According to the Deloitte Art & Finance Report 2025

The next generation of wealth holders — Gen X, Millennials, and emerging inheritors — are also pushing for investments that feel purpose-driven, personal, and modern.

As a result, family offices are shifting capital toward GPs who:

  • understand culture

  • operate with agility

  • invest with intention

  • and reflect the world they want to shape

This is creating a powerful tailwind for female microfund managers with a refined, global, next-gen investment thesis.

During the 2021 capital boom, mega-funds raised billions.
Today, many of them are struggling under the weight of their own size:

Mega-Funds are Struggling

  • Exit markets are frozen

  • Portfolios are bloated and slow to move

  • Valuations have corrected downward

  • Large funds can’t write small, early checks

  • They arrive too late, pay too much, and move too slowly

Small Funds Are Outperforming Mega-Funds

— MACRO TREND 3 —

Meanwhile, small funds operate in an entirely different universe — one that is currently outperforming:

Why Small Funds Win

  • They invest earlier, where returns are greatest

  • They enter deals at lower valuations

  • They build closer relationships with founders

  • They specialize in ways large funds cannot

  • They adapt faster and spot cultural/technical shifts sooner

The Power Law Effect

The math is simple:

A $10M fund needs one $1B exit to return 10x

vs.

A $500M fund needs multiple $10B+ exits to hit the same multiple

Small funds are mathematically primed to win in a power-law-driven industry.

And in a market where speed, specialization, and early conviction matter more than ever, microfunds are not just competitive —
they’re the new high-performance vehicle of venture.

In other words: large funds are constrained; microfunds are agile.

INVESTMENT FOCUS

We are considering investing across two complementary worlds:
HARD MONEY sectors that scale financially,
and SOFT POWER sectors that shape culture and identity.

Technology & Infrastructure

— Designed for Exceptional Returns —

AI & automation | Cybersecurity | Digital infrastructure | Fintech & payments | Healthcare systems & biotech | Enterprise software / B2B SaaS

Cultural & Social Transformation

— Designed for Impact & Alignment —

Women & Minority founders | Climate | Ethical Consumer Goods | Lifestyle Brands | Wellness, Longevity, Performance

CASE STUDIES

Here are examples of Ex-Athletes Who Are Redefining Venture Capital

  • Who she is:
     Former world No.1 tennis champion; founder of Serena Ventures, an early-stage VC firm backing over 85 companies with a focus on women and underrepresented founders.

    Before VC:
     Global tennis icon, 23-time Grand Slam winner, one of the most recognized athletes in the world.

    How she shifted:
     Started angel investing during her tennis career; built relationships across Silicon Valley; developed a thesis around economic access and representation; formalized her investment platform with institutional backing.

    What she invests in:

    • Women-led and minority-led startups

    • Consumer tech

    • Fintech

    • Health & wellness

    • Culture & media

    • Future of work

    What she’s doing now:
     Leading Serena Ventures full-time; serving on boards; advising founders; working on initiatives for women’s empowerment and financial inclusion.

    Impact:
     Brought global attention to gender and racial disparities in venture; one of the first female athletes to build a serious institutional VC franchise; created a blueprint for purpose-driven celebrity operators entering venture.

  • Who he is:
    NBA Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist; co-founder of Mosaic General Partnership (MGP), a $200M early-stage venture firm.

    Before VC:
    NBA star known for intelligence, strategy, and leadership; longtime Golden State Warrior.

    How he shifted:
    Began angel investing while still playing; embedded himself in Silicon Valley founder circles; co-founded the Players Technology Summit to bridge athletes and tech investors; developed a reputation as one of the smartest athlete-investors.

    What he invests in:

    • Early-stage tech

    • Fintech

    • Consumer and lifestyle brands

    • AI-enabled platforms

    • Sports and performance tech

    What he’s doing now:
    Running Mosaic; advising startups; co-owner of Leeds United; continuing to build athlete-driven innovation platforms.

    Impact:
    Legitimized the concept of athlete-operators in tech; opened the door for culturally influential investors; built a professional-grade fund comparable to top-tier VCs.

  • Who he is:
    Former NFL player and Harvard graduate; co-founder of Will Ventures, a VC firm specializing in sports, human performance, and health technology.

    Before VC:
    Eight-year NFL career; known for discipline, physical grit, and unusual intellectual curiosity about biomechanics and performance science.

    How he shifted:
    Joined advisory boards of sports science companies; built a strong network in sports performance innovation; partnered with Brian Reilly to launch Will Ventures with a clear, niche thesis.

    What he invests in:

    • Sports performance technology

    • Wearables

    • Health & human optimization

    • Consumer fitness

    • Data-driven athlete science

    What he’s doing now:
    Leading Will Ventures; advising startups and performance labs; shaping the emerging sports-tech investment category.

    Impact:
    Created one of the most respected specialized funds in sports and human performance; demonstrated that niche expertise can outperform generalist mega-funds.

  • Who she is:
    Former competitive figure skater turned Silicon Valley operator; founder of Swizzle Ventures, a fund backing women’s health and wealth innovations.

    Before VC:
    Trained in figure skating from age 6–16; built deep resilience and performance discipline.
    Then: became a top Silicon Valley growth marketer, helping scale 12 unicorns and running an 80-person growth agency.

    How she shifted:
    Leveraged 10+ years of operator experience; built a health and wealth thesis around women’s life stages; treated fund management like running a services business; launched with a $3M MVP target and closed at $6.6M.

    What she invests in:

    • Women’s health

    • Fertility and life-stage products

    • Wealth-building tools for women

    • Femtech + consumer wellness

    What she’s doing now:
     Running Swizzle full-time; advising founders; building a brand as one of the strongest new voices in gender-smart venture.

    Impact:
    Proved that you don’t need pedigree to raise a fund; validated the “small, precise microfund” model; expanded funding for women’s health infrastructure.

What do all these elite athlete-turned-VCs have in common?

  • All of them earned trust, influence, and proof of excellence outside of finance, and only then transitioned into venture. Their initial platform became the foundation of their investing credibility.

    For example, Andre Iguodala became known as one of the NBA’s most intellectually curious players, advising startups and building the Players Technology Summit before co-founding a $200M fund. Jessica Kamada went from competitive figure skating to becoming one of Silicon Valley’s top growth operators, scaling 12 unicorns before raising Swizzle Ventures.

  • Their narrative in sports — discipline, adversity, mastery — became a differentiator that attracted founders, LPs, and media, giving them brand equity traditional investors don’t have.

  • Their unique relationships opened doors to founders, operators, and innovators who valued their perspective and access, creating a proprietary sourcing advantage.

  • Their athletic background provided credibility, not constraints; they built theses in tech, consumer, healthcare, fintech, and impact — proving that performance mindsets outperform domain labels.

The Success Framework