World champion tennis player Venus Williams will be showcasing her skills as a businesswoman in a new unscripted series. According to Variety, the founder/CEO of interior design company V*STARR Interiors and founder of EleVen athletic apparel will partner with 3 Ball Entertainment for “Deals in Heels.” The show will feature Williams and other female moguls mentoring and potentially offering investments to emerging businesswomen.
Each episode of “Deals” will see five female entrepreneurs pitching their ideas to Williams and the rest of the panel. Two of the entrepreneurs will be selected to present their plans in more detail in the “executive suite.” “If their business plans measure up,” Variety writes, “the panel will dedicate one month toward mentoring the entrepreneurs on all aspects of their businesses in preparation for critical upcoming sales benchmarks. At the end of the month, the two entrepreneurs return to the executive suite to re-pitch.” However, only one startup will receive the panel’s investment.
“As an advocate for gender and pay equality, I’m thrilled to be working with 3 Ball Entertainment on this project that fosters and supports trailblazing women who are actively pursuing their professional aspirations,” Williams, who will also be exec producing “Deals,” commented.
Staness Jonekos, CEO of Eat Like a Woman and one of the original founders of the Oxygen channel, and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Deborah Perry Piscone are set to join Williams as EPs. 3 Ball’s Todd A. Nelson, Ross Weintraub, and DJ Nurre will also serve as exec producers.
It’s great to see Williams using her public profile to provide opportunities to other female businesswomen. As in most areas of our culture, there is a prominent gender gap among CEOs and entrepreneurs. As the source details, “by the end of Q1 2017 just 27 Fortune 500 companies will be helmed by female CEOs — a mere 5.4 percent.” Variety also cited a Tech Crunch study which found that “only 10 percent of venture capital funding, over a five-year period, went to women-owned businesses.” With “Deals in Heels,” hopefully Williams will change the face of women in business just as she has women in sports.
