Venus Williams To Bring Inclusive Entrepreneurship To TV

As reported by Variety on Wednesday (May 10), Venus Williams will assist 3 Ball Entertainment by bringing female entrepreneurship to the forefront with an unscripted series, Deals in Heels.

The world champion is one of the most prominent faces of tennis, along with her sister, Serena Williams. The CEO founded the design firm, V*STARR Interiors, while also establishing the athletic apparel line, EleVen.

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Williams is “thrilled” to be partnering with 3 Ball on this series. Her activism in gender and pay equality connects to the show’s focus on “fostering and supporting trailblazing women who are actively pursuing their professional aspirations.” With a disparity of women in high-level or entrepreneurial positions, the culture the show will televise is very necessary. Fortune reports that only 5.4 percent of Fortune 500 companies are home to women CEOs – the 5.4 percent represents a mere 27 female CEO’s of the vast 500, which stands as a record best for the elite group of companies. Variety claims only 10 percent of capital venture funding went to women-led businesses.

For each episode, five entrepreneurs will pitch their ideas to a panel in order to make it up to the “executive suite” which offers a deeper dive into the two invite-only businesses. From there, if the professionals’ business plans meet criteria, they will receive one month of mentoring from the panel to prepare for critical sales benchmarks. By the end of the month, each of the women will return to the “executive suite” to re-pitch, with reviews and negotiations, for the ultimate goal of receiving financial backing from the panel.

The panel will consist of Williams, who is also set to executive produce the show, alongside other female tycoons.

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