If you visit Alexis Ohanian’s website, the co-founder of Reddit has a simple message at the top of the page: “I want to be known for making this world better — much better.” It’s that goal that drove his investment in the NWSL’s Angel City FC, which is set to debut in Los Angeles in 2022.
The impetus came when he and his wife, Serena Williams, were watching the Women’s World Cup final in 2019, and their daughter, Olympia, was wearing an Alex Morgan jersey. “I said to my wife, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice one day if Olympia played on the Women’s World Cup team?’ Without missing a beat, Serena said, ‘Not until they pay her what she’s worth.’ And I was like, ‘All right, challenge accepted.’ I am going to do everything I can to help advance this sport so that it gets the recognition it deserves, so that it gets the dollars that it deserves.”
That’s what he’s setting out to do, and I’d keep a close eye on Angel City FC. The ownership group has tremendous star power and talent, with more than 50 bold-face-name investors who bring an incredibly diverse background and skill set to team and brand building. Yes, there are always concerns when you have such a large number of shareholders in the mix, and this could get sideways with too many cooks in the kitchen. But if they are able to remain aligned, this group has the potential to pull off something special. It’s already getting buzz via a relentless public relations push by its celebrity ownership — most notably Natalie Portman — who even while filming “Thor: Love and Thunder” in Australia, still had time for a steady round of media appearances on “The Tonight Show,” “Today,” “Late Night” and SBJ’s Game Changers conference to talk up the brand last month. The enthusiasm and energy is palpable, not just among ownership, but among sports business observers, as the effort, which promises to mix passion and profitability, fits squarely into the nexus of culture, cause and the growth of women’s sports.
In speaking with Ohanian recently, I couldn’t help but recognize his new-age entrepreneurialism pushing against the traditional means of launching a sports franchise. He spoke not of operations, but of technology and community and applying the best practices of today’s successful startups, which shouldn’t be a surprise from the 37-year-old who’s launched one of the most successful communities in the world with Reddit. In our conversation, he talked of building a fan base one-to-one, and gave the example of a fan who purchased merchandise from the team’s online store instantly receiving a personalized thank you video from him, guaranteeing a lifelong evangelist for the brand. “We brought in software from Day 1 to make the merch-buying experience for Angel City FC next level,” he said. “People are giving up their torso for advertising. When a team is able to get someone to wear our merch, we should be grateful. We should be sending them a thank you video. A YouTuber today with millions of fans, building a brand for herself, would do the same thing.”
He rattled off other forms of engagement around modern-day tech rather than traditional sports commerce. “These are best practices from nascent brands and nascent community builders that are born in the digital age,” he said. “We’re just finally now applying it to things that historically never got first-class software and execution.” For Ohanian and his partners, it’s all about creating that community — which we have seen successfully executed in other soccer markets. “When you’re building a business from Day 1 today, you have to be thinking about building a community,” he said. “We have to build a community before we even actually build a team. And it’s just natural that we use these best practices from startups.”
Ohanian’s confidence is understandable, and it’s evident that he sees the ability to reimagine the sports business with lofty aspirations. “We’re here to set a standard for sports,” he said, with full conviction. “I want to set that standard so high that the highest performing clubs in the world are looking at Angel City saying, ‘How do we do that?’” And even while doing this, Ohanian keeps his eye on the bigger prize — to make the world a better place — and Angel City is a positive step forward. “This investment will make a better world. I want to help be a part of a solution. And investing in this club is one way to absolutely do that.”
First Look podcast, with four things Abe's keeping an eye on, at the 30:32 mark:
Abraham Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
