The Game Changer, Renee Montgomery
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Executive Brief: If you haven’t heard of Renee Montgomery, you’re missing out. The two-time WNBA champion and former all-star made headlines when she left her WNBA career in 2020 to pursue social justice initiatives full-time, giving up a steady paycheque in the middle of an economic crisis to fight for justice. With her multiple initiatives on the go, she still found the time to partner up with two investors to purchase the Atlanta Dream from former Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler’s ownership group while also entering the angel investment space. In November 2021, Montgomery took the next step in influencing change for underrepresented groups when she joined Valor Ventures as a general partner focusing her portfolio on financial inclusion and investing in underrepresented founders. Enjoy the read!
Montgomery Left the Game to Influence Social Justice
As an athlete, two-time WNBA champion Renee Montgomery leveraged her platform and status to influence change. In June 2020, Montgomery shocked the sports world when she opted out of her 12th season in the WNBA to focus her attention full-time on social justice reform. The then-Atlanta Dream point guard tweeted her retirement announcement, thinking that would be it. Soon after, the Dream’s communication department received request after request to speak to Montgomery. At that moment, she realized she wouldn’t be able to go off quietly into the night.
Basketball had been her life since age 10. Montgomery was a star at the University of Connecticut, then battled her way through 11 years in the WNBA, culminating in two championships. Yet, in June 2020, she felt it was time to act. At the time, she felt Atlanta’s shock after the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Montgomery called her mother and received one of the best quotes I’ve heard in a while, “If you can’t make your voice heard, you’re gonna make it felt.” So, Montgomery acted. She gave up her WNBA paycheque during an economic crisis and leaned into fighting for social justice almost full-time.
Montgomery’s Initiatives
Montgomery already formed The Renee Montgomery Foundation in 2019 while playing for the Dream. In 2020, she added two new initiatives, including Remember the 3rd program, which focused on increasing her community’s involvement in local politics by creating workshops and pep rallies. Her foundation almost immediately partnered with More than a Vote, LeBron James’ campaign initiative ahead of the 2020 Presidential Election.
That said, Montgomery realizes elections are not the only way to influence change; her initiative, The Last Yard, raises money to improve education at HBCUs. One of their recent campaigns is funding a new gaming centre for Morris Brown College in Georgia to provide opportunities for students to learn to leverage technology.
Following her mother’s guidance, Montgomery didn’t stop there. Instead, she joined a three-member ownership group to buy the Atlanta Dream from former part-owner Kelly Loeffler, the Republican Senator who made headlines in 2020 when she disapproved of the WNBA’s alignment with the Black Lives Matter movement. After Loefler’’s remarks, many WNBA players and people around the league called for her removal. In February 2021, Montgomery and her group received approval from the WNBA to purchase the Atlanta Dream. Montgomery made history, becoming the first former player to become both an owner and executive of a WNBA team. Larry Gottesdiener, chairman of Northland, a national real estate firm, and Northland president and COO Suzanne Abair round of the group.
Montgomery’s Move to Venture Capital
The two-time WNBA champion is now moving into venture capital to continue her journey of influencing social justice and helping under-represented groups. After working with under-represented entrepreneurs as an angel investor, Montgomery connected with Valor Ventures, an Atlanta-based venture capital firm.
A mutual connection introduced Montgomery to the firm’s founder, Lisa Calhoun, who initially thought she would be entering a mentorship relationship to assist Montgomery with her angel investing. After looking at Montgomery’s investments and the markups they’ve attained since her investing, Calhoun believed that Montgomery would be a fit to come on board with Valor. After meeting Montgomery and her wife, Sirena Grace, Calhoun realized that Montgomery had the DNA to be a tremendous leader at Valor, so they joined forces.
Valor Ventures focuses on financial inclusion and investing in underrepresented founders, lining up perfectly with Montgomery’s passions, expertise, and interest. The firm is currently investing out of a $25 million fund. Montgomery joined Valor as a general partner in November 2021, making her one of the first former professional athletes to join an existing venture capital firm in the role.
In June 2020, Montgomery realized the potential influence venture capital allowed when she invested in the Fan Controlled Football (FCF) league, a football league that will enable fans to make each team’s decisions, from schemes to logos to draft pick selections. This investment helped make it all connect for Montgomery when she realized that everything is about who is making the decisions. It’s the decision-makers that get to shift a culture or influence change. Montgomery plans to implement this logic to investing where she can affect the most positive change. Moving forward, you will see her using this newfound power to influence the same for the Atlanta Dream, the WNBA, and the businesses she invests in.
To date, Montgomery’s investment portfolio includes her angel investments in the sports technology sector, including Buzzer, a mobile fan engagement platform that has raised $24 million to date – to learn more about Buzzer, check out my recent newsletter here. Her other significant investment is MarketPryce, a marketplace that connects athletes with potential brand deals. MarketPryce has raised $3.4 million in funding so far and will compete with Opendorse, a company I wrote about in a recent newsletter.
Both Calhoun and Montgomery mentioned that she’d be looking for new investments within the sports technology sector, the creator economy, and other technology that improves people’s lives. Montgomery will leverage her front-line experience as an athlete, broadcast commentator and analyst, and vice-president and co-owner of the Atlanta Dream to navigate the space and find the best developing and creative technologies in the sector.
In my opinion, the move makes all the sense for Montgomery professionally. The move also has excellent connectivity with her primary passion in activism. She’ll be able to support and fund the communities she’s seeking to help most. Though turning a profit is a factor for her firm, the role will allow Montgomery to support underrepresented founders financially, contribute to financial inclusion, and help create generational wealth for the communities she serves. Most of all, her new roles let her become a decision-maker where she can start to indeed influence change for the good.
Thank you for reading. Have a great day, and we’ll talk on Friday
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Every addition helps!
Kendal
Question of the Day
Have you followed along with the WNBA’s track record with social justice initiatives and being leaders in that space? What are some best examples you’ve noticed?
Games of the Week
NBA
Tues, November 30th: New York Knicks vs. Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 pm (E.T.) – Watch the Battle of New York on TNT, TSN and NBA League Pass.
Later that night, the Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns at 10:00 pm (E.T.) – Watch the battle of the two top teams in the West on TNT and Sportsnet.
NHL
Tues, November 30th: Washington Capitals vs. Florida Panthers at 7:00 pm (E.T.) – Watch on NBC Sports Washington and NHL Centre Ice.
Wed, December 1, Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Edmonton Oilers at 10:00 pm (E.T.) – Watch on Sportsnet Now and ESPN.
NFL
Thu, December 2, Dallas Cowboys vs. New Orleans Saints at 8:20 pm (E.T.) – Watch on DAZN, TSN 1, Fox, NFL Network, Amazon Prime.