Just Women’s Sports announced Thursday that it has raised $6 million in new funding from both new and returning investors.
The funding round was led by Blue Pool Capital, Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai’s family office. New investors include tennis icon Billie Jean King; Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang; Bolt Ventures, the family office of financier and team owner David Blitzer; SC Holdings, a strategic entertainment investor that’s backed The SpringHill Company and Front Office Sports; Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund; Muse Capital; Dapper Labs, the leading sports NFT platform, and other institutional and angel investors.
“The business case for women’s sports has never been clearer, and Just Women’s Sports is positioned to be the leading media platform in the space,” said New York Liberty owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai. “We’re thrilled to partner with them as they enter this next phase of growth.”
Just Women’s Sports is proud to announce that we’ve raised $6 million from an All-Star lineup of new and returning investors. pic.twitter.com/HLSDlOJ0KL
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) June 9, 2022
From its inception, Just Women’s Sports has prioritized supporting and partnering with the athlete community. New additions to its standout roster of athlete investors include the aforementioned King, Allyson Felix, Abby Wambach, Sam Kerr, Lynn Williams, Paul Rabil and Apolo Ohno, among others. They join previous athlete investors Kelley O’Hara, Elena Delle Donne, Hilary Knight, Arike Ogunbowale and Sam Mewis.
Added King: “Just Women’s Sports is building on the foundation of earlier pioneers by creating a media platform that celebrates and elevates the incredible athletes and stories in women’s sports. Haley and her team have the vision and talent necessary to usher in a new era in sports media.”
JWS founder and CEO Haley Rosen believes the additional funding is further proof that women’s sports is entering a new era of investment and popularity, with JWS leading the way.
“Two years ago, we saw a massive opportunity to tap into an audience that was extremely underserved by traditional media,” said Rosen. “We knew the on-field product was great, and that women’s sports just needed better coverage and smarter marketing to truly break into the mainstream. This latest round of funding gives us the resources to cement our status as the leading platform in the space.”
JWS’ first quarter revenue in 2022 was four times its revenue from Q1 2021, and the company is on pace to triple its Q1 2022 revenue in Q2. JWS has likewise tripled its total audience in the last year while growing its staff from four to 25. To date, the company has worked with more than 20 of the world’s biggest brands, including Nike, Puma, Under Armour, Heineken, Cisco and DICK’s Sporting Goods.
Just Women’s Sports’ original programming includes a series of athlete-hosted podcasts and video series, as well as social media, a website, a newsletter and live events. JWS also has a growing line of exclusive merchandise, which will expand in the coming months.
JWS previously raised $3.5 million in May 2021. Returning investors in JWS include Will Ventures, Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s Thirty Five Ventures, OVO Fund, Supernode Global and Drive by DraftKings.
