Why the VC arena is the new playground for Asian sports stars

Gone are the days when a star athlete would merely make headlines for throwing lavish parties or purchasing properties. These days, they make newsreels for investing in tech and startups.

Former tennis player Serena Williams was among the earliest personalities to draw attention to athletes in the venture capital space. One of her notable investments is Indonesian coffee chain Kopi Kenangan. Today, she runs Serena Ventures.

Asian athletes are following suit. Last month, Joseph Schooling – a former competitive swimmer and Singapore’s first Olympic gold medalist – announced his entry into the VC space as a founding partner at Swaen Schooling Capital, along with investment banker Cliff Go and serial entrepreneur Ben Ling.

More recently, Keisuke Honda, a former member of Japan’s national football team, threw his hat into the VC ring with X&KSK.

Japanese football icon Keisuke Honda is the latest athlete from Asia to throw his ring into the VC world. / Photo credit: Rantau PR

What draws some of these names to the risky world of startups and tech? The hunt for the next big thing, Honda tells Tech in Asia.

Decacorn hunting

Honda’s VC firm X&KSK has team members both in Japan and the US. He is currently raising US$100 million for its debut fund, where he serves as general partner.

He operates the fund with Kohei Yamamoto, who previously worked at Rakuten, and Justin Waldron, a renowned internet entrepreneur.

Honda tells Tech in Asia that he has raised about 30% of the fund’s target. While the fund is sector agnostic, it is mainly considering Japanese startups that have a presence overseas. 

The X&KSK is looking to support 30 Japanese startups, and Honda is eyeing at least one of them in his portfolio to be a “decacorn,” or a company with a valuation of at least US$10 billion. 

Meanwhile, Schooling’s firm – established in 2022 – is focusing on early-stage investments in three areas: impact and sustainability, sports and wellness, and tech.

Swaen Schooling Capital is also open to creating “original businesses in-house” and forming strategic partnerships.

To date, there have been no announcements of investments made by Swaen Schooling Capital. A company spokesperson tells Tech in Asia the firm will “get in touch” when it’s ready to make public announcements.

Banking on fame

VCs and analysts tracking this space believe that former athletes are celebrities in their own right. So by virtue of their fame, they would be able to invest in deals that are otherwise hyper-competitive.

Avoiding a bleak post-retirement phase