Serena Williams Champions Health Tech Startups at SXSW, Focusing on Community Impact Over Profits

At this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, tennis icon Serena Williams took center stage not with a racket, but as a venture capitalist with a mission. As the managing partner of Serena Ventures and entrepreneur-in-residence for Reckitt Catalyst, Williams led a panel discussion that broke from the typical venture capital mold, emphasizing community impact over pure profit margins.

“I never started out wanting to win 23 Grand Slams. I wanted to win the US Open, and then I made that scalable,” Williams joked, drawing laughter from the audience. This lighthearted quip set the tone for a conversation that would delve into the scalability of social impact through technology and investment.

Joining Williams on the panel were two entrepreneurs who are using technology to address critical gaps in healthcare: Mika Eddy, co-founder of Malama Health, and Kwamane Liddell, founder of Thrivelink. Both startups are leveraging innovative approaches to tackle pressing health issues in underserved communities.

Mika Eddy’s journey to founding Malama Health was deeply personal. Inspired by her grandmother, an OB-GYN who served rural communities in Japan, Eddy recognized a similar need in the United States. “The US was truly not built for healthy outcomes for women, and particularly if you do not have privilege or a platform, oftentimes these outcomes are left to chance,” Eddy explained. Malama Health, whose name means “care” in Hawaiian, connects pregnant individuals with local doulas and remote monitoring technology to support them during pregnancy and postpartum. The startup aims to improve maternal health outcomes, a critical issue in a country where maternal mortality rates are alarmingly high, especially among marginalized communities.

Kwamane Liddell’s story is equally compelling. As an emergency department nurse, Liddell witnessed firsthand the challenges patients face in accessing essential social services. This experience, coupled with his uncle’s struggle after a stroke, inspired him to create Thrivelink. The platform helps patients across the country find housing, medication, and other vital social service resources. What sets Thrivelink apart is its focus on accessibility. Recognizing that not everyone has access to the internet or smartphones, Liddell designed the platform to be usable without these technologies. For instance, Thrivelink uses AI voice technology rather than relying on text, making it accessible to those who may have difficulty reading or typing. “People might not be able to text or type within the app, but they can say their address,” Liddell explained. “So we built a telephonic AI agent that allows people to talk. Since then, we’ve helped thousands of families access healthy food.”

The panel discussion highlighted the complex relationship between health tech, venture capitalism, and policy in the United States. Health technology often emerges as a response to gaps or major issues left by the healthcare and insurance industries. As large tech companies like OpenAI, Amazon, and Microsoft continue to develop AI tools for healthcare, alongside innovative startups like Malama and Thrivelink, the landscape of health tech is rapidly evolving.

Williams’ involvement in this panel underscores a growing trend in venture capital: a shift towards impact investing. This approach seeks to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside financial returns. By bringing attention to startups like Malama Health and Thrivelink, Williams is not only supporting innovative solutions to pressing health issues but also challenging the traditional venture capital model to consider community impact as a key metric of success.

The discussion also touched on the importance of diversity in tech entrepreneurship. Both Eddy and Liddell represent underrepresented groups in the tech industry, and their startups address issues that disproportionately affect marginalized communities. This alignment of founder identity with the communities served by their startups can lead to more culturally competent and effective solutions.

As the conversation wrapped up, it was clear that the future of health tech lies not just in cutting-edge AI or sophisticated algorithms, but in the hands of entrepreneurs who understand the real-world challenges faced by underserved communities. With champions like Serena Williams amplifying their voices and providing crucial funding through Serena Ventures, these startups have the potential to scale their impact far beyond their initial reach.

The SXSW panel served as a powerful reminder that technology, when thoughtfully applied and adequately funded, can be a force for positive change in healthcare. It challenged attendees to think beyond traditional metrics of success in venture capital and consider the broader societal impact of their investments.

As we look to the future, it’s clear that the intersection of technology, healthcare, and social impact will continue to be a fertile ground for innovation. With tennis legend Serena Williams now serving as a powerful advocate for impact-driven startups, the game has changed – and it’s one where everyone has the potential to be a winner.

Tags: Serena Williams, SXSW, Health Tech, Venture Capital, Impact Investing, Malama Health, Thrivelink, Maternal Health, AI in Healthcare, Diversity in Tech, Social Impact, Healthcare Innovation

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