Rising Returns: A New Era of Investing in Women’s Sports

The 2025 Beyond Silicon Valley Speaker Series takes the spirit of Revolution’s Rise of the Rest and runs with it — bringing the energy of our gatherings to more people in more places. This new series convenes investors, founders, and partners from across the D.C. metro area (and, true to form, beyond) for conversations that dig into the trends shaping the future of entrepreneurship, innovation, and venture capital. Each event tackles a timely theme, featuring speakers with bold ideas and relevant real-world experience.

For our debut event, we partnered with Halcyon and Halcyon Venture Partners for a high-impact morning in D.C. that zeroed in on the future of investing in women and the fast-growing momentum behind women’s sports.

The conversation: Why investing in women’s sports is smart business — with media rights, growing fanbases, and players’ increasing star power driving long-term growth.

The takeaways:

“Women’s sports is not a moment, it’s a movement.” — Lorine Pendleton, 125 Ventures

The rise in interest, viewership, and commercial potential of women’s sports signals a lasting shift — not a trend. Fanbases are growing, younger, and more engaged.

“The real assets, like the stadium, are critical to the team valuation.” — Emma Rodriguez-Ayala, Ariel Investments

Infrastructure and real estate matters. Stadiums and practice facilities are essential for long-term value creation, including sponsorship opportunities, elevating both the fan experience and athlete performance.

“You cannot talk about sports without media rights.” — Lorine Pendleton, 125 Ventures

Media rights are a game-changer. Media deals are big leverage points for team valuations, players, and fan access that are shaping the future success of leagues and athletes.

“Women’s sports fans are 2.8 times more likely to purchase a product recommended by a female athlete than compared to all other types of influencers.” — Kim Stone, Washington Spirit

More and more, we’re seeing that fans aren’t just loyal to teams — they’re loyal to individual athletes and will follow them to whatever organization they join.

Women’s sports aren’t just gaining fans, they’re gaining value. With skyrocketing viewership, expanding sponsorships, and loyal audiences, the returns are starting to speak for themselves. The smart play? Invest early and stay in the game.