Renee Montgomery, co-owner and vice president of the Atlanta Dream, is now a general partner at inclusive investment firm Valor Ventures.
The former Atlanta Dream basketball player and Atlanta Business Chronicle 2021 40 Under 40 honoree has become a champion for diversity and inclusion off the court. After an 11-year basketball career and two championship wins, she opted out of the Women’s National Basketball Association to focus on social reform in 2020.
As a partner with Valor Ventures, Montgomery hopes to direct dollars to founders of color and women to generate wealth for underrepresented communities.
“My passion for social justice led me to venture capital,” Montgomery said in a social media video. “There’s so many systemic problems that will take time to fight, but what can I do right now?”
Valor Ventures is an Atlanta-based seed-stage investment firm that closed its second, $21 million fund with support from the Georgia Tech Foundation and the Kellogg Foundation. The firm aims to make sure its portfolio matches the diversity of the Southeast and focuses on inclusive investing.
Valor Ventures sources underrepresented founders partially through its Startup Runway pitch showcase, which helps connect women and founders of colors to investors and mentors.
“Valor is the first institutional VC firm led by an inclusive team to come in this wave of growth, and the first female-led institutional venture capital in Atlanta,” Valor Ventures General Partner Lisa Calhoun said in April.
Montgomery sees venture capital as a way to create generational wealth — a pivotal part of her social justice advocacy. She manages her own angel portfolio, which includes investment in live sports startup BUZZER.
Montgomery is part of a new ownership group led by real estate developer Larry Gottesdiener that took over the Atlanta Dream from former Sen. Kelly Loeffler in February. That sale came after a tough year for the WNBA team. The players used the spotlight during their shortened season to stand up against injustice, including calling out Loeffler for criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement.
Though Montgomery didn’t play last season, she was one of several standout players in those discussions. She also started the Renee Montgomery Foundation in 2019 to serve the Atlanta community and ran voting campaigns during the 2020 election.
