The Chicago Red Stars have a new group of owners, many of whom are familiar faces to Chicago's startup and entrepreneurship community.
The National Women’s Soccer League team announced this month the first members of its new ownership group to propel the soccer club's "next generation of growth."
Among the new owners are former Chicago Bears defensive end and entrepreneur Israel Idonije, Mac & Mia founder Marie Tillman, Impossible Foods marketing executive Jessie Becker, Zapwater Communications CEO Davd M. Zapata and Chicago Ventures General Partner Kevin Willer.
Others in the ownership group include Colleen Mares, Chance the Rapper’s manager, and Sarah Spain, a journalist and television personality at ESPN. The ownership group, made up of leaders from sports, entertainment, technology and business, all have Chicago ties. The unique Chicago-specific group "cares deeply about the city of Chicago and the success of the Chicago Red Stars, the NWSL, and women's sports," majority owner Arnim Whisler said in a statement.
For Willer, leader of well-known VC fund Chicago Ventures, investing in the Red Stars isn't that much different than his day job.
"It’s kind of like investing in a startup," he told me. "You put some money in. You can just show up at the board meetings and get reports and all that. Or you could actually lean in and help. We at Chicago Ventures have always taken that approach of value-add. I'm taking the same approach here personally."
While the ownership group was just announced last week, the group has been working together since the start of the year. Willer, who started Google's first Chicago office in 2000 and was 1871's founding CEO, said he's been able to facilitate business connections for the Red Stars, like introducing them to local tech companies, such as ActiveCampaign and Blinkfire Analytics, to help with marketing. He was even able to make a call to his contacts at Twitter so the Red Stars could own the handle @chicagoredstars.
"It's almost like a bootstrapped startup," he said. "It's done great things without a lot of funding ... It's really exciting to see what can be done now with these additional resources."
The Red Stars were established in 2007 as a founding member of the former Women’s Professional Soccer league. They became one of the original eight teams to form the National Women’s Soccer League in 2013, making the playoffs in six consecutive years from 2015-2020. They made the NWSL Championship in 2019 season and appeared in the NWSL’s Challenge Cup Final in 2020.
The dollar amount of the investment was not disclosed, but Willer said the deal provides "substantial resources" for the club.
A-list celebrities have increasingly invested in the NWSL. Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush Hager are part owners in the Washington Spirit, Natalie Portman and Serena Williams are involved with Angel City FC, and tennis star Naomi Osaka is a backer of the North Carolina Courage.
Willer said the Red Stars' Chicago-centric ownership group, with its diverse areas of expertise, will help the club continue to thrive for years to come.
"It all begins and ends with building a world-class organization, and building on what they already have," he said.
