Hawks launch $50M venture fund to support underrepresented startups
The Atlanta Hawks logo is seen on the court before the start of a game between the Washington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on May 10, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Casey Sykes/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - The Atlanta Hawks have created a new fund to invest millions of dollars into minority- and woman-led startups as well as businesses focusing on customer experience.
Thursday, the Hawks announced the launch of Hawks Ventures, a $50-million venture fund looking to give capital to underrepresented startups over the next five years.
In a statement, the organization says the fund will also look to support "customer-obsessed businesses with the potential to impact or transform the way a product or service is experienced."
"Hawks Ventures is exactly the kind of community-enhancing effort we committed to making when we purchased the team in 2015. Creating a fund that could strategically enhance our business and leverage the experience and talents of our ownership group has been something that we have been working to put our resources and energy into from the beginning," said Hawks Principal Owner Tony Ressler. "Hawks Ventures is an endeavor that our ownership group is extremely passionate about, and we are excited to be able to invest in and work with the significant untapped potential of minority- and women-led entrepreneurs."
Running the fund will be Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Innovation and Investments David Garcia, who was previously the team's Senior Vice President of Experience and Innovation.
"I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to lead this initiative and to be able to meaningfully contribute to driving economic empowerment in underrepresented communities," Garcia said. "With the experience economy being a driving force of so much business value and our focus on diversity and inclusion, we believe there will be no shortage of great ideas and founders to invest in."
Garcia has been with the Hawks since 2018 and the team says he helped turn State Farm Arena into the largest voting precinct in Georgia history during the 2020 general election's early-voting period and the Georgia Senate runoff.