Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios upgraded his investment portfolio by joining hands with MMA superstar Jake Paul for his men’s grooming brand, W. Interestingly, the brand had already received an undisclosed amount of investment from another big tennis name, Naomi Osaka.
After its recent Series A round of fundraising, the brand’s valuation rose above $150 million according to an Inc.com report. With other investors like Celsius CEO John Fieldly, Fanatic CEO Michael Rubin and rapper Lil Durk, Paul aims to bring about a revolution in the world of men’s personal care.
Paul and his co-founder Geoffrey Woos are aiming to provide affordable and good-quality products to consumers. It has registered record sales, which crossed the mark of seven figures already. W is expected to exceed $50 million in this regard by the end of the year.
Nick Kyrgios ups his investor game with Naomi Osaka and Jake Paul for W! pic.twitter.com/mY53ZPcYrn
— Wide World of Tennis (@tennisfan_dkr) July 24, 2024
So when Kyrgios and Osaka were approached to invest in the brand, they jumped at the opportunity. Being passionate investors, they are set to work together and possibly, challenge Serena Williams in the same industry at least in the United States for a start.
Osaka-Kyrgios to Compete Against Serena?
The 23-time Grand Slam champion is part of the Board of Directors of NBA legend LeBron James’ and his co-founder Maverick Carter’s venture named The Shop, which too, similar to W, provides men’s grooming essentials. She had also advertised for them by putting some of the products, sent to her by the brand, on her Instagram stories and stating how she was ‘jealous’.
Serena also requested LeBron and Carter to make something for women as well, in a lighthearted manner recently.
“I’m probably going to give this to my husband but I admit I’m feeling a bit jealous. Hope you guys make products for people like me too!” Serena captioned the story.
Thus, Kyrgios’ and Osaka’s decision to dive into a different brand in the same category can be taken as a competition. However, this is not the first time that the duo have partnered for a business venture. In fact, Kyrgios is the first client to join Osaka’s agency named Evolve.
He also joined hands with her production company, Hana Kuma, to release his podcast series named ‘Good Trouble’. The two tennis stars also became co-owners of Miami Pickleball Club in 2022, after the sport faced a huge surge and started attracting investors and later on, viewers.
