Welcome back. It is time now for our series, Women, Mean, and Today's Guest. I'm so excited. Someone who is at the forefront of the revolution happening right now in women's professional sports. Her name is Jess Smith, and she's one of the women behind the WNBA's newest team, the Golden State Valkeries. She's here live with us. We'll talk in just a moment. But first, here's some of her story.

When you think of the Valkeries, you think of it's a female warrior.

The Golden State Valkerries will be the newest WNBA team to hit the court since 2008. And leading the charge is the team's President, Jess Smith, a female warrior in her own right. This isn't the first time Smith has helped launch a new professional women's sports team. Back in 2020, she designed a sales plan that eventually landed her as the head of revenue for the Angel City Football Club, a National Women's Soccer League team that officially made its debut two years ago. Now, that club is the most profitable women's sports team in the world. Smith grew up in Auburn, New York, where her favorite sport to play was always basketball. She went on to study journalism at the State University of New York at Oswego. After graduating, she started her sports career with Minor League Base. Her resume now includes a master's in Sports Administration from Ohio University, plus roles with MLB, NHL, and MLS. This robust career and track record is what landed her on two Leaders Under 40 lists just last year. When she isn't changing the landscape in women's sports, Smith mentors aspiring young sports leaders through the Women's Coaching Alliance. A Trailblazer, a mom, and a role model, Jess Smith is a woman who means business.

And Jess Smith is here with us in studio. Jess, good morning. Thank you so much for being here.

Good morning.

Thanks for having me. It is so wonderful to meet you. I'm already like, I wish everybody could have been hearing our conversation since you walked into the studio because I'm just so fascinated by this. Let's start with right now building this team. Some exciting things. First of all, very cool that as of right now, your senior leadership is this all-female leadership team. I know that you're working in close partnership with the Warriors, but right now, that's what it looks like just on your org chart, which is exciting. You're also starting already brand partnerships with Chase Bank. Tell us about what these building blocks are like coming together.

Yeah, today, specifically, is a huge day for us in welcoming JPMorgan Chase to our family. Not only are they our first founding-level partner that we're announcing in this capacity, but they're going to be on our uniforms. And so they're going to use their Freedom brand to be on our uniforms. That means that everything that we do on the court, off the court, fans wearing it, players wearing it, they're going to be by our side. And their investment in us, especially as their first partnership on a jersey, means a lot. They understand the growth of women's sports. They understand what the Velcries are bringing to the table. They value us in the way that the world is now valuing women's sports in a really powerful way and progressing it forward. And so this partnership is going to mean so much more than simply just seeing a brand on a jersey. We're going to find really great ways to make sure it comes to life in a way that speaks to our community as well.

I'm going to ask you about women's sports in just a moment, but just everybody at home, what do you think about the fact this team doesn't exist right now. This name wasn't there. This logo wasn't there. The colors, the jerseys, the players, they are still not there. What is it like building a team out of thin air? And I know you've relied on your community a little bit to help make some of those decisions. Why do that?

Yeah. I mean, there's no playbook, right? Which makes it incredibly exciting. Also a little bit stressful, to be totally honest, right? Because we want to get this right and do it for our fans, do it for our community that has big expectations from us. In the Bay Area, specifically, the world often looks to the Bay to see what comes next. How do we treat people? What are the technology innovations that I should be thinking about and adapting to? And what we're doing in women's sports is no different from that. And so as the team was announced in October, actually, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an article asking fans, what should the team name be? And 25% of people wrote in, not just some multiple choice, but wrote in the Golden State Velcries. And so we listened to that from day one. It's really important to give the people what they want, to make sure that we're listening to them as we're building this brand. When you see our colors, we're not blue and gold like the Warriors. They're an incredible brand. When you see Golden State and blue and gold, you're going to think of them.

For us, we wanted people to feel like they could build into the legacy that we're making together. And so those types of decisions as we are building this Velcries brand are something that we have to really do every day and make sure that we're being diligent about.

I love this stat I'm about to say. Again, just a reminder, players have not been announced. The team is still just coming together. 15,000 people have already bought season tickets.

Well, I have a small correction there. We're actually nearing 17,000. Nearing 17,000. I know. That type of support. That is incredible. Yeah. Day after day, I log in and just see sometimes hundreds of more people that have lined up to say, I want in. I want to be there for every single thing that you do. We hosted an open house, and it was the first time many of our fans had ever been to Chase Center. For four hours, I stood in line and talked to every single person that I had time to. Even in that line, people were making decisions right there. They just met somebody and they want to sit next to each other, or they found out that they had something in common that they didn't think about. Building that community and seeing it come together for their first time in the arena was really cool. I can't wait until we have an actual player in a jersey and other things that they get to rally around together and having fun in doing that.

As someone on the inside, are we really having this moment for women's sports? Is this turning the page where it's not women's sports anymore, it's just sports and they're fun to watch?

Yeah, the page has turned. This is the moment. I remember the WMVA being launched when I was 13 and thinking, This is it. This is so incredible. There's been such great work done since that moment. But the time is now. When you really think about what's happening, there is this understanding of consumers. They know they have to watch, buy a ticket, buy their merchandise, show up, talk about it with their friends. You have brands like JPMorgan Chase being like, No, we're in and we're going to invest in a big way and show the world why we want to be here and how we're going to make sure we're driving that fandom and engagement there. You have media talking to everybody about it, making sure the games are produced in a high capacity and they have the shoulder programmings and they have the stories of the players on and off the field. And most importantly, you have these players. These players are powerhouses, and they're multidimensional. They're not just these incredible athletes on the court. They are these incredible women that have different sides of them, and fans are connecting with them based on fashion or other interests that they have or where they are in their life cycle, whether they have kids or don't have kids or what they like to do in their free time.

We only have 15 seconds left, but just your advice for women who want to get into the sports industry. We love to ask for advice in this segment, Obviously, it's an industry that historically has been a tougher one for a woman to walk in the door. What's your advice?

Say yes, show up, be your authentic self. Don't try to be like anybody else. That's your superpower. Just keep being who you are and driving it forward.

Jessamyn, thank you so much again for being here. We cannot wait to follow the Valkries. I'm going to come see you guys. We're doing a story on this. This is so exciting. I just can't wait to see how it develops. Congratulations. I know you're a busy woman, so we appreciate your time.Thanks for having me.Thank you for coming in.

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