Savannah James is taking her brand and business to the next level.
The entrepreneur, philanthropist, and wife of NBA superstar LeBron James has launched Signed, a new holding company designed to bring together her growing portfolio of women-focused businesses and media ventures. The company was co-founded with longtime friend and business partner April McDaniel and launched in partnership with MarcyPen Capital Partners, the private equity and venture capital firm co-founded by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter.
Signed will serve as the parent company for three existing ventures: creative
agency Crown + Conquer, the members-only women’s community; “Let It Break;” and Everybody’s Crazy, the podcast hosted by James and McDaniel. The founders say the move reflects a broader vision to build an ecosystem that empowers women through creativity, community, and storytelling.“Once we really homed in on the purpose, it made us realize that we were sitting on something way bigger than we even imagined,” McDaniel told Fast Company. “Then it was about finding the best use of our superpowers and where we needed support and visionaries to help us scale to the next level.”
The
company has named Christopher Gray, who has held leadership roles at Nike and Wieden+Kennedy London, as its chief creative officer. Gray will oversee the creative direction across all three brands as Signed looks to expand into new ventures. James said surrounding herself with experienced leaders has always been central to her approach to entrepreneurship.“I’ve always been a champion of experts,” she told Fast Company. “There’s always somebody that’s smarter. There’s always somebody who’s more efficient. So if I can place those people around us, that’s what we’re going to do.”
For James and McDaniel, maintaining ownership and creative control was a driving force behind Signed’s formation. After Everybody’s Crazy
departed its distribution deal with Dear Media, the pair opted to build their own studio rather than sign another major partnership.“When we were leaving Dear Media, we got a pretty substantial offer to go in-house somewhere, but we bet on ourselves,” McDaniel said. “We’re building our own studio, and we’re really building the opportunity to own the narrative. We don’t want to be on our podcast selling everything under the kitchen sink.”
James said Signed will allow the company to scale while also elevating women.
“What excites us most about Signed is that it gives us the ability to grow with intention, with partnerships and experiences that reflect our values,” she said.
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