Fundraising Stories With Female Founders podcast

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Konten disediakan oleh Julia Elliott Brown. Semua konten podcast termasuk episode, grafik, dan deskripsi podcast diunggah dan disediakan langsung oleh Julia Elliott Brown atau mitra platform podcast mereka. Jika Anda yakin seseorang menggunakan karya berhak cipta Anda tanpa izin, Anda dapat mengikuti proses yang diuraikan di sini https://id.player.fm/legal.

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Cash or Miles? The 2025 Points Valuations That Could Change How You Travel 42:36

9 weeks yang lalu42:36

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Get fresh NerdWallet data on what your points and miles are really worth in 2025 — and why the answer might change how you book travel. Should you take a $650 flight voucher or 32,500 miles? How much are your points and miles actually worth? Hosts Sally French and Meghan Coyle break down the latest NerdWallet valuations to help you make smarter redemption choices. But first, they cover the week’s biggest travel headlines, including Southwest Airlines’ new partnership with EVA Air, Frontier’s companion certificate promotion and status match, and JetBlue opening up award bookings with Condor Airlines. Then, travel Nerd Craig Joseph joins Meghan to discuss NerdWallet’s latest airline, hotel, and credit card point valuations, with tips and tricks on comparing loyalty programs, maximizing transfer partners, and deciding when cash is more valuable than points. They also discuss the impact of devaluations, how close-in bookings can save you points, and why premium cabins can sometimes offer outsized redemption value. Plus: Craig’s hot take on airport lounges. Card benefits, terms and fees can change. For the most up-to-date information about cards mentioned in this episode, read our reviews: Is the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard Worth Its Annual Fee? https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/is-the-frontier-airlines-world-mastercard-worth-its-annual-fee Citi Strata Credit Card Review: Solid Rewards for No Annual Fee https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/citi-strata Citi Double Cash Review: A Solid Choice for Everyday Spending https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/citi-double-cash Citi Custom Cash Card Review: Low-Maintenance 5% Cash Back https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/citi-custom-cash Citi Strata Premier: Big Rewards Across Top Spending Categories https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/citi-strata-premier Is the New Alaska Atmos Summit Card Worth a $395 Annual Fee? https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/is-the-alaska-airlines-atmos-summit-card-worth-its-annual-fee Resources discussed in this episode: Airline Miles vs. Cash Calculator https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/calculator-should-you-book-a-flight-with-cash-or-miles How Much Are Travel Points and Miles Worth in 2025? https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/airline-miles-and-hotel-points-valuations Want even more tips and tricks to get the most out of your travel dollars? Subscribe to TravelNerd , our free newsletter designed to help you crack the code on spending less on your travel. In this episode, the Nerds discuss: points and miles valuation, airline miles value, hotel points value, credit card points value, Southwest EVA Air partnership, Frontier Companion Certificate, JetBlue Condor award booking, Citi American Airlines transfer, Amex Membership Rewards value, Capital One points value, Bilt points value, Hyatt points value, Hilton points value, Marriott points value, Wyndham points value, IHG points value, Alaska miles value, JetBlue points value, American Airlines miles value, United miles value, Southwest points value, Virgin Atlantic miles value, ANA miles value, Avianca LifeMiles value, best way to use Amex points, best way to use Citi points, best way to use Capital One points, use cash or points for flights, last minute award flight value, premium cabin redemption value, economy flight points value, airline devaluation, hotel point devaluation, cash vs points travel booking, when to transfer credit card points, how to maximize travel rewards, and NerdWallet points and miles calculator. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Inspirational interviews with female founders sharing their honest stories on raising investment – the highs, the lows, the challenges… and top tips for how to be successful. Fundraising Stories is hosted by Julia Elliott Brown, CEO and Founder of Enter The Arena, serial entrepreneur and equity fundraising expert. Enter The Arena is the organisation for female founders, providing investment expertise and business coaching. Enter The Arena empowers female founders to fly through pre-raise and investment, and on to the exponential growth of their business. Our firsthand experience, expert guidance and proven programmes help female founders unleash the wonder woman inside.

72 episode

#Trading #Business #Equity Finance #Women #Fundraising #Crowdfunding #Venture Capital #Julia Elliott Brown #Investing #Entrepreneur #Angel Investing #Female Founders

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

18 subscribers

updated 2 tahun yang lalu

Beranda serial•Feed

72 episode

#Trading #Business #Equity Finance #Women #Fundraising #Crowdfunding #Venture Capital #Julia Elliott Brown #Investing #Entrepreneur #Angel Investing #Female Founders

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Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Nicola Piercy, Stripe and Stare - Securing investment for sustainable knickers 43:14

2 years yang lalu43:14

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Join Julia Elliott Brown, Founder & CEO of Enter the Arena as she sits down with Nicola Piercy, the Founder of Stripe and Stare, the world's most comfortable knickers sustainably sourced from trees. Nicola shares her life as a serial entrepreneur, from founding Stripe and Stare with co-founder Katie Lopes to getting £3.6million in investment. Whilst gaining angel investment, Nicola experienced a devastating personal loss—her husband's unexpected passing. Despite the immense grief, Nicola persevered, meeting investors and navigating the complexities of running a business. Her journey shows the strength, dedication, and resilience required to overcome adversity in both personal and professional realms. Since then, Stripe and Stare went on to gain their first major venture capital round of £1.8m from the Business Growth Fund as well as a further shareholder and customer “crowdfund”. Tune in to discover the unique journey of Stripe and Stare, the brand's commitment to sustainability, and the remarkable story of Nicola Piercy's triumph over personal tragedy while building a globally recognised and eco-conscious business. How to navigate VC term sheets Why you need to do due diligence on investors How to not take investor rejection personally…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Lisa Eaton, Fabric Academy - The Power of Advisors 34:02

2 years yang lalu34:02

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Being new to the world of investment, Lisa mapped out local experts in the North East of England that could fill certain knowledge gaps. It was after discovering who could add value to the business that she “accidentally” found her Angel investors and went on to successfully close her round with £225K of funding. Listen to Lisa’s investment journey to find out what she learned along the way and her tips that might help you with your own fundraising endeavours. In this episode, you’ll discover: The value of having advisors from the start Why you should think of raising investment as a sales process How to select the right route to investment…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Rebekah Brown, MPowder - Raising Money for Menopause 47:25

2 years yang lalu47:25

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Like many women starting businesses, the motivation for Rebekah Brown’s entrepreneurship, MPowder, was in response to her own experiences and spotting a gap in the market. She was struggling with a multitude of symptoms during perimenopause and felt there was barely any information on how to deal with it. Since then, Rebekah has listened to the stories of many women to understand midlife better, launching several supplements to help enhance the stages of menopause. Rebekah credits the co-creation community as the driving force behind the success of MPowder. As consumers feedback and share their stories, they help the team understand what they should be thinking about next. So, how hard was it to find investors ready to fund a menopause business? Rebekah reveals all about her experiences as she talks through her fundraising journey with our founder and CEO, Julia Elliott Brown. In this episode, you’ll discover: How accelerators can help you begin conversations with investors Why it's normal to feel confused by the investment world Why storytelling during pitches is the key to getting investment…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Polly McMaster, The Fold - Don’t Fold under pressure 48:10

2 years yang lalu48:10

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Being an entrepreneur is an incredibly turbulent journey. Polly McMaster is the founder of modern luxury workwear brand, The Fold, and she’s been experiencing the highs and lows since 2011. As Polly says in this episode, “that's something you have to have your eyes wide open to, when you go into it”. So how did Polly approach her fundraising strategy and stay sane throughout the process? All is revealed as she talks to our founder and CEO Julia Elliott Brown about her experiences. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why a simple approach to raising investment is key How to deal with the immense stress of fundraising Understanding when you just need to get the deal over the line…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Sheila Hogan, Biscuit Tin - Raising For DeathTech 41:58

2 years yang lalu41:58

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Biscuit Tin won the COVID response competition from Innovate UK, being one of 800 out of thousands of applications which gave the business runway through the pandemic. With no marketing budget, Sheila used partnerships to get the business to market and has been on Dragon’s Den which has certainly helped with PR and awareness. She used the media opportunity to cleverly run the true investment campaign in parallel and raised from a mix of angels and VCs. Since then, Sheila’s been on a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, with a large US investor pulling out at the last minute, the UK economy crash and then, an all-consuming crowdfund for £150K. Sheila is still on the fundraising journey, looking for further investment to propel Biscuit Tin forward. How to keep moving forward when it’s tough raising investment How to get the most from PR opportunities when fundraising Why too many voices can hinder your funding journey…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Cindy Gallop, MakeLoveNotPorn - Funding a real sex website 41:29

2 years yang lalu41:29

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No investors wanted to “touch the business with a barge pole” fourteen years ago, when the company was started by Cindy, due to fear of being associated with SexTech. However, Cindy saw an opportunity in the market. She feels sex is essentially a recession-proof industry and the niche of “socially acceptable” sex, which normalises it and allows people to publicly share sex and advocate for this is needed in society. Cindy managed to get one private angel investor to invest $3 million. Things are slightly better now than 14 years ago thankfully, but there have still been many challenges due to restrictions around marketing and other elements. The longer-term goal for the business is to create “sex education” content in collaboration with experts through the platform. She’s currently raising investment to achieve this ambition. In this episode, you’ll discover: How to be resilient when raising investment Why you need to market yourself and your brand constantly to raise successfully Why the investors who get it, will champion you in every way!…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Katy Cottam, Luna Daily - Funds, vulvas, knees and toes 51:19

3 years yang lalu51:19

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Katy secured a pre-seed funding round from several angel investors. She remembers hearing from multiple people “That's not possible" and is really glad she didn't listen to that advice and instead pushed to get on board the right angel partners that fully believed in the vision. The relationships Katy has built have been fundamental to the success of the business - with the next round of investment of £2 million propelling them to new heights alongside stock financing of £1 million. While stock finance is not for everyone, Katy’s deal structure has been a perfect marrying of both funding types that has allowed Luna Daily to scale quicker. In this episode, you’ll discover: How to build your dream team Start with your brand positioning Why you need to stay nimble in your fundraise…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Vivi Cahyadi Himmel, AltoVita - Investor herd mentality 38:05

3 years yang lalu38:05

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As digital nomads, Vivi and her co-founder had the ambitious goal of building a global empire. With Vivi being from an investment banking background, she had some financial skills, but starting a business was a whole new challenge. It’s why being humble is core to the culture of the business now, and not knowing everything is okay. The co-founders started with £60K to bootstrap their company which allowed them to launch a website, start marketing and recruit internal developers. Then they secured £300K through family and friends. AltoVita went on to raise £1.6m from angel investors globally. Key to their success were a few highly engaged ‘anchor’ investors who really resonated with the product. Vivi confirms herd mentality is not just a myth. Most recently was their Series A round. During the process, they walked away from some of the term sheets they were given by investors which was a difficult decision. When starting up a company, Vivi thinks you should truly consider investment market fit - not just product market fit.…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Lucy Hall, LOANHOOD - Failed your investment round? Go again 35:49

3 years yang lalu35:49

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Lucy started raising for Loanhood by building a rewards-based Crowdfunder and receiving a grant from NatWest. This helped establish the brand’s community and opened their eyes to the crowdfunding ecosystem. After some questionable advice, they tried to raise £400,000 from VCs who, from the get-go, said, "No, you're not ready for this. You haven't got any traction”. The founders also wanted to crowdfund via Seedrs as the business has a a major community aspect, so it made sense to go this route. They got commitment and went live in a way that felt poorly timed before several investors pulled out, and they decided to close the round when it didn’t exactly work out. Lucy believes you must be honest with yourself in this situation – there’s no shame in backing away and refocusing when the time is right. Thankfully, talking to other founders was invaluable and helped Lucy, and the team figure out the next steps - reaching out to Angel investors. After many LinkedIn messages, their lead investor reached out to them, which was a game changer, and the domino effect began. In this episode you’ll discover: Why rewards-based crowdfunding won’t work for everyone How important advice from the right people is Why there’s no shame in failing a funding round and starting over…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Stamena Dimitrova, Refillable - Think big to win the investment game 39:13

3 years yang lalu39:13

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Stamena’s co-founder is her daughter, which occasionally means sparks with their differing yet complementary approaches to business. The first thing they did was research the market, to validate their idea and strengthen the vision. Then they found a shop to rent and purchased stock but just before the agreement signing, the owner pulled out. At this point, they were bootstrapping and got a small startup loan from the British Business Bank. As many founders do, Stamena underestimated how much capital they were actually going to need in the very beginning. So they crowdfunded and owe much of their success to showing their loyal community a burning passion for the business. Looking back, Stamena believes she made a mistake in not enlisting experts to help with the marketing of the crowdfund. As a new business owner, spending money can feel like a luxury. Changing your mindset to think big and getting professional support to help with your fundraise is Stamena’s top piece of advice to budding entrepreneurs. How to use your passion to win investors over How to remove a ‘fearful’ mindset Why you should never neglect your health and wellbeing during a fundraise…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Linda Wade, Spinview - Spinning funding plates 33:00

3 years yang lalu33:00

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Linda had no experience in raising investment before starting the company, but luckily, her manager at Microsoft become Spinview’s chairman and championed the business, which helped elevate Linda. He advised her on how to go about doing a pitch deck, standing in front of an investor, and what kind of things they were looking for. This valuable support she received made a huge impact on the success of the initial investment round. Linda has been spinning many funding plates with a mix of grant funding, equity funding, the government Future Fund and taking on debt. With all of this complexity within the business, Linda stays sane by developing healthy habits which give her clarity and thought space. Linda reiterates that you shouldn’t underestimate the need for supportive people around you when building and funding a growing business. What champions of your business can do for you How expressions of interest can give investors confidence Why finding the right investors is fundamental for success…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Vineeta Tripathi, Vitarka Therapeutics - From scientist to CEO 36:20

3 years yang lalu36:20

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Vineeta founded the company in 2021 after 15 years in drug development in major pharmaceutical companies and is a co-inventor on 13 granted patents and 4 filed patents. Biotech start-ups like Vitarka Therapeutics need funds for research and development from the get go and Discovery Park Ventures invested £150,000 as part of a seed round. More recently, Vineeta raised over 500,000 dollars of investment through the IndieBio New York Program as the only UK firm in the cohort.…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Abbie Miranda, Beija London - Explaining bras to investors 39:07

3 years yang lalu39:07

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Abbie launched the business in 2016 with her co-founder and sister Maizie, with Abbie managing design and Mazie heading up the brand. The sisters grew up in a family lingerie manufacturing business with their mum as a successful entrepreneur which was understandably inspiring. However, with the family’s successes came some pressure for Beija to be profitable and get to a good place - fast. Beija is now an independent company with over 30,000 customers and an incredible rate of repeat purchases - a metric described as “the soul of e-commerce”. In 2021, Beija launched its crowdfunding campaign after considering different ways of raising investment. While crowdfunding definitely felt scary, Abbie was confident that their loyal customers were behind them. They launched the crowdfund during the pandemic with less than half the funds already secured which is certainly a risky move, but thankfully it paid off when over 300 investors invested a total of £480,000. In this episode you’ll discover: How your valuation can impact the success of your crowdfund How to communicate your unique edge to investors The value a lead investor can bring beyond just money…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Gabi Jennings, Love Ocean - Facing your fundraising fears 40:26

3 years yang lalu40:26

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When Gabi overcame her fear of the ocean, a love of the ocean emerged, so the inspiration behind the brand was born. Being out of your depth is a common part of entrepreneurship! By taking a different approach to developing a product, and beginning with storytelling, Love Ocean differentiated itself in the kids’ bath product market. Gabi has raised over £600K from a mix of crowdfunding and friends and family. She found the complex financials needed for investors daunting so brought on financial partners that advised her to “Never try and blag your way through a financial answer”. Gabi advises working with experts, and coaches/ mentors to unlock the financial confidence needed to alleviate the pressure many female founders face when raising investment. In this episode you’ll discover: How facing your fears can show you what’s possible How to use founder passion to succeed at raising investment Why mentorship and coaching make all the difference…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Alexandra Pluthero, Freedom Underwear - Challenges Of Funding A Non Tech Business 45:25

3 years yang lalu45:25

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Alexandra needed investment early on to launch, buy stock and begin marketing. Interest from family and friends led to her first round of £50K. Freedom Underwear launched in 2020 and Alexandra went for a second raise 6 months later. She realised the responsibilities as founder change as soon as you’ve launched from making bras… to finance, ops, and everything in between. Finding investors to commit to her second raise was a challenge, and finding female investors was especially hard. Alexandra raised over £100K via the ‘next layer of the onion’ - her further-extended friends and family network. While it was scary opening up to more people, it worked! Alexandra would like to see more transparency about what investors actually want so that entrepreneurs don’t have to spend the little time they have stumbling around in the dark. In this episode you’ll discover: How to take the risk and put yourself out there How to build your story and have effective conversations Why being authentic will win over investors…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Farah Kabir, HANX - Funding for condoms 29:44

3 years yang lalu29:44

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They both felt strongly that the current offering isn’t fit for purpose and wanted to create sexual wellness products to address the problem. They went about starting the passion project with thorough market research and surveyed 2,000 women on sexual health and buying habits. Funding the business as two female entrepreneurs and Farah being from a Bangladeshi Muslim background, came with an array of challenges, naysayers and inappropriate comments from “old school” male investors. While the consumer brand is tech-enabled, it’s not tech/ SaaS which is typically “sexy” for many VCs so this type of investment didn’t work out early on. On reflection, Farah believes everything happens for a reason and is happy to have angels, micro funds and family offices as investors as it has allowed them to learn the true definition of ‘capital preservation’. In this episode you’ll discover: Why you’ll always be raising investment Tips for reaching out ‘cold’ to potential investors How to get a thick skin…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Nicole Smith, Flytographer - Accidental entrepreneurship 41:24

3 years yang lalu41:24

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Before starting up Flytographer, Nicole was happy in her global marketing job at Microsoft, but had the idea and simply couldn't shake it. What started as a side hustle has grown into a global business, selling over $20 million in photo shoots and capturing millions of priceless memories. There was an inflection point for Nicole when she needed to make a decision - to take the leap from side hustle to giving it everything. She asked herself, “what would my 85-year-old self say about this situation?” and went full force into the startup. Nicole’s first experiences with pitching were demoralising with many male investors saying they simply didn't “get” the product. Nonetheless, Nicole secured angel investment and has raised several rounds since. While Nicole feels that there's a lot of pattern matching in Silicon Valley, it can be positive: it forces you to build a stronger business because you don't get the pass that others might get. In this episode you’ll discover: How accelerator programmes can kick start your fundraising journey The level of traction you need to secure a “yes” from investors How important it is to master your pitch…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Gayle Harrison, Untagged - Baptism of Fire 46:02

3 years yang lalu46:02

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She started her fundraising journey with a friends and family round, which she found difficult, conceding, “it was horrible asking for money”. Gayle was repeatedly told by investors that she wouldn’t get investment as a single female founder and needed a co-founder. Since then, she realised through a “baptism of fire” that this isn’t true. Gayle is fully capable of succeeding and taking the sustainable fashion world by storm with Untagged. In this episode you’ll discover: Why confidence really is everything How powerful your founding team is When the best time to raise investment is…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Tersha Willis, terrible* - Is it a pitch or is it a date? 42:22

3 years yang lalu42:22

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Since 2017, terrible* has worked with 500+ creators, who’ve used their data and technology to manage their entire merchandise supply chain, helping them generate five times more revenue and 50% more profit than they would anywhere else. As a female founder, Tersha experienced every single fundraising horror story: being asked out on dates by investors, constantly interrupted and undermined mid-pitch, and told she didn’t have what it takes to succeed. With all that being said, Tersha has learned a huge amount from two successful raises and getting the company to £127k in monthly revenue. During the most recent round, Tersha secured £300K out of the £1m they were trying to raise via angels and a boutique VC in the US. Interestingly, working with investors across the pond highlighted serious differences in the music industry and how business is done in the US. In this episode you’ll discover: How to deal with female founder bias from investors What to do when you get rejections How long you really need to raise investment…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Yang Liu, JustWear - Every No is a step closer to Yes 36:09

4 years yang lalu36:09

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Yang previously worked for a VC fund and realised as an entrepreneur, the tables were now turned. Seeking VC investment was the plan after a successful Kickstarter campaign landing JustWears £150,000. But, without ‘enough traction’, VCs just weren’t ready to invest. In hindsight, Angels were the better route as their expertise and passion for supporting entrepreneurs made Yang grateful to have gone down this path. Since then, Yang has turned down Dragon’s Den investment and closed a huge £2.6million round from Pembroke VCT. By having a crystal clear strategy and answers to every investment question, including the exit plan, JustWears are killing it and got that VC investment they deserve. In this episode you’ll discover: How to stop taking rejection personally Why there’s no downside to trying How to create a winning strategy to fundraise quickly…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Krisi Smith, Bird & Blend Tea - The ideal blend: financials & storytelling 49:04

4 years yang lalu49:04

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They now have a team of over one hundred staff, 15 retail stores and a thriving international online business. Krisi always dreamt of having a direct to consumer model and brick and mortar stores and vehemently believes it's all about building the business you truly want. Even if that means turning down lucrative wholesale deals from supermarkets like they did. Krisi has learnt a thing or two about successful crowdfunding. During their first campaign, Bird & Blend was overfunded in just 24 hours and most recently, they raised over £1m with over 1,600 investors. In this episode you’ll discover: How building the business you actually want will give you success Why you should anticipate the impact of an investment raise Getting the right blend of your financials and storytelling…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Priya Downes, Nudea - The value of an advisory board 42:44

4 years yang lalu42:44

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Priya Downes is the Founder of Nudea , a sustainable underwear brand creating beautiful designs focussed on fit, comfort and looking great. The digital-first brand has grown exponentially since it started in 2019, acquiring over 15,000 customers and generating half a million pounds in revenue in the process. Priya has raised £750K so far from angel investors after self-funding to launch the brand and get it off the ground during the pandemic. By researching and mapping out investment deals in the same industry, Priya was able to approach the most suitable investors. After nailing the first one, Cornerstone Partners, she found it so much easier to get other investors on board. Priya highly recommends putting an advisory board together as soon as possible. Not only do advisers bring their expertise, they’re great ambassadors and will shout about you and your brand. In this episode you’ll discover: How to create an investor map Who your advisory board should be made up of How to build confidence for your fundraise…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Claire Copeman, Adventure Tours UK - Not just any money 49:13

4 years yang lalu49:13

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Adventure Tours UK was initially self-funded whilst Claire focused on building the brand through partnerships and PR trips that told a story and made it clear they were “going places”. With immense support from a business mentor, they went out and successfully found investors who really understand their goal to firmly stamp the UK onto the adventure travel map. Then, Covid hit in 2020 and travel was cancelled. Amazingly, the investment didn’t fall through because they had the right investors onboard who felt a strong moral commitment to them. When your investors feel more like partners, you know they’re the right fit! In this episode you’ll discover: The importance of building a strong brand at the start What a business mentor can do for you How to find investors that feel like partners…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Martha Keith, Martha Brook - Communication is the secret weapon 34:18

4 years yang lalu34:18

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Martha started the brand on a shoestring budget and grew it to 7 figures with no external investment. She recently raised £220,000 through crowdfunding for the first time. With an amazing community behind the brand, they were fully funded in just two days with no lead Angel investor money. Incredible! Seeking investment is no longer something that makes Martha feel daunted and she’s excited to do it again in the future. We love to see it! But looking back, could or should Martha have considered raising sooner, boldly stating her ambitions as a female founder to scale the business faster? In this episode you’ll discover: The importance of communication for a successful crowdfunding campaign How to test the waters with ‘expression of interest’ How to start your fundraising journey and get support…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Virginia Gardiner, Loowatt - When the VC money falls through 45:30

4 years yang lalu45:30

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Virginia Gardiner is the founder, CEO and inventor of Loowatt, a waterless toilet addressing the fact that 40% of the world doesn’t have a toilet, and the rest of us are using solutions that aren’t sustainable. Virginia has been on quite a journey. She started the business as an engineering and humanities graduate with three male co-founders who came from experienced corporate backgrounds, and who are now ex-co-founders. Loowatt received initial investment via innovation grants, angels and then mostly recently, via crowdfunding. Crowdfunding was Plan B when agreed VC investment didn’t come though a “blessing in disguise”, as Virginia feels moved by the 800+ individual investors now supporting Loowatt’s mission. In this episode you’ll discover: What to look out for if you’re considering using “introducer” services How to avoid VCs leading you down the garden path The increased sense of responsibility when crowdfunding…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Kike Oniwinde, BYP Network - Valuing your true growth potential 39:40

4 years yang lalu39:40

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Kike Oniwinde is a Forbes 30 under 30, World Economic Forum Shaper, and has won three national pitch competitions. Kike has been a high achiever since she was raised in East London, throwing the Javelin for GB whilst crushing her grades. In 2020, she raised £900,000 through crowdfunding for her business, BYP Network, a platform that empowers and connects black professionals to each other and to corporations. As a black female founder, Kike’s achievements haven’t come easy though, and she experienced push back from VCs making her feel like they “just didn’t want to invest”. However, Kike met Angels who believed in her venture and decided to get her community investing through a crowdfund. In this episode you’ll discover: How to set your valuation based on growth potential How to control timescales during your investment round Why you should take part in pitch competitions (even if you hate the idea!)…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Tiffany Kelly, Beyond Bamboo - Funding a passion-based business 33:19

4 years yang lalu33:19

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Fundraising expert Julia Elliott Brown, the CEO of Enter The Arena talks with Tiffany Kelly, the founder of Beyond Bamboo. Tiffany has always been deeply passionate about the environment. She saw an opportunity for an online marketplace where consumers and businesses can source ethical and sustainable goods. This includes upcycled, restored and recycled as well as new products. Over two years in the making, Tiffany quickly realised that in order to grow, it was time to develop new technology and scale the team. With the goal of attracting an audience who normally purchases from Amazon, she knew how important it was to replicate the brand experience: from customer service to search to providing a seamless customer experience. Having had great success with a friends and family investment round, Tiffany shares some practical tips on approaching your pitch and the effortlessness of securing investment from investors with a shared passion. In this episode you’ll discover: How to pitch on your friends and family round Challenging limiting beliefs and thinking big Tips for creating your pitch deck…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

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Kim Palmer, Clementine - Knowing when to bring in expert help 44:22

4 years yang lalu44:22

44:22

Fundraising expert Julia Elliott Brown, the CEO of Enter The Arena talks with Kim Palmer, founder of Clementine. Amidst a sudden onset of panic attacks at work, Kim Palmer discovered the power of hypnotherapy as a game changer for staying calm. As a passive option for busy brains, hypnotherapy provides a relaxed and accessible way to find calm and change habits. Realising that she could help women worldwide, Kim achieved her long-held dream of building a business and launched Clementine in 2017, a hypnotherapy app to help achieve calm moments throughout the day. After huge initial success, growth plateaued and Kim decided it was time to fundraise. Daunted by pitching, Kim set her own rules and approached pitches as conversations with the goal to find a good fit. What happened next was a huge call for any founder. This masterful manoeuvre has freed Kim up to use her strategic skills to stay ahead of what’s happening and get creative about the next phases of the business. In this episode you’ll discover: The resonance of building a product out of life experience Playing to your strengths and knowing when to engage help Taking charge of your pitch For the full video interview, go to https://www.enterthearena.co.uk/e45-kim-palmer-clementine-knowing-when-to-bring-in-expert-help…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

1
Jessica & Louella Alderson, So Syncd - The importance of a lead investor 48:29

4 years yang lalu48:29

48:29

Jess and Lou Alderson have tapped a fresh niche in the online dating market using Myers-Briggs personality profiling for a perfect match. They've taken their market by storm and in a short time, managed to raise over £700,000 in investment. Launching in January 2020, the sisters have gone from strength to strength despite the global pandemic. With the goal of building a marketable product as quickly as possible whilst they were still holding down full time jobs, Jess and Lou started with a 'friends-and-family' round. Then, with some early traction under their belt, they were ready to quit their jobs and undertake a more significant raise to launch a paid membership package and expand within the US market. With some big last minute hurdles including extreme money laundering checks, a disappearing investor payment and various unexpected hurdles, they managed to close their investment round on the very last day of the tax year. In this episode you’ll discover: The benefits of fundraising through friends and family for your starting round Different questions from different investors – why you need to be prepared for varied points of interest The importance of a lead investor to kick start your investment rounds…

Fundraising Stories with Female Founders

1
KPI-based fundraising - Heinin Zhang, YHangry 45:55

4 years yang lalu45:55

45:55

Fundraising expert Julia Elliott Brown, the CEO of Enter The Arena talks with Heinin Zhang, founder of YHangry. Heinin Zhang, Founder of YHangry, and her co-founder Siddhi Mittal recognised that people no longer entertain at home. In Heinin’s words “Millennials, as ‘Generation Convenience’, have killed the dinner party!” They established YHangry as a private chef service at an affordable price, offering an in-home complete service to take the hard work out of entertaining and have raised £1.1m of investment. Just as the business was taking off, the Pandemic hit. It would have been easy to admit defeat, how do you maintain a business with social gathering at the heart during lockdown? But Heinin and Siddhi pivoted quickly, recognising that eating and cooking were two remaining pleasures still possible during lockdown. They began virtual cooking classes and batch cooked delivery meals, cultivating their network of chefs while building their brand in the most unlikely time. As lockdown eased, the business began growing 40-70% month-on-month. Demand exploded and it became clear that the business needed to scale quickly. Heinin and Siddhi put together a very detailed plan to execute their fundraising goals, and it paid off with a raise of over £1M. In this episode you’ll discover… How to organise your fundraising like a military operation Strategies to find relevant investors rather than wasting time chasing all possibilities Using KPIs to manage your investor CRM…

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