Investor insights

The following interview is an extract from our fourth annual Top 200 Women-Powered Businesses Report, produced in collaboration with Beauhurst.

Click here to read the full account.

What strategies can investors employ to identify and address the unique challenges faced by women entrepreneurs?

We are deeply aware that women entrepreneurs are often unable to access the capital required to grow and scale their businesses. To better understand the root causes of this challenge, we launched Rise & Thrive, a fully-funded programme offering workshops and training for female founders and leaders. As well as offering participants practical insights on raising investment and scaling a company, these workshops provide us with a unique and hugely valuable opportunity to listen and gain a better understanding of the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs.

Two recurring themes are the scarcity of role models and a lack of a supportive ecosystem of fellow female founders. To address these issues, we host networking events to bring together women in business, and strive to amplify success stories from across our portfolio. We have a dedicated marketing and PR team who help us give visibility to the incredible female leaders we support. By showcasing our investments in female-founded businesses and celebrating the successes of women in leadership, we hope to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.

How can investors foster the development of networks and communities for women entrepreneurs?

A key part of an investor’s job is making valuable connections. From successful business leaders and exited founders, to experienced non-executive directors and sector-specialist angels, investors typically have outstanding networks and are well-placed to bring these together to make meaningful introductions. For women entrepreneurs, these supportive ecosystems can be particularly beneficial, given the broader lack of available support. Whether through our own initiatives or by backing external events, active engagement from investors is crucial.

In addition to external initiatives, there are plenty of internal strategies investors can employ to better support female founders and leaders. One critical piece is building a diverse investment team - and not just in terms of gender. This not only attracts a wider range of companies seeking investment, but also leads to greater diversity in our key decision-making roles.

One area where I try to get particularly involved is at the “grassroots” level, supporting women at the very start of their entrepreneurial journey. This includes making connections, sharing insights on what investors are looking for, and providing feedback on business plans.

What areas of the investment pipeline give you hope for gender equality in access to capital?

Although we engage across a diverse array of sectors, there is almost always a differentiated innovation at the core of each business we invest in. Many groundbreaking technologies originate from universities and research labs, so improving gender equality in academia will contribute to a more diverse startup ecosystem. This has definitely come through in our investment pipeline over the last 12 months, with two of my recent investments being university spinouts led by women entrepreneurs.

One of these is ImmuONE, a spinout from the University of Hertfordshire. It was co-founded by two female scientists, Abigail Martin and Victoria Hutter. They have developed groundbreaking 3D human lung models that significantly reduce reliance on animal testing. Following a £2.00M seed round last year, the company relocated to larger lab facilities and began its expansion into new markets.

The second is a University of Nottingham spinout, IsomAb, which is developing a novel treatment for a common cardiovascular condition. This company is led by the hugely impressive CEO Jackie Turnbull, who brings over 35 years of industry experience and has negotiated deals totalling over $4.00B. Despite a challenging fundraising environment, Jackie successfully closed a £7.50M seed round from an enviable syndicate of U.K. and U.S. investors.

Seeing women entrepreneurs in classically male-dominated sectors succeed in accessing capital and growing successful businesses brings a huge amount of hope.