About Cap Table Diversity w/ Delphine Mousseau

For this campaign 30 of Europe's most active business angels and angel VCs gathered to share unique paths into investing, talk about the current state of the nation and discuss the future of venture capital. This is to inspire even more diversity of thought in backing and building startups to solidify Europe’s contribution to the global tech landscape.

Today highlighting ? Delphine Mousseau ? e-commerce expert, chairwoman, board member, and angel investor who spent her executive career rolling out European e-commerce from startup to growth business. She was VP Markets at Zalando and in charge of everything e-commerce at Tommy Hilfiger as well as on the Board of Advisors for Decathlon and Flaconi. Since 2018, she has been building out her non-executive portfolio, including supervisory and advisory boards at Refurbed, Aramis Group, Safestore Plc and Holland & Barrett, as well as short-term consulting or due diligence projects. Delphine is founder of the Rising Pineapples conference and a passionate supporter of a diverse society. She is a working mum of 4 with lots of Berlin vibes and still a bit of French feeling where she was born and raised.

Being asked about the current state and future of angel investing that is what she replied.

Why are you an angel investor? To be intentional with the management of my wealth, creating value where it will leave a mark.

What would you tell someone starting to angel invest today, based on your experience? Don't do it alone, join a group like Croton Capital or the Evangelistas.

What is your superpower to support entrepreneurs? I like complexity and I’m good at identifying opportunities for collaboration and disruption, as well as mentoring leaders, especially in a scaling phase.

What makes a great angel investor? A great angel brings a strategic vision and relevant expertise to decision making, as well as empathy to support the team in the highs and lows, and connections to help them leapfrog on their growth journey.

How should founders approach you? Please send me one sentence telling me your mission and vision, current stage in your journey, and what you need in terms of money and skill set.

How do you collaborate with other angels? Teaming up allows you to improve the quality of your due diligence with a “divide and conquer” approach. This requires trust and mutuality.

What is missing in Europe to bring the angel scene to the next level? We miss a legal structure that lowers transaction costs (templated contracts, admin-light syndication...), which is one aspect that https://www.raketenstart.de/, one of my investments is partly tackling.

Thank you, Delphine, for a sneak peek into your angel world and the incredible work you do.

My name is Julia Dous, and I am passionate about diversifying cap tables. I accomplish this through angel investing, advising VCs on talent acquisition, and running the Evangelistas, a vibrant community of +300 seasoned female angel investors backing exceptional founders with big ideas.

This campaign is our joint contribution for more diversity of thought in European venture capital. The 30 angel and angel VCs who gathered have invested into various startups (and funds) across Europe. All bring amazing super power to support founders - and a long track record. We know there are more great angels. This is to start – and inspire more women to check-writing and to building.

Beate Fastrich | Annamaria Tartaglia | Kerstin Bock | Valentine Baudouin | Sylvie Mutschler | Carmen Alfonso Rico | Lin Gong-Deutschmann | Sophia Bendz | Gloria Baeuerlein | Tatiana Jama | Deepali Nangia | Eva Spannagl | Annelie Ajami | Verena Pausder | Anne F?rch J?rgensen | Georgie Smallwood | Dr. Nakeema Stefflbauer | Maya Ghosn Bichara | Martina Pfeifer | Roxanne Varza | Emma Tracey | Vera Elizabeth Baker | June Angelides MBE | Katja Ruhnke | Mandy Nyarko MBE | Dr. Gesa Miczaika | Delphine Mousseau | Raffaela Rein | Dr Fiona Pathiraja | Noor van Boven | Rupa Ganatra Popat | Sarah Drinkwater | Susanna Campbell