The Rise of Angel Investing: A Game Changer for Female Founders
If you're an aspiring female founder eager to launch your idea but not quite ready for Venture Capital, angel investors might just be the perfect fit.
They play a pivotal role in the startup ecosystem, offering not only funding but also invaluable expertise, mentoring, and network connections. These investors, often high-net-worth individuals, provide capital to early-stage startups in return for equity. They serve a vital role by funding businesses deemed too premature for venture capitalists or traditional banking.
Interestingly, not all angel investors are "Millionaires". Many have incomes between $50,000 and $100,000 and are driven by the prospects of returns and supporting new entrepreneurs.
Angel investment is a safer alternative to loans, requiring no repayment if the business fails, and it promotes a cycle of reinvestment and higher survival rates for startups.
2024: List of European Female Angel Investors and their focus areas
In this article I would like to recognize some of the Female Angels I stumbled upon during my research. I write about Who they are, What they do, and How to get in touch.
So let's get started.
Sophia Bendz?- Focuses on Femtech and Healthtech. Partner at Cherry Ventures (https://www.cherry.vc/). Cherry Ventures is based in Berlin and invests across Europe with a local presence in London and Stockholm. Also, have you known that Sofia was an ex Marketing exec for music giant Spotify?
Helena Torras - Helena invests in Cloud Management, Fashion tech, and Insurtech. She co-founded or contributed to multiple startups, expanding operations globally and securing substantial funding. Her achievements include raising over $35M in private funding, over $2.5M in public funding, scaling a team from 3 to 80 people in under 3 years, and achieving revenue growth from $0 to $1M. Helena's accolades include being named one of the 100 most influential women in Europe in the startup and venture capital space, receiving the EU Top50 Investor Award, and being honored as Investor of the Year by D+I.
Deepali Nangia?- Focuses on supporting female founders in various industries. She is a partner at Speedinvest - female & diverse founders, and Co-Founder at Alma Angels. As an investor, her interests lie in sectors that combine profit with a purpose - areas such as healthcare, women's health, climate, education, alternative proteins, and inclusive finance.
Christina Caljé?- Born and raised in New York City, Christina Caljé is a Goldman Sachs Executive Director turned startup founder and investor. A seasoned entrepreneur in the finance and technology sectors, Christina has launched and scaled businesses across New York, London, and Amsterdam. After the acquisition of her startup (Autheos) in 2021, Christina expanded her focus to the investment space, partnering with industry and governmental organizations to address the funding gap of underrepresented founders in Europe.
Christine Ahlstrand?- Founder of Course Corrected, a climate-focused VC fund. (find out more on?https://cc.vc/). Angel investor and part of DHS Venture Partners network. Prior to founding Course Corrected in 2021, she had built a track record both as an angel investor and as a growth investor in Nordic tech.
Conny H?rl - Invests in health and sustainable tech startups. Angel Investor CK Ventures,?the Author "In Balance". She became an entrepreneur in her mid-25s and continued to be involved in several ventures. She runs the My Vita group of companies with her husband Christian, and CK Venture Capital with her sister Katja, with which they help young start-ups really gain momentum.
Jane Walerud?- Invests in material startups and carbon capture technologies. She is an Executive Chair of?www.graphmatech.com?and co-founder and Executive Chair of?www.paebbl.com. She is also on the board of Creades. She has coached dozens of companies, at STING - Stockholm Innovation and Growth 2002 - 2016, and currently she is a mentor in the AI and Climate Change streams at @CreativeDestructionLab at Oxford-Said, Norrsken Impact Accelerator and the Royal Institute of Technology.
Kerstin Bock?- Alongside the Co-Founder Carolin Lessoued, she runs Openers, a boutique agency from Berlin focusing on scale-ups. They support brands that think forward and move their industry or society such as Atomico, Spotify, Omio, Sorare, Pipedrive, or Vinted. Moreover, Kerstin is investing as a hands-on Business Angel, both on her own and with the Atomico Angel Programme, into early-stage start-ups (e.g. Levy Health, Ordinary Seafood, Endogene. Bio, Hier Foods, The Climate Choice).
Janneke Niessen?- Janneke is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, board member, and mentor for startups and co-founder of CapitalT, a VC fund that invests in technology companies using proprietary technology to evaluate entrepreneurial teams. In the past, she has started and exited 2 international tech companies. She is co-initiator of InspiringFifty, an initiative that aims to increase diversity in tech by making female role models more visible. As part of the InspiringFifty initiative, Janneke has published The New Girl Code and Project Prep, a novel for young girls. Janneke was named 2014 EY Entrepreneur of the Year and Most Innovative Leader in 2016, one of the 10 most prominent angel investors in 2018, and Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year in 2019, a few of many in a long list of honors for Janneke.?
Evie Mulberry - Evie is one of four members of the Investment Team for the Astia Fund, an early-stage venture fund investing in women-led companies. Evie joined Astia in April 2008 to lead the organization's international expansion, before moving to its investment team. Prior to Astia, Evie was a banking and finance lawyer in private practice and in-house at Barclays Capital.
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Jinna Li?- Focuses on ClimateTech startups working towards net-zero emissions. She is a co-founder at Endgame Capital with a mission to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative solutions that combat climate change. They invest from pre-seed to Series A stages, with typical participation ranging from €100K to €1 million.
Eugenia Dunaeva?- She has led commercial teams in major international corporations such as Expedia Group and Meta. She is an Angel investor at COREangels Climate and a Partner at DVC. COREangels Climate is an angel fund that co-invests with top VCs in Southern European start-ups fighting climate change.
Lydia Guett - Lydia is an experienced professional with a background in climate innovation. Previously, Lydia served as a Sustainable and Impact Investing Specialist at Cambridge Associates, leading due diligence on investment funds with a sustainable and impact focus. Lydia co-founded CA Women, a global initiative, championing diversity across the firm and the investment industry.
Céline Lazorthes?- Founder and CEO of Leetchi Group. She's an active business angel with investments in over 40 companies like Jimmy Fairly,?Talent.io, and Le Slip Fran?ais. Deeply engaged in the start-up community, Celine is a founding member of France Digitale and France FinTech. She recently co-founded SISTA, an NGO dedicated to reducing the funding gap women face when fundraising for their company.
Selma Prodanovic?- Vice-President of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN) and Founder & Board Member of 1MillionStartups, the multimedia startup-visibility platform dedicated to entrepreneurs working towards the UN SDGs. With her business creator Brainswork, she supported over 400 startups and advised numerous global investors, corporations, and organizations. As an executive coach, she guides and mentors founders (especially women) through a unique and proven strategy at the intersection of personal + business + impact growth.?
Luciana Lixandru?- Luciana Lixandru is a Partner at Sequoia, where she focuses on enterprise and consumer technology companies across Europe and co-leads Sequoia's early-stage investment business in the US/Europe. She works closely with companies like Pennylane, VEED, and RobCo and is passionate about helping founders unlock their potential and think on a global scale.
Verena Pausder?- She is Co-founder of FC Viktoria Berlin and Chairwoman of the Board of the Bundesverband Deutsche Startups e.V. In 2020, she published her book "Das Neue Land" (The New Land) and was honored with the "Entrepreneurial Book of the Year" award by the Frankfurt Book Fair. In her weekly podcast "FAST & CURIOUS", her co-host Lea-Sophie Cramer talks about entrepreneurship, founding, and their take on the economy. Active in education, financial services, and software investments, particularly interested in backing female founders.
Georgie Smallwood?- Georgie is the Chief Product and Technology Officer at Moonpig Group PLC (MOON.L). Georgie’s interests range from transforming organizations from early-stage into scalable global businesses and embedding a product-led mindset to drive incredible consumer and commercial value. She is a passionate supporter of Women in Technology & Leadership positions, and through her advising and investing roles, she primarily focuses on Female founders and co-founders to drive equality of funding and diversity of thought in the technology space. This passion led to the founding of Auxilia - a network for current and future female founders.
Clémentine Lalande?- In 2018, Clémentine launched Pickable, a feminist dating app, that enables women to date online with more privacy, discretion, and control. Clémentine then became the CEO of another “post-Tinder“ dating app, Once, which she grew to 10 million users and exited the Dating Group in January 2021. She is now the founder of Kelvin, a B2B SaaS on a mission to massify home energy retrofits. (Find out more on?clementine-climate.addpotion.com).
Ulla Brockenhuus-Schack - Ulla is a managing partner at Seed Capital Denmark, with over 20 years of experience in innovation and business development. She has a notable background with McKinsey & Company and the media groups Egmont and Nordisk Film. She has also been involved in several startups as an advisor or as an investor.
Conclusion
In wrapping up this exploration of the European Female Angel Network, it becomes clear that the landscape for female founders is rich with opportunity, support, and inspiration. The women profiled in this article are not only paving the way for future entrepreneurs but are also fundamentally reshaping the startup ecosystem to be more inclusive and diverse.
To the aspiring female founders reading this: Do reach out, Make connections, and Dare to believe that your idea can be the next to revolutionize the market!
With angel investors like those profiled, the startup ecosystem looks more promising and inclusive than ever. Your journey might just contribute to a more diverse, innovative, and equitable future for the startup world.
We’d love to invite you to join our castle retreat this June and share your wisdom with the female founders in AI, Web3, and Longevity
Founder & CEO @ J3D.AI (Jedi) | McK | Building the Decentralized Global Brain | TedX Speaker | IDG & SDG | Hydrogen | Longevity | Meditation ??
8 个月Very great list ! Thank you
???? Executive Director at ITFC | ??♀? Founder at Women IN | PhD in Economics | ?? Gender Equality Researcher | Female Entrepreneurship Supporting | ?? SMEs Developing
8 个月?Mina Lindberg, great article, thank you!
Digital Entrepreneur | Bootstrapping & Growth Hacking
8 个月Such inspiring women paving the way for female founders!
Founding General Partner Goddess Gaia Ventures | PE turned VC Investor | Entrepreneur | Investor | Asian Tech Pioneer Award 2024 | Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech '22 | Health Equity for Women
8 个月Mina Lindberg we definitely need more female angels in the ecosystem - not only do they add to the cap table but are incredible as supporters, operators and getting start-ups to their next round.