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The Purse Podcast

The Purse Podcast

By Jana Hlistova

We are changing the conversation for women about money and investing. We focus on how women can manage and invest their money in the public and private markets and how they are the driving force behind the change we want to see in the world. We talk to change makers, financial experts, wealth managers, angel investors, entrepreneurs and fund managers, who shine a light on the key trends in money and investing. Signup: weekly newsletter for global economic, financial and investing news & trends: https://jointhepurse.substack.com
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#19: Bitcoin, ethereum and decentralised finance (DeFi): what every investor needs to know with Diana Biggs

The Purse PodcastFeb 22, 2021

00:00
44:40
#115: Financial education: the role of schools, universities and parents in teaching kids about money with Vanessa Northway

#115: Financial education: the role of schools, universities and parents in teaching kids about money with Vanessa Northway

Vanessa Northway is the Deputy Vice-Principal for Learning and teaching at Heriot-Watt University Dubai. She has been working with the University since 2009. Over the years, Vanessa has directed the start-up and implementation of the Fashion, Fashion Marketing, and Interior design programmes. As part of her management role at SoTD, Vanessa has been responsible for resourcing and ensuring – along with the academic team in Dubai and Scotland – the development of programmes suitable for the market within Dubai and the MENA region and globally relevant skills.

We cover the following:

  • Financial education as it relates to children, teenagers, and young adults.
  • The role of schools and universities in teaching our kids about money.
  • Why parents play a crucial role in how kids grow up thinking about money and how to manage it too.
  • The impact of teaching girls about entrepreneurship and financial management.
  • Why teaching financial independence and how to invest is crucial.
  • How technology can be used to encourage children and young adults to become financially literate and financially confident.

***

Mar 23, 202443:12
#114: Male allies, eradicating 'bad behaviour' in VC, investing in female founders and how to build a startup investment portfolio with David Fogel

#114: Male allies, eradicating 'bad behaviour' in VC, investing in female founders and how to build a startup investment portfolio with David Fogel

David Fogel is a seasoned VC and startup operator that has spent the last 20 years working with and advising more than 1,000 founders across Europe, Asia and Africa. The startups David has supported have raised more than $500m over the years. David Co-founded Bramble Club, a boutique Startup advisory firm, working with founders and venture capital firms across EMEA.David was CCO and COO at Wefarm scaling it to 3.5m users and 150 Employees. Before that David co-founded ADV, a £150m VC fund focused on early stage startups. David led the corporate venture arm for Telefonica and worked on M&A deals across the globe. Before moving into venture David built Fintech and Telco products in Israel. Where he grew the team from 4 to 60 employees and reached 70% market penetration.
David also co-founded Alma Angels, a diverse community of more than 300 people dedicated to supporting ambitious female founders. Over the last four years, Alma Angels has backed more than 180 women-led startups which have raise $160m in follow-on funding. 

We cover the following:

  • Angel investing: US vs UK
  • Male allies and eradicating 'bad behaviour' in VC
  • Investing in female founders
  • Gender bias in VC
  • Raising capital as a female founder
  • How to build a startup investment portfolio

***

Mar 08, 202458:42
#113: How to start investing and the secret to building a rich life with Chloe Lin
Feb 28, 202436:57
#112: Female angel investors, how to start investing, and why the new changes to the Financial Promotion Exemptions will disproportionately impact women with Roxane Sanguinetti and Marla Shapiro

#112: Female angel investors, how to start investing, and why the new changes to the Financial Promotion Exemptions will disproportionately impact women with Roxane Sanguinetti and Marla Shapiro

Roxane Sanguinetti is an experienced investor, Head of Strategy at the quant fund GHCO and co-lead of Alma Angels, an inclusive community of investors actively supporting ambitious women founders. She is a trader by background but passionate about tech and entrepreneurship, Roxane previously held positions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and an early stage fintech called HUBX. Roxane is a fierce advocate for diversity & inclusion, Roxane also co-heads the London Chapter of Women in ETFs, a global community of 10,000 professionals. 

Marla Shapiro is the Founder of the HERmesa angel syndicate.  Marla launched the group in early 2020 with two distinct missions: a) to give more women a seat at the table as angel investors and b) to invest more money in women co-founded startups. She has grown the syndicate from 5 women to nearly 200 members and they have collectively invested in 29 rounds of financing in women led startups.

Prior to launching HERmesa, Marla worked for nearly 20 years for media & technology companies in operational roles as a strategist, business development director, sales lead and COO. The companies ranged from large multi -nationals, such as the Financial Times & Zee TV, to small media tech start-ups in the UK and Europe (companies ranged from pre-seed to Series A). 

Marla spent the early years of her career working on Wall Street & the City at firms, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and NatWest in structured finance roles.

We cover the following in the conversation:

  • Angel investing: how Roxane and Marla got started
  • Why invest in female founders
  • The difference between an angel syndicate and an angel network
  • The changes to the Financial Promotion Exemptions
  • How these changes will disproportionately impact women and ethnic minorities
  • How can we encourage more women to invest in the startup ecosystem and back female founders?

***

*This podcast was recorded before the changes to the Financial Promotion Exemptions were introduced, ie before 31 January 2024.

Feb 04, 202401:00:46
#111: How to make your pension green with David Hayman

#111: How to make your pension green with David Hayman

David Hayman is a campaigner, policy specialist and strategy professional, with over a decade’s experience in the international development and climate sectors. David was the first employee at award winning campaign, Make My Money Matter, and now leads on the organisation’s public campaigning efforts; mobilising citizens across the UK to use their banks and their pensions to help tackle the climate crisis.

Previously, David was at the ONE Campaign, where he worked directly for the Co-Founder as a Special Advisor on Global Strategy and Campaigns. Prior to this, David spent 3 years working in India, supporting a range of foundations, philanthropists and charitable initiatives, including leading the expansion of Skoll Award Winning NGO, Educate Girls.

We cover the following in this conversation:

  • The organisation: Make My Money Matter
  • Where do banks and pensions put our money?
  • How can you make your pensions green?
  • And how can you become more active and hold these non-green businesses to account?

***

Jan 28, 202425:38
#110: (Repost) Closing the gender wealth gap with Vicky Pryce and Victoria Ross

#110: (Repost) Closing the gender wealth gap with Vicky Pryce and Victoria Ross

Vicky Pryce is an Economist and the author of her latest book 'Women vs Capitalism', which was published by Hurst in November of 2019. She is a frequent contributor to media broadcasts and debates on the economy and on the economic rationale for gender equality.

Victoria Ross is a Chartered Financial Planner for Progeny Wealth. Victoria has 18 years experience within financial services, during which she also completed the qualifications as a Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Managerial Accountant. As a Financial Planner, her key drivers are ensuring women reach out for and receive appropriate financial advice and that younger generations are financially informed.

This recording is from a webinar and we cover the following topics:

  • What is the gender wealth gap?
  • Why is closing the gender wealth gap important?
  • How do we close the gender wealth gap?
  • How can women manage their money to protect and grow their long term financial wealth?
  • How can women engage more in long-term investing?
  • What can the government and employers do to close the gender wealth gap?
  • What books, blogs or podcasts can inspire or educate women on how to invest?

***

Jan 14, 202401:03:46
#109: How more wealth in the hands of women will reshape the charity sector with Nicole Sykes

#109: How more wealth in the hands of women will reshape the charity sector with Nicole Sykes

Nicole Sykes leads Pro Bono Economics' communications and influencing work, in addition to overseeing a number of key policy themes in relation to the effectiveness of civil society, philanthropy and relationships between civil society, business and government. She joined PBE in 2020 to help deliver the Law Family Commission on Civil Society, and is responsible for maintaining the successful delivery of policy change that ensures the Commission continues to deliver impact. Nicole has extensive experience influencing policy, and specialises in working across the public, private and charity sectors to build partnerships and systemic change.

Prior to joining PBE, Nicole led the CBI’s work on Brexit, and has worked at Microsoft, for MPs and in political campaigns. She has experience on boards of a charity and social enterprise, and a multi-year international research project run by Queen Mary’s University London. She is presently on the advisory board of leading think tank UK in a Changing Europe, and a volunteer with a local community garden.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • Report: Women and the charity sector
  • Why we need more funding of women and girls sectors
  • Women giving more to the charity sector
  • How the charity sector will be reshaped by women owning the majority of wealth in the UK in 2025+

***

Jan 06, 202434:18
#108: 'Show Her the Money' documentary and why we need more women to invest in female founders with Catherine Gray and Marcia Dawood

#108: 'Show Her the Money' documentary and why we need more women to invest in female founders with Catherine Gray and Marcia Dawood

Catherine Gray is the producer of the groundbreaking new documentary “Show Her The Money”- featuring rock -star female investors who invest in diverse women entrepreneurs with innovations that will change the world. Catherine is doing a 50 city grassroots tour of the film to encourage more women to invest in female founded funds to move the needle on women getting less than 2% of venture capital. She is also an author, TEDx speaker, podcast host, founder of She Angel Investors and co-founder of the non profit She Angels Foundation. Catherine also hosts and produces the popular podcast series Invest in Her, distributed on Apple, Spotify, IHeart Radio and wherever you listen to podcasts.

Catherine has produced, co-produced and directed several documentaries including I Can’t Marry You, with Ellen DeGeneres’ mom Betty as narrator for PBS, Millionaires True Stories and several LGBTQ films for LOGO. She also helped start a gay cable network and produced a series called Way-Off Broadway with trailblazing entertainers and recording artists. Currently, she is co-producing Millennials Are Killing Musicals, with plans to go to Broadway. This female driven show focuses on motherhood and the impact of social media. The team behind it is 80% women- and the show and music was created by a woman- Nico Juber.

Marcia Dawood is an early-stage investor who serves on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee, a venture partner with Mindshift Capital, a member of Golden Seeds, and the Chair Emeritus of the Angel Capital Association (ACA), the global professional society for angel investors. She is also an Associate Producer on the documentary film Show Her the Money, which debuted at the Women’s Film Festival in Philadelphia in September of 2023. She is a founding member and chair of the ACA’s Growing Women’s Capital Group, which is building syndication and collaboration among US investment groups focused on women-led companies.

A TEDx speaker and the host of The Angel Next Door Podcast, Marcia walks the talk and holds investments in over 50 early-stage companies and funds. She is committed to expanding support for diverse companies that overcome the world’s biggest problems and accelerate positive change. Her upcoming book, Do Good While Doing Well – Make A Difference, Get Financial Rewards and Increase Your Happiness, is due out in 2024.

Marcia is on a mission to empower and educate everyone to realise their potential to invest in positive change. She is passionate about bridging the gap from early-stage inception to building thriving, profitable companies.

***

Dec 24, 202345:50
#107: COP28, the climate emergency, climate finance and why investing in climate change is also investing in gender equality with Professor Dame Heather McGregor

#107: COP28, the climate emergency, climate finance and why investing in climate change is also investing in gender equality with Professor Dame Heather McGregor

Professor Dame Heather J. McGregor is the Provost and Vice Principal of Heriot-Watt University Dubai.

Professor McGregor was previously the Executive Dean of the Edinburgh Business School, having held the post since 2016. Her earlier career was in investment banking, and she has spent 17 years as an entrepreneur leading her own executive search firm prior to her move into higher education.

Professor Dame McGregor has a PhD from the University of Hong Kong in Structured Finance and an MBA from London Business School. She is a qualified chartered management accountant (CGMA) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Her undergraduate degree was a BSc in Agricultural Economics & Marketing from Newcastle University. She is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Sunderland.

Professor Dame McGregor is an experienced writer and broadcaster, including writing for the Financial Times for 17 years. She was the founder of the Taylor Bennett Foundation, www.taylorbennettfoundation.org which works to promote diversity in the communications industry, and a founding member of the steering committee of the 30% Club, which works to raise the representation of women at senior levels within publicly listed companies.

Furthermore, Professor McGregor is a non-executive director of two public companies, one listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and one listed on the London Stock Exchange. She is also a member of the UK Government’s Honours Committee for the Economy.

In 2021, Professor Dame McGregor was one of the first two people at Heriot-Watt University to be named a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She was awarded a CBE in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours List in UK for her services to business, especially diversity in the workplace.

In December 2022, she was made a Dame of the British Empire in the New Year’s Honours for services to education and business and heritage in Scotland.

She is among the first to be recognised with the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) by King Charles III.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • COP 28: the UN Climate Summit (in Dubai)
  • Climate finance: what is it and why should we care?
  • What role do entrepreneurs play?
  • How do female founders fare in this space?
  • Why investing in climate change is also investing into gender equality
  • How to start investing in climate change?

***

Dec 12, 202344:51
#106: The Bank of England inflation failures, what could they have done differently, the UK economy in review and what's ahead in 2024 with Vicky Pryce

#106: The Bank of England inflation failures, what could they have done differently, the UK economy in review and what's ahead in 2024 with Vicky Pryce

Vicky Pryce is Chief Economic Adviser and a board member at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). She was previously Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, Director General for Economics at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Joint Head of the UK Government Economic Service.

Before that she was Partner at the accounting and consulting firm KPMG after senior economic positions in banking and the oil sector. She has held a number of academic posts and is a Fellow and Council member of the UK Academy of Social Sciences, a Fellow of the Society of Professional Economists and a Companion of the British Academy of Management. 

Her latest book, “Women vs Capitalism”, was published by Hurst in November 2019.. She is a frequent contributor to media broadcasts and debates on the economy and on the economic rationale for gender equality. 

She is co-founder of GoodCorporation, a company set up to advise on corporate social responsibility, is a Freeman and Liveryman of the City of London, was the first female Master of the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants and has been sitting on the City’s Members Diversity Working Party.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • The House of Lords report on the Bank of England inflation failures
  • What could they have done differently?
  • The UK economy in review
  • What's ahead in 2024
  • Crypto, bitcoin and CBDCs.

***

Dec 07, 202346:40
#105: Financial inclusion and why designing financial products for women+ matters with Alex Gessner

#105: Financial inclusion and why designing financial products for women+ matters with Alex Gessner

Alex Gessner is COO and Managing Director at ACI Diversity Consulting as well as a speaker and panelist. She spent 14 years as a senior executive in product and tech in the finance industry, at American Express and most recently Solaris, where she was responsible for innovative and disruptive projects in the digital and open banking space.

From chatbots to Buy Now Pay Later, product pitches in London and New York and testing Apple Pay at 4am at the Frankfurt train station, she's seen it all.

Her specialty is organisational design and building scalable teams and businesses. Finance disruptor by day, diversity activist by night: in this homogeneous industry, she has built several intersectional networks, including futura at Solaris, and conducted the first data collection in Europe focusing not only on "women and finance" but especially on trans* and migrant women.

She has been recognised for her achievements as a Future Maker by Business Insider, as Prout Executive #1 by Prout At Work and many more, including Global Digital Women, Beyond Gender Agenda, Impact of Diversity.

We discuss the following in our conversation:

  • The financial services industry
  • Financial inclusion
  • The report: 'Finance is for Everyone'
  • What women look for in financial services products
  • How to engage more women in investing products?
  • Why increasing financial literacy is key
  • How can women engage more around their money?

***

Nov 27, 202338:02
#104: Why every woman needs a financial plan with Kristine Beese

#104: Why every woman needs a financial plan with Kristine Beese

Kristine Beese is the CEO of Untangle Money. Her goal is to get an affordable, unbiased financial plan into the hands of every woman in the world. Equipping women to close the gender wealth gap, thereby improving global gender equity.

Kristine talks about the unintended consequences of a financial system built for the typical male. She shares captivating stories about what women need to know about money and what women can do differently to align their day-to-day spending with their long-term goals so that women can make the best financial decisions for themselves.

Equipped with research, insights, and experience, Kristine is a credible and compelling resource that regularly educates audiences on why gendered financial equity is critically important.

As a woman and a mother, Kristine learned through her experience in male-dominated industries that women experience the world differently from men, especially regarding wealth and finance. As a result, her work is developed for women using women-specific data.

Kristine is a former national pairs figure skater who brings tenacity and bravery to her role as a founder. A problem solver by nature, her international experience in engineering, capital markets and wealth management helps her look at problems from a first-principles perspective. Kristine holds an MBA from the Ivey School of Business and an engineering physics degree from Queen's University.

We cover the following in the conversation:

  • Women's experience with money
  • Why language is important
  • Why Kristine started Untangle Money
  • Her journey as a founder
  • The vision for Untangle Money
  • And how we do encourage more women to invest in the startup ecosystem.

***


Oct 31, 202301:00:43
#103: Women's growing economic power and how the financial services industry needs to change with Sarah Courtney Dockett

#103: Women's growing economic power and how the financial services industry needs to change with Sarah Courtney Dockett

Sarah Courtney Dockett is Managing Director at Citi Private Bank, Head of Women in Wealth, EMEA. She is passionate about Diversity and Inclusion.  She is also a Senior Private Banker in the UK Ultra High Net Worth Team based in London.  Sarah is responsible for managing 30 client and Family Office relationships. While they may be resident in the UK, Sarah’s clients span the globe and she has a specialism in dealing with US connected clients.  Sarah has 23 years of experience working with Private Clients, 12 of which she has spent with Citi.

We cover the following in the interview:

  • Sarah's most memorable experience with money growing up
  • Why is money a taboo topic, especially in the UK?
  • Women's growing economic power
  • The financial services industry and what needs to change
  • Citi's approach to gender diversity and inclusion
  • The rise of female investors
  • Female founders and raising capital
  • Women's relationship to money
  • And how can women engage more with their money?

***

Oct 19, 202343:54
#102: Why is money a taboo topic for women, gender norms, how to 'break the money silence', and what is a financially successful life with Kathleen Burns Kingsbury

#102: Why is money a taboo topic for women, gender norms, how to 'break the money silence', and what is a financially successful life with Kathleen Burns Kingsbury

Kathleen Burns Kingsbury is an internationally published author, coach and consultant. Her firm, KBK Wealth Connection, delivers confidence-building negotiation programs specifically designed for women.

Kathleen knows what it means to struggle with negotiating and has learned what it takes to shift fear into focus so that women advisors, coaches and consultants can charge for their value, make more sales, and feel great about it.

She is currently working on her sixth book, Unleash Your True ValueTM: How to Shift Your Negotiation Mindset, Boost Your Confidence. and Close More Sales. 

Kathleen has a unique blend of business negotiating experience and expertise in financial psychology that makes her programs extremely effective in changing mindsets and behaviours to achieve better results.

We cover the following in the conversation:

  • Why is money a taboo topic, especially for women?
  • Common money mistakes
  • Gender norms and how this holds women back
  • Financial services and the wealth management industry
  • What is a financially successful life?

***


Sep 24, 202337:11
#101: Why the GDP measure is damaging to women and how to move beyond it with Anam Parvez Butt

#101: Why the GDP measure is damaging to women and how to move beyond it with Anam Parvez Butt

Anam Parvez Butt is a Pakistani feminist economist who currently works as the Head of Research at Oxfam GB where she works with others to develop and implement Oxfam’s research agendas on care and informal work, fragility and conflict and climate justice. 

In particular, the focus areas of her research include gender and macroeconomic policies, the care economy, feminist economic alternatives including metrics that challenge the neoliberal logic of growth, social norms and ending violence against women and girls (eVAWG).

She is deeply committed to integrating intersectional feminist and decolonial approaches in research, learning from and supporting others to do so.

She has co-authored two of Oxfam’s flagship inequality reports including “Time to Care”, the “Care Policy Scorecard” and recently published paper on “Radical Pathways to move beyond GDP”.

We cover the following in this conversation:

  • The GDP measure: what is it?
  • Why this is problematic for women and for women's wealth
  • Why Oxfam has added its voice to move beyond the GDP
  • The recently published report called Radical Pathways Beyond GDP
  • Why and how we need to pursue feminist and decolonial alternatives urgently
  • And how do we accelerate the pace of change?

***

Sep 10, 202339:50
#100: Women, money and investing with Jana Hlistova

#100: Women, money and investing with Jana Hlistova

Jana Hlistova is the Founder of The Purse and The Purse Podcast. Jana's focus is on women-centred innovation and closing the gender investing gap.

She stands for women's financial empowerment, gender lens investing, women investing in women, entrepreneurship, technology and social impact.

Her personal mission is to level the playing field for women. She believes that women, women founders and women investors are reshaping the future of business and innovation.

Jana has 18years+ experience in senior business development and commercial management in tech, digital, media and professional services.

She has a MSc from the London School of Economics. And she is a gender lens investor and invests in crypto.

To celebrate 100 podcasts, Jana talks about:

  • Her background
  • Women's economic empowerment
  • Why start The Purse and The Purse Podcast
  • Fund-raising as a female founder
  • Women, money & investing
  • Startup failure
  • The financial services industry
  • Women investors
  • Money lessons learnt

***

Aug 31, 202321:00
#99: Female angel investors, UK vs US startup culture, investing for impact and levelling the playing field for female founders with Maya Ghosn

#99: Female angel investors, UK vs US startup culture, investing for impact and levelling the playing field for female founders with Maya Ghosn

Maya Ghosn is a Lebanese/Brazilian investor and advisor to purpose-driven organisations with a focus on mental health and sexual health.

After studying industrial engineering at Stanford in the USA, she worked at McKinsey for four years where she managed client projects for their Social Sector Practice.

She then moved to California to help build out the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropy started by Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg focused on building technology for social good.

She is now an active angel investor, investing personally and through Sequoia's scout program, as well as a Principal at Bridge Builders Collaborative, a US-based investment group focused on mental health.

We cover the following in the conversation:

  • Female angel investors
  • The UK vs US startup culture
  • Maya's investment thesis
  • How Maya invests in startups
  • Angel investment networks and syndicates
  • How female founders raise funding
  • Toughest investing lessons
  • How do we level the playing field for female founders
  • How do we encourage more women to invest?

***

Aug 24, 202301:09:06
#98: The BoE, interest rates, the cost of living crisis, the energy debate and what can we be optimistic about in the UK economy with Shaun Richards

#98: The BoE, interest rates, the cost of living crisis, the energy debate and what can we be optimistic about in the UK economy with Shaun Richards

Shaun Richards is an independent economist who specialises in inflation measurement and monetary economics. This follows a career in the City of London where he specialised in derivatives (mainly options) on interest rates and bonds.

Shaun has also worked in Tokyo. He is a Bank of England watcher which covers the issues of monetary policy and money printing or quantitative easing (QE). Shaun also traded as a local on the London International Financial Futures Exchange where he mostly traded futures and options on future and present UK interest rates.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • The Bank of England (BoE)-are they credible?
  • Rising interest rates
  • The cost of living crisis
  • The energy debate
  • CBDCs (digital currency)
  • What can we be optimistic about in the UK economy?

***

Aug 10, 202345:04
#97: Sie Ventures, investing in female founders and what female investors bring to the table with Triin Linamagi

#97: Sie Ventures, investing in female founders and what female investors bring to the table with Triin Linamagi

Triin Linamagi is the Founding Partner of Sie Ventures backing early stage female-led companies, and running a Capital Platform to drive more funding to diverse founding teams.

Formerly she was Vice President at The Venture Collective, investing in companies across US and UK.

She was also an early-stage investor at Founders Factory and Startupbootcamp.

Before her career in investments, she was a founder and operator in three companies across FinTech and Future of Work.

We cover the following in the conversation:

  • Sie Ventures: the backstory
  • Why is it still difficult for female founders to raise funding?
  • Female founders generate higher returns
  • The vision for the fund & thesis
  • Investing in diversity
  • Female investors-how do they differ in how they invest?
  • How do we ensure gender lens investing goes mainstream?

***

Jul 29, 202336:29
#96: Money scripts, renting vs buying and why women need to become financially independent with Bernadette Joy

#96: Money scripts, renting vs buying and why women need to become financially independent with Bernadette Joy

Bernadette Joy is the rich auntie you didn't know you needed. She launched Crush Your Money Goals® in 2020, a money media company to serve up practical and fun educational content.

In that short time, she's taught thousands across the country her simple strategies to pay down debt, save more money, invest with confidence and pursue financial peace.

Agree with her strategies or not, there’s no denying her cred: Joy paid off $300,000 of debt in three years and built her first $1 million of net worth in her 30s as a first generation Filipina-American, the eighth of her father's nine kids.

She's been featured as a money expert on CNBC, Good Morning America, Business Insider and named to The 25 Most Influential New Voices of Money by NextAdvisor in partnership with TIME magazine.

We cover the following in this conversation:

  • Why commit to financial independence
  • Money scripts and why mental health drives wealth
  • Why renting is better than homeownership
  • Growing personal wealth through other investment vehicles
  • Why women need to become financially independent.

***

Jul 17, 202345:35
#95: Why UK inflation is so persistent with Vicky Pryce

#95: Why UK inflation is so persistent with Vicky Pryce

Vicky Pryce is Chief Economic Adviser and a board member at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

She was previously Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, Director General for Economics at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Joint Head of the UK Government Economic Service. Before that she was Partner at the accounting and consulting firm KPMG after senior economic positions in banking and the oil sector.

She has held a number of academic posts and is a Fellow and Council member of the UK Academy of Social Sciences, a Fellow of the Society of Professional Economists and a Companion of the British Academy of Management. She was until recently on the Council of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and is a member of the Advisory Board of the central banking think-tank OMFIF and of the Economic Advisory Group of the British Chambers of Commerce. She is also a Patron of the charities Pro-Bono Economics and Working Chance.

Her books include: “Greekonomics: The Euro crisis and Why Politicians Don't Get It”; “It's the Economy, Stupid- Economics for Voters”, with Ross and Urwin; “Redesigning Manufacturing”, with Nielsen and Beverland”; and “Why Women Need Quotas”.


Her latest book, “Women vs Capitalism”, was published by Hurst in November 2019. She is a frequent contributor to media broadcasts and debates on the economy and on the economic rationale for gender equality. She is co-founder of GoodCorporation, a company set up to advise on corporate social responsibility, is a Freeman and Liveryman of the City of London, was the first female Master of the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants and has been sitting on the City’s Members Diversity Working Party.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • Inflation and getting back to the target 2%
  • UK inflation-energy prices and food prices
  • Brexit and the impact on inflation
  • Rising interest rates and mortgages
  • Cost of living crisis
  • Wealth inequality
  • What's ahead for 2023 and 2024

***

Jul 08, 202341:27
#94: The future of money: central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), crypto and why financial innovation is key with Eva Pascoe

#94: The future of money: central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), crypto and why financial innovation is key with Eva Pascoe

Eva Pascoe is a digital leader who has pioneered the Internet, e-payments, ecommerce fashion solutions and CRM.

Eva is co-founder of a non-profit digital think-tank Cybersalon.org, she also co-founded the world's first Internet cafe called 'Cyberia Internet Cafe' in 1994. And she developed fashion web shops for (including) Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Racing Green and Burton.

After a successful Crowdcube fundraising campaign in January 2017, Eva joined Bluebella as a non-executive director, overseeing the brand's digital acquisition and international ecommerce strategy.

Since 2013 her ecommerce consultancy The Retail Practice has been advising the largest pan-European lingerie brand Hunkemoller.

In her role as Charity Trustee for Trading Group, Eva has also advised one of the largest UK military charities, Help4Heroes, supporting the charity team since 2013 in their online trading activities on digital acquisition, CRM and transition to new e-commerce platform.

She has co-authored  digital retail policy papers on Re-imagining The High Street and a new policy for West End of London in her “Surf and Turf” contribution to a recent  publication commissioned by the Centre for London and New West End Company.

She regularly speaks at key retail industry events run by the Retail Institute and runs a weekly digital innovations blog The Retail Bytes.

Eva is also an active angel investor with a focus on female founders. She is also a mentor at Block Dojo, the global blockchain incubator.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • The future of money
  • What are CBCDs? How does this differ to cryptocurrencies?
  • Why is government, around the world, looking into CBDCs?
  • What are the issues vs the benefits?
  • Plans to introduce the digital pound.
  • A multi-currency world: can CBDCs and crypto co-exist?
  • London: the emerging crypto hub
  • Where will CBDCs and the crypto market be in 5-7 years?

***

Jun 24, 202347:32
#93: How women can become financially independent with Holly Morphew

#93: How women can become financially independent with Holly Morphew

Holly Morphew, AFC® is an award-winning financial coach based in Denver, Colorado. She the Founder of Financial Impact, a specialised financial coaching practice that helps entrepreneurs and professionals create personal wealth and financial independence. 

A pioneer in the personal finance industry, Holly’s work has been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Yahoo Finance, FemFounder, and more. Host of The Wealth Trifecta podcast, Holly’s professional background in finance, real estate investing, and entrepreneurship are the foundation of Financial Impact’s transformational programs.

Her book Simple Wealth was on Bankrate’s top ten personal finance books of 2022 and is a #1 best-seller on Amazon in nine categories including personal finance, wealth management, credit repair, personal transformation, real estate, and women & business. 

Holly began teaching personal finance in 2006 as a service project with Rotary International, and received the prestigious “Rotarian of the Year” award for her work in financial literacy. She has also been recognised for “Bridging the Gap” for outstanding work in private practice as an Accredited Financial Counsellor®.  

Holly has a B.A. from the University of Colorado in International Affairs and Japanese with a Minor in Business. 

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • How Holly achieved financial independence early on in life
  • Why money is often a complicated subject
  • The money mindset and why money habits are a key part of wealth building
  • What to consider if as a woman you are single or unattached
  • What women should consider before getting married so their finances are secure
  • How to think about money and investing if you have kids
  • And how to divorce well financially
  • Why working with a financial coach is a good idea
  • And Holly shares her final thoughts on how women should build wealth and why this is important.

***

Jun 07, 202357:09
#92: Human economics and why it matters, gender bias in economics, the impact on women and why economists need to be more radical with Julie Nelson

#92: Human economics and why it matters, gender bias in economics, the impact on women and why economists need to be more radical with Julie Nelson

Julie A. Nelson is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She was a founding member of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) and co-edited (with Marianne Ferber) the book Beyond Economic Man: Feminist Theory and Economics (sometimes called the “manifesto” of our field), published in 1993.

Her most recent books are Economics for Humans (2nd edition) and Gender and Risk-Taking: Economics, Evidence, and Why the Answer Matters. Her shorter pieces have been published in journals ranging from Econometrica and the  Journal of Political Economy to Hypatia: Journal of Feminist Philosophy and Ecological Economics. She is editor of the Business Ethics and Economics section of the Journal of Business Ethics, and was the 2019 President of the Association for Social Economics. 

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • Women and risk taking
  • Gender bias in economics and the impact on women
  • Why economics is about people
  • The need to be open to diverse views and perspectives
  • How the field of economics should address 'real world problems'
  • Why economists need to be more radical.

***

May 26, 202356:12
#91: Gender lens investing: an update with Angela Atherton

#91: Gender lens investing: an update with Angela Atherton

Angela Atherton (CFA, FRM) is the Co-founder and Principal of Parallelle Finance. Her commitment to financial inclusion and impact investing began at the start of her career when she managed screening and performance analysis for two ESG indexes. 

She structured private equity deals at American Capital Strategies. She led risk analysis and management functions at Fannie Mae and Calvert Impact Capital, a non-profit investment firm.  

As the Chief Operating and Financial Officer at The Global Good Fund, a social enterprise, she ran day-to-day operations and led commercial expansion.

Angela is an experienced entrepreneur, she co-founded a female-led fintech, Capital Market Exchange, and launched an independent consulting practice with a global reach, including emerging and developed markets in North America, Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • An update on gender lens investing since end of 2021
  • The $1.4trn investment into the Japan focused Gender Diversity Index
  • The launch of the Indxx Equileap's US Women in Technology Index
  • How have gender lens equity funds and fixed income funds performed over this period
  • Are we seeing a change in sentiment towards gender lens investing?

***

May 16, 202340:35
#90: Fintech, building a scale-up, female founders and fundraising with Sabrina Del Prete

#90: Fintech, building a scale-up, female founders and fundraising with Sabrina Del Prete

Sabrina Del Prete is the founder and CEO of Kore, a Financial Technology company based in London. She has over 25 years’ experience in financial markets, business transformation and application of new technologies in banking. Throughout her career, Sabrina has held senior roles at JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, Coutts and RBS.

She is actively involved in the entrepreneurial and FinTech community, both as a strategic adviser and as an investor.

She currently sits on the Board of Governors of the London Institute of Banking and Finance. Sabrina holds a Masters in Finance from the London Business School and a degree in Business and Economics from the University of Turin. She has won a number of innovation awards for her work and she has been included in the Timetric Power 50 list of the most influential digital innovators in Europe

Sabrina is an Italian national, she lives and works in London.

We cover the following in this conversation:

  • Sabrina talks about her scale-up
  • Her journey from the corporate world in financial services to the world of startups
  • Why start the business
  • How Sabrina was able to get her startup off the ground
  • Fundraising and her experience as a female founder
  • Sabrina shares her vision for success
  • Finding investors who align with your values and goals
  • Female investors
  • And how women can start angel investing.

****

May 03, 202358:34
#89: Making women visible: rewriting the history of economic thought with Edith Kuiper

#89: Making women visible: rewriting the history of economic thought with Edith Kuiper

Edith Kuiper is Associate Professor and Chair of the Economics Department at the State University of New York at New Paltz. She edited (with Drucilla Barker) Toward a Feminist Philosophy of Economics (Routledge, 2003) and Feminist Economics and the World Bank (Routledge, 2006), and the Routledge Major Works Series Feminist Economics. Critical Concepts (2010).

She also published 3 volumes of Women’s Economic Thought in the Eighteenth Century (Routledge, 2014) and recently A Herstory of Economics (Polity Press, 2022). She has been a long-time, active member of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) and was President of IAFFE in 2006.

Her research has been in feminist economics and in the history and philosophy of economics. She is currently a visiting researcher at the Centre of Resilience and Sustainable Development at the University of Cambridge. 

We cover the following in this conversation:

  • Edith's book: a Herstory of Economics
  • The field of economics and the lack of attention to women, their economic issues and interests
  • How this has a lasting impact on women's pay and their personal wealth to this day
  • Women's work, often undervalued and underpaid
  • The world of finance and why women have been largely absent
  • And why we need more women in economics and how women can be made to feel more welcome.

***

Apr 25, 202357:31
#88: How to build a global lingerie brand, why positive returns matter, women in the workplace and how to start angel investing with Tracy Lewis

#88: How to build a global lingerie brand, why positive returns matter, women in the workplace and how to start angel investing with Tracy Lewis

Tracy Lewis is a Global Brand CEO, Chair, NED, investor, advisor, mentor, and award winning entrepreneur. Her career has spanned the fashion, consumer, retail, beauty, recruitment, employability, marketing services and impact investment sectors and she has proven experience of establishing and growing profitable business across Europe, North America, Australasia and the Middle and Far East. Working with private equity as both CEO and NED, Tracy has achieved successful business exits, realising significant shareholder value.

We cover the following this our conversation:

  • How to build a global lingerie brand
  • Working with a private equity partner
  • ESG and impact investing
  • How women are changing business
  • Women in the workplace
  • Some of the toughest business moments and what it takes to overcome them
  • How Tracy started angel investing
  • And how more women can start investing in early stage businesses.

***

Apr 12, 202352:28
#87: The Banking Crisis: how did we get here and what's next with Shaun Richards

#87: The Banking Crisis: how did we get here and what's next with Shaun Richards

Shaun Richards is an independent economist who specialises in inflation measurement and monetary economics. This follows a career in the City of London where he specialised in derivatives (mainly options) on interest rates and bonds.

Shaun has also worked in Tokyo. He is a Bank of England watcher which covers the issues of monetary policy and money printing or quantitative easing (QE). Shaun also traded as a local on the London International Financial Futures Exchange where he mostly traded futures and options on future and present UK interest rates.

This podcast was recorded on Wednesday morning, 22 March 2023. Since then the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England (BoE) have hiked rates by 0.25%. And Janet Yellen, US Secretary of the Treasury has 'blurred the lines on bank depositors'.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • The banking crisis: how did we get here?
  • How are the central banks and governments responding?
  • Inflation & interest rates
  • And what's ahead?

***

Mar 23, 202328:54
#86: How women manage risk as investors, at work and in life with Michele Wucker and Barbara Stewart

#86: How women manage risk as investors, at work and in life with Michele Wucker and Barbara Stewart

Michele Wucker is a strategist, speaker and best-selling author. She coined the term 'Gray Rhino' as a call to take a fresh look at how we respond to obvious probable and impactful risks.

She founded the Chicago-based advisory firm Gray Rhino & Company and is a former media and think tank executive. Her four books include the influential global bestseller THE GRAY RHINO: How to Recognize and Act on the Obvious Dangers We Ignore and the recently released sequel, YOU ARE WHAT YOU RISK: The New Art and Science of Navigating an Uncertain World.

Barbara Stewart is a Chartered Financial Analyst with 30 years of investment industry experience, five years as a foreign currency trader, more than two decades as a portfolio manager for high net worth entrepreneurs, and for the past six years doing interview driven research from multiple global financial institutions.

Thirteen years ago, Barbara saw a need to challenge outdated financial industry stereotypes and share positive messages about women and money. Today, Barbara is recognised worldwide as one of the leading researchers in women and finance. Rich Thinking, global research papers quote smart women and men of all ages, professions, and countries, and are released annually on International Women's Day on March 8th. To find out more about Barbara’s research, visit www.barbarastewart.ca.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • We talk about risk: why we need to understand it 
  • How it relates to women specifically around money and investing
  • Negative stereotypes and money myths
  • The impact on women- how they invest and how they are perceived by the financial services industry
  • How women can overcome systemic risk in order to ensure their financial resilience and their financial security
  • Investing in yourself.

***

 

Mar 11, 202350:25
#85: Closing the gender wealth gap and managing your money with Vicky Pryce and Victoria Ross

#85: Closing the gender wealth gap and managing your money with Vicky Pryce and Victoria Ross

Vicky Pryce is an Economist and the author of her latest book 'Women vs Capitalism', which was published by Hurst in November of 2019. She is a frequent contributor to media broadcasts and debates on the economy and on the economic rationale for gender equality.

Victoria Ross is a Chartered Financial Planner for Progeny Wealth. Victoria has 18 years experience within financial services, during which she also completed the qualifications as a Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Managerial Accountant. As a Financial Planner, her key drivers are ensuring women reach out for and receive appropriate financial advice and that younger generations are financially informed.

This recording is from a webinar and we cover the following topics:

  • What is the gender wealth gap?
  • Why is closing the gender wealth gap important?
  • How do we close the gender wealth gap?
  • How can women manage their money to protect and grow their long term financial wealth?
  • How can women engage more in long-term investing?
  • What can the government and employers do to close the gender wealth gap?
  • What books, blogs or podcasts can inspire or educate women on how to invest?

***

Mar 02, 202301:03:46
#84: Money and love: how to make important life decisions with Abby Davisson

#84: Money and love: how to make important life decisions with Abby Davisson

Abby Davisson is a social innovation leader and career development expert. Most recently, she spent nine years at global retailer Gap Inc., where she served as president of the Gap Foundation and a senior leader on the ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) team. 

Abby also co-founded the company’s employee resource group for working parents, which has been featured as a best practice for how employers can support dual-career couples. Abby's expertise in career development comes from serving as an alumni career coach at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and from forging her own non-traditional career path (across the public, private, and non-profit sectors). 

Abby holds a BA from Yale University and an MBA and MA in Education from Stanford University. She lives with her husband and their two sons in San Francisco.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • Money and love: how relationships impact our money decisions
  • How to communicate and negotiate effectively
  • The 5C decision making framework and how this applies to 3 key life scenarios:
  • a) choosing a mate or choosing whether to marry, b) combining family and career and c) deciding whether to break up or indeed to divorce your partner
  • How gender norms play into these decisions
  • And how to create that win-win situation for yourself and for your loved one.

***

Feb 17, 202348:20
#83: Prioritising sustainability, social impact and financial success with Alix Lebec

#83: Prioritising sustainability, social impact and financial success with Alix Lebec

Alix Lebec is the founder and CEO of Lebec Consulting, a women-owned and led company working across philanthropy, impact investing, and ESG.

Alix is a seasoned entrepreneur and strategic advisor with a global perspective and two decades of experience. Her career began at the World Bank in Paris and Southeast Asia, followed by the Clinton Global Initiative and Water.org. There, she mobilised $60 million in philanthropy before launching WaterEquity alongside co-founders Gary White and Matt Damon. As a founding member, she built a winning team and developed an innovative organizational and capital blueprint—mobilising +$200 million in investment capital and philanthropy, alongside developing and launching blended finance fund structures. Her leadership, strategy, and expertise transformed the organisation from an $11 million pilot fund to a successful global impact investment manager.

Alix is an iDE board member, a member of 100 Women in Finance, and a regular contributor on ESG, impact investing, philanthropy, and the urgency of investing in women in emerging markets. She holds a Master of Science in Social Policy and Development from the London School of Economics, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Business from the American University of Paris.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • Investing in emerging markets
  • Why we need more women and diversity in corporate and financial institution boardrooms
  • The paradigm shift needed in mainstream finance to make this happen
  • How women lead and invest differently
  • Female founders raising funding in emerging markets
  • And where financial services will be in 2030. 

***

Feb 10, 202338:27
#82: Gender data, gender equality in the workplace and investing with a gender lens with Diana van Maasdijk

#82: Gender data, gender equality in the workplace and investing with a gender lens with Diana van Maasdijk

Diana van Maasdijk is the Co-Founder & CEO of Equileap, an ESG data provider specialised in gender data.

Headquartered in Amsterdam, Equileap is the leading provider of data and insights on gender equality in the corporate sector. Equileap researches and ranks 4000 public companies around the world using a unique and comprehensive Gender Equality Scorecard™ with 19 criteria, including the gender balance of the workforce, senior management and board, as well as the gender pay gap, parental leave, and sexual harassment.

Prior to launching Equileap, Diana worked as Head of Philanthropy at ABN AMRO Private Bank and Director of Development at Mama Cash, the world's oldest international women's fund.

She has a BA from Hamilton College and an MA in international development from American University.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • Gender equality at work
  • The challenges we see in companies around gender data 
  • Equileap's Gender Equality Scorecard
  • Why gender lens investing is still considered a niche market
  • The role investors play
  • Euronext's partnership with Equileap
  • Where will gender equality in the workplace be in 2030?
  • How can more women invest?

***

Jan 31, 202336:12
#81: 'The Female Factor': why women CEOs outperform and how to invest in gender equality via an ETF with Patricia Lizarraga

#81: 'The Female Factor': why women CEOs outperform and how to invest in gender equality via an ETF with Patricia Lizarraga

Patricia Lizarraga is an experienced independent corporate board director, Audit Committee Chair, Risk Committee member and Financial Expert for NYSE listed companies.  She is a Wall Street executive with over 25 years of international mergers & acquisitions, capital markets, private equity and valuation experience.  

Patricia founded Hypatia Capital in 2007, as a corporate finance advisory firm, and currently is an asset manager and sponsor of the Hypatia Women CEO ETF (NYSE: WCEO) and owner of the Hypatia Women Hedge Fund Index (HWIX) – Powered by Wilshire and the Hypatia Women CEO Index (HWCEO).

Her current board experience includes John Hancock Group of Funds, where she serves on the Audit Committee, as well as Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE:BAP) and Banco de Credito del Peru, the largest financial services company and largest bank in Peru, respectively.  

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • The Female Factor: why invest?
  • The launch of the Hypatia Capital's Women CEO ETF (WCEO)
  • How it came about  and why invest in the ETF?
  • How women and men can align their values with investing?
  • Patricia shares her advice for women who are starting out on their investment journey
  • And we talk about how to close the gender investing gap.

***

Jan 19, 202333:43
#80: Setting up a UK MedTech Fund, gender smart investing, women's health and finding the right advisors and mentors with Tatum Getty

#80: Setting up a UK MedTech Fund, gender smart investing, women's health and finding the right advisors and mentors with Tatum Getty

Tatum Getty has built her career in marketing, working with brands such as Mattel, SoulCycle, Barry’s Bootcamp, and Tonal for the past 10+ years scaling them across the US and in the UK. 

She has an MBA from the University of Southern California and an undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis. While helping build brands from the inside, she began angel investing in early staged startups focused on health and wellness, which were the building blocks for launching a venture capital fund with her two business partners in 2022 called THENA Capital. 

THENA Capital is a UK Medical Technology fund focused on investing in early stage digital and device companies in the health sector, adding significant value to founders as they build their go-to-market strategy and commercialise in this space and helping them scale into the US market. 

Tatum is passionate about closing the gender healthcare gap, and THENA’s foundation incorporates a gender smart investment strategy ensuring capital is supporting gender balanced teams and considering women’s needs as a customer segment.  

The businesses they support address key need spaces such as chronic conditions, women’s health, oncology, mental health, and care service delivery with the mission to transform patient experiences.

We cover the following in the conversation:

  • How Tatum set up THENA Capital with her two co-founders
  • Why they're applying a gender smart strategy to how they invest
  • Raising investment: finding the right investors
  • Working with mentors and advisors
  • Lessons learned
  • How women can start to invest in the startup ecosystem via a fund.

***

Dec 31, 202231:43
#79: Why women need to build their wealth, investing in female founders, diverse boards and startup investing lessons learnt with Barbara Clarke

#79: Why women need to build their wealth, investing in female founders, diverse boards and startup investing lessons learnt with Barbara Clarke

Barbara Clarke is the Co-Founder of The Impact Seat LLC and Chair of the Board of The Impact Seat Foundation. 

Launched in 2021, The Impact Seat Foundation strives to create a world in which women, particularly women of colour, succeed as business leaders. Barbara’s vision of full stack philanthropy melds impact investing, advocacy and grant making to accelerate an expanded and equitable economy for all. 

As one of the top U.S. individual investors in women-led innovative tech startups, Barbara’s iconic investment strategy has inspired many others around the world.  Currently, she serves on a variety of boards, including Founders First Capital Partners, an innovative revenue based financing firm formed to support diverse small businesses around the country. 

She is also a founding member of Astia Angels who invest in impactful high-growth companies led by inclusive teams with women leaders. 

In addition, Barbara served as one of the founding members of the Portfolia, Inc Board of Directors. Portfolia is a venture fund focused on investing in the solutions women want in the world. In 2022, Barbara released her Amazon best-selling book, “Build Your Board, Build Your Business”. 

A polyglot, Barbara speaks five languages and splits her time between New England and Berlin.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • Women's relationship with money
  • Why Barbara decided to start investing in female founder startups
  • How she started on her journey as an angel investor
  • How she invests in early stage businesses
  • The value add that female investors can provide
  • Barbara's favourite startup investment
  • Startup lessons learned
  • Why we need more female investors
  • The role that wealth managers have to play
  • Barbara talks to us about how women can start on their own journey to become angel investors. 

***


Dec 15, 202250:47
#78: How women invest with Julie Castro Abrams

#78: How women invest with Julie Castro Abrams

Julie Castro Abrams is the founder and Managing Partner of How Women Invest, an early stage venture firm focussed on high growth, tech enabled women-founded enterprises. The firm is a culmination of her lifetime of work propelling women founders to launch and find success with training, capital and networks. 

Julie brings her extensive experience identifying and supporting early stage entrepreneurs and twenty years as a CEO and board director. She is bringing her extensive networks, leadership and entrepreneurship experience to disruption of the venture landscape.

An active investor and advisor to start-ups, and as the leader of the nation's largest microenterprise and microfinance organisation for 11 years, Julie has helped launch over 6,000 women into successful businesses.

Today she is advising the SBA, White House and Congress on national legislative initiatives to address economic opportunities for women. She serves on the California First Partners Project as an advisor regarding corporate board diversity. In her role as Founder and CEO of How Women Lead, she has been a driver of legislative initiatives and transformation in the US and California. 

Julie serves as an Advisor to financial services firms including the fin-tech start-up LENDonate and Nia Capital. She previously served as an advisor to Beneficial Bank and as the Governance Chair for the Association for Enterprise Opportunity and the Women’s Funding Network.

As the CEO of How Women Lead, she is at the centre of the movement to disrupt antiquated, unequal systems by propelling women into even greater leadership roles and increasing opportunities for all women. Julie has been an essential driver of the ecosystem for women on corporate boards in California. Julie has been a national leader in the movement and drove the successful passage of the groundbreaking Senate Bill 826, requiring public companies to have women on their boards.

The recipient of many accolades, she has been awarded the More Jobs Genius Award, the Morgan Stanley Innovation Award, Cisco’s Innovation in Technology Award.

We cover the following on our conversation:

  • The early stage VC fund: How Women Invest
  • Julie's journey for setting up the fund 
  • And how she has raised funding from female investors.

***

Dec 06, 202233:44
#77: Building a business and investing for profit and impact, 'the exit' and why women need to invest with Anna Sofat

#77: Building a business and investing for profit and impact, 'the exit' and why women need to invest with Anna Sofat

Anna Sofat, known as the Voice of Women’s Wealth, is passionate about money being a force for good in business and beyond. As an award winning and highly qualified financial planner until recently, she had advised private clients for over 20 years.

She is a regular contributor to national press and TV and has been a judge for various industry awards over the years. In the past she has chaired the Nucleus Financial Services Advisory Board and was non-executive director at Fair Finance, the micro finance social business.

Anna is a graduate of Hull University and has a Masters from LSE. She holds the Chartered Financial Planning and Certified Financial Planner qualifications.  She has been awarded the Unbiased.co.uk’s Financial Adviser of the year and was recognised as the Top female Adviser by Financial Adviser. In 2019, she was awarded the Women Financial Adviser of the Year by Professional Adviser and voted its Personality of the Year in 2020.

Anna founded Addidi, a financial services boutique for women. Addidi was regularly featured as one of the Top 100 Advisory firm by the New Model Adviser and won the Money Marketing Small Adviser of the Year Award in 2018. The firm was sold to Progeny Wealth in 2019. Prior to founding Addidi, Anna was the MD at Fiona Price & Partners, providing financial advice for women by women.

Having founded Addidi Angels, UK’s first women business angel, she is an angel investor in a number of businesses and an advocate for female founders.

We cover the following in this conversation:

  • How Anna started her business, Addidi
  • How Anna grew the business
  • Taking outside investment and finding the right investors
  • Media's obsession with unicorns
  • Building a business and investing for social impact (nor just financial returns)
  • The exit: how to sell your business
  • Women's wealth 
  • Why we need more women investing and more women investing in the startup ecosystem. 

***

Nov 24, 202201:09:56
#76: The UK startup ecosystem, female founders, fund raising and investing in female-led innovation with Julia Elliott Brown

#76: The UK startup ecosystem, female founders, fund raising and investing in female-led innovation with Julia Elliott Brown

Julia Elliott Brown is a highly respected entrepreneurial advisor working exclusively with female founders, with a wealth of experience in inspiring, coaching and supporting high-growth potential businesses.

As a serial entrepreneur working in the start-up industry for over 25 years, Julia has built, funded, and grown several successful companies from fashion-tech, consumer data, publishing, e-commerce to consultancy, and is highly experienced in raising investment finance. Julia is an advisor, mentor, workshop leader, accomplished public speaker, and a long-standing judge at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards. She is the founder and CEO of Enter The Arena, providing investment expertise and business coaching for female founders, host of leading business podcast Fundraising Stories with Female Founders and author of RAISE: The Female Founder’s Guide To Securing Investment.

Supporting start-ups every step of the way, Julia is committed and highly involved with her clients as they progress through their growth journey. As strategic advisor, she helps clients to navigate the scaling and investment process effectively, developing fundraising skills, leadership skills, business acumen and the confidence needed to enter the arena and smash down the barriers to success. 

We cover the following in this conversation:

  • The UK startup ecosystem and startup investing since the pandemic started in 2020
  • Julia'a new book, Raise: The Female Founder's Guide to Securing Investment
  • How to successfully raise as a female founder 
  • How to do due diligence on potential investors and when to walk away 
  • Female angel investors and why we need more men to invest
  • How to encourage more women to invest.

***

Nov 13, 202252:25
#75: How volatile is the UK bond market and the problem with UK growth with Vicky Pryce

#75: How volatile is the UK bond market and the problem with UK growth with Vicky Pryce

Vicky Pryce is Chief Economic Adviser and a board member at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

She was previously Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, Director General for Economics at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Joint Head of the UK Government Economic Service. Before that she was Partner at the accounting and consulting firm KPMG after senior economic positions in banking and the oil sector.

She has held a number of academic posts and is a Fellow and Council member of the UK Academy of Social Sciences, a Fellow of the Society of Professional Economists and a Companion of the British Academy of Management. She was until recently on the Council of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and is a member of the Advisory Board of the central banking think-tank OMFIF and of the Economic Advisory Group of the British Chambers of Commerce. She is also a Patron of the charities Pro-Bono Economics and Working Chance.

Her books include: “Greekonomics: The Euro crisis and Why Politicians Don't Get It”; “It's the Economy, Stupid- Economics for Voters”, with Ross and Urwin; “Redesigning Manufacturing”, with Nielsen and Beverland”; and “Why Women Need Quotas”.

Her latest book, “Women vs Capitalism”, was published by Hurst in November 2019. She is a frequent contributor to media broadcasts and debates on the economy and on the economic rationale for gender equality. She is co-founder of GoodCorporation, a company set up to advise on corporate social responsibility, is a Freeman and Liveryman of the City of London, was the first female Master of the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants and has been sitting on the City’s Members Diversity Working Party.

***

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • The UK bond market: what are gilts?
  • Why are gilts so volatile at the moment?
  • Why did the Bank of England (BoE) have to intervene after the 'mini budget' in September?
  • What are LDI strategies and should pensions be using them?
  • The problem with UK growth

***

Nov 09, 202242:32
#74: Women's relationship to money, budgeting vs investing and working with a financial planner with Victoria Ross

#74: Women's relationship to money, budgeting vs investing and working with a financial planner with Victoria Ross

Victoria Ross is a Chartered Financial Planner for Progeny Wealth. 

Progeny bring together independent financial planning, asset management, tax, HR and private and corporate legal services, under one roof. Victoria has 18 years experience within financial services, during which she also completed the qualifications as a chartered financial analyst and chartered managerial accountant. 

As a financial planner, her key drivers are ensuring women reach out for and receive appropriate financial advice and that younger generations are financially informed.

We cover the following in this conversation:

  • Women's relationship to money
  • Why the cost of living crisis is more of a concern for women
  • What women can do to protect and grow their money during this time
  • Index funds vs ETFs
  • The new tax incentives for investing in startups and smaller companies
  • Progeny research: women's aspirations and concerns about transferring money onto their loved ones
  • Tips for finding a good financial planner
  • How to start working with a financial planner.

***

Oct 31, 202243:18
#73: Building a startup in the menopause market and why we need to talk about the menopause with Sally Mueller

#73: Building a startup in the menopause market and why we need to talk about the menopause with Sally Mueller

Sally Mueller is the Co-founder and CEO of Womaness. 

Womaness is a high-performance collection of modern menopause products developed for women, by women that offer solutions from head to toe (and everything in between). With community, education, and inspiration, Womaness sparks the power of menopositivity.

Sally is a consummate business builder specialising in retail and brand innovation. Her trend-forecasting Midas touch has benefited companies such as Target, Who What Wear and VERSED skincare, among others.

She is a seasoned executive with impeccable entrepreneurial acumen. Sally spent over two decades of her career at Target Corporation, first in Apparel Merchandising and then in Marketing, helping to build the bullseye from a regional discount retailer to one of the world's most recognized and influential global brands. She developed and implemented Target’s designer program and Design for All platform, transforming the regional discount retailer into a global phenomenon.

Previously, Sally launched her own company, Whyse Branding, where she formed a licensing relationship with Who What Wear and successfully launched the consumer products line in Target stores and ultimately achieved international distribution.

We cover the following in this conversation:

  • The menopause and why is it a taboo topic?
  • What are some of the challenges women face as a result?
  • Reclaiming the narrative around the menopause
  • Womaness: building a menopause startup
  • Building a new consumer brand
  • The importance of community
  • How to find the right investors
  • How to start investing

***

Oct 14, 202242:17
#72: The UK bond market, rising interest rates and will the Bank of England stop printing money with Shaun Richards
Oct 06, 202232:50
#71: Investing in women's reproductive and maternal health with Ruth Shaber MD

#71: Investing in women's reproductive and maternal health with Ruth Shaber MD

Ruth Shaber, MD is the Founder and President of the Tara Health Foundation, which promotes health, well-being, and opportunity for women and girls through innovative evidence-informed programs. She is also the Co-founder and Board Chair of Rhia Ventures, a group of foundations and investors that collaborate to bring new types of capital and enterprise to the field of reproductive health in the United States.

Ruth had a robust career as an Obstetrician and Gynecologist at Kaiser Permanente from 1990 to 2012.

Ruth was featured in Forbes 2020 Impact 50: Investors Seeking Profit—and Pushing for Change for her contributions to the field of impact investing.

Ruth holds an MD from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Yale University.

We cover the following in this conversation:

  • The women's health market in the US
  • Why the market is underinvested and underserved
  • Tara Health Foundation & Rhia Ventures 
  • Investing in women's reproductive and maternal health
  • What the market will look like 50 years+ from now 
  • How more women can engage as investors.

***

Oct 01, 202237:13
#70: Cleantech, regenerative economies and investing for net positive outcomes with Anna Poberezhna

#70: Cleantech, regenerative economies and investing for net positive outcomes with Anna Poberezhna

Anna Poberezhna is a sustainable development and technology entrepreneur. She is the founder for ClearHub which is reimagining resources, industrials & infrastructure to rebuild peace, security & prosperity. Anna is a mentor, published author, speaker, life-lover and daughter.

She is a Fellow; part of the Sustainable Finance Live initiative, Blockchain Climate Institute; and a mentor at SWAN.

*Women in Mining, Responsible materials, Minerals diplomacy, TEDx, Responsible Finance, IWWA, UN COP24 (SIF Forum), Bloomberg Environment, Global Water Intelligence, The Water Report UK and EBRD publications and discussions. *

Anna is the first Ukrainian woman recognised for her exceptional digital talent by the UK Government (1 out of 3000 in 2016).

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • Cleantech and why we should care
  • The underlying values and principles that guide the Cleantech industry
  • How this differs to traditional business and why it matters
  • Investors and what it's like raising money as a female founder 
  • How women as founders, investors, and stakeholders are reshaping this industry on a global scale.

***

Sep 16, 202231:21
#69: Women as decision makers and asset allocators with Patience Marime-Ball and Ruth Shaber MD

#69: Women as decision makers and asset allocators with Patience Marime-Ball and Ruth Shaber MD

Patience Marime-Ball has more than two decades of investment experience across capital markets, including debt and equity financing, large scale infrastructure, distressed assets, as well as venture stage opportunities.

Previously, Patience was Principal Investment Officer and Global Head of Banking on Women at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) where she developed the Banking on Women business; Patience co-developed the first-ever gender bond issued on the Uridashi market. She is the founder/CEO of Women of the World Endowment, an investment nonprofit focused on centralizing women as economic, environmental, and social changemakers while delivering market-rate, risk adjusted returns and impact at scale.

Patience holds a JD from the Pritzker School of Law and an MBA from Kellogg at Northwestern University.

**

Ruth Shaber, MD is the Founder and President of the Tara Health Foundation, which promotes health, well-being, and opportunity for women and girls through innovative evidence-informed programs. She is also the Co-founder and Board Chair of Rhia Ventures, a group of foundations and investors that collaborate to bring new types of capital and enterprise to the field of reproductive health in the United States.

Ruth had a robust career as an Obstetrician and Gynecologist at Kaiser Permanente from 1990 to 2012.

Ruth was featured in Forbes 2020 Impact 50: Investors Seeking Profit—and Pushing for Change for her contributions to the field of impact investing.

Ruth holds an MD from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Yale University.

In this conversation we cover the following:

  • Why women need to take centre stage in financial decision making and investing 
  • How women invest 
  • Why investing in female led innovation is key 
  • How we can put more money into the hands of women in order to drive better outcomes and create more wealth for women.

***

Sep 09, 202255:28
#68: Rising inflation and the cost of living crisis in the UK with Shaun Richards
Aug 19, 202236:02
#67: The markets today, how to think about a difficult or bear market and what actions are European investors taking with Rebecca Chesworth

#67: The markets today, how to think about a difficult or bear market and what actions are European investors taking with Rebecca Chesworth

Rebecca Chesworth is an equities strategist, a thought leader and a conference speaker.

She loves to share a passion for equities investment built on extensive market and client knowledge from 30 years as a fund manager, an analyst and an investment specialist.

Rebecca is an advocate of active investment selection and integration of ESG principles utilising cheap, flexible instruments such as exchange traded funds (ETFs).

Rebecca is a lead strategist on sectors and ESG for SPDR ETFs at State Street Global Advisors.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • What is happening in the markets today?
  • How to think about a difficult or a bear market?
  • Rebecca shares her outlook for the rest of 2022 and for 2023. 
  • What actions European investors are taking?
  • And how you should be thinking about investing at this time?

***

Aug 15, 202218:18
#66: How more women can start to invest in female-led startups with Gillian Fleming

#66: How more women can start to invest in female-led startups with Gillian Fleming

Gillian Fleming's expertise includes Advisor, Investor and Non-Exec to start-up and spin-out companies with 20 years’ experience in the entrepreneurial ecosystem advising and nurturing early-stage ideas through to company creation. Specialising in technology commercialisation her expertise covers energy, oil and gas, infrastructure, engineering, biotech and food & drink sectors.

With a grounding in sales and marketing within the energy and engineering sector across Europe she progressed into the University commercialisation and has successfully developed numerous startup / spinout companies from the Universities of Strathclyde, West of Scotland, Heriot Watt and Dundee.

Currently, Gillian is Founding Director and CEO of Mint Ventures (Syndicate) Ltd, an angel group focused on investing in women led and diverse teams with a social ethical or environmental purpose. She also represents Kero Developments Partners in Scotland, a private VC that invests in early-stage engineering related start-up companies.

She is also Entrepreneurial Scotland Saltire Fellow, a mentor for Women’s Enterprise Scotland (WES) as well as being an active angel investor.

We cover the following in our conversation:

  • Female founders 
  • Why access to capital continues to be a challenge.
  • Female investors and why more women investing into female led innovation is key. 
  • Mint Ventures: the angel syndicate and what they invest in. 
  • And how we encourage more women to invest.

***

Jul 26, 202227:52