On the 24th September, we held our first Mind The Gap event. Mind the Gap is our event series focusing on fixing the gender investment gap. Over the course of the series, we’ll aim to help women take more steps into investing: whether they’re seasoned professionals or first-timers, and create a community to support one another.
With only 14% of the angel investment population being female, this felt like a great place to start closing the gender investment gap.
We were joined by Kirsten Connell of Octopus Ventures, Jenny Tooth OBE of the UK Business Angels Association, and Oksana Stowe from Google. They shared their experiences on angel investing and some advice on how to get started.
Here are three takeaways from the evening:
- Angel investing isn’t just for the super-rich
You can become an angel investor with as little as £2K. There are also some tax breaks that you can take advantage of to make it less scary – check out EIS and SEIS. Being a smaller investor also means that you’re sometimes closer to the entrepreneur. If there are problems at the company, entrepreneurs aren’t likely to pick up the phone to their biggest investors, and being a smaller investor means you’re sometimes a safer sounding board and can provide your unique insight. - You don’t have to do it alone
Syndicates are great resources to tap into for new or wannabe angels. They give you an opportunity to speak to founders in a larger group, so you can get used to the conversations before you’re ready to invest. You can join a syndicate and just observe until you’re ready. - Don’t rush
Angel investing might feel like it, but it isn’t a race. There’ll be nobody forcing you to invest before you’re ready (even in a syndicate). Before your first investment you’ll have lots of opportunities to ask the company questions and make sure you really understand the opportunity. Your first investment might not be great, and that’s okay! This is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t expect to see money back all the time.
Other resources to check out are:
- Elizabeth Ying’s Questions VCs may ask you
- https://www.perplexity.ai
- GOV.UK information about SEIS Apply to use the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme to raise money for your company – GOV.UK
- GOV.UK information about EIS https://www.gov.uk/guidance/venture-capital-schemes-apply-for-the-enterprise-investment-scheme
