A podcast for entrepreneurial women: founders, builders, changemakers shaping the world we live in.

Female founders, investors and startup ecosystem enablers share their stories, knowledge, fears and failures, moments of growth and pieces of advice.
With these conversations, we want to inspire more women to build their own businesses.

#33: Gender investment gap: Its origin, impact and ways to bridge it - Lucy Chow, Vera Futorjanski, Medea Nocentini, Katie Wachsberger
Darya Kamkalova Darya Kamkalova

#33: Gender investment gap: Its origin, impact and ways to bridge it - Lucy Chow, Vera Futorjanski, Medea Nocentini, Katie Wachsberger

All-women startup teams receive less than 3% of the venture capital globally whilst male-led startups collect 89% of it. And as if this statistic wasn’t depressing enough, the trend is negative. It’s getting worse every year.

Venture capital investors share their views on the reasons behind such disparity. What are its consequences? What are we as a society missing out if this gap perpetuates? And how can we possibly bridge it?

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#32: Building a FemTech, don’t look too passionate about it - Fatoumata Ly
Darya Kamkalova Darya Kamkalova

#32: Building a FemTech, don’t look too passionate about it - Fatoumata Ly

#32: Building a FemTech, don’t look too passionate about it - Fatoumata Ly

Many businesses start with the future founders trying to solve an issue they face personally. FemTech startups (female technology) are no exception. Here, however, many areas are emotionally loaded and wrapped into layers of taboos.

Fatoumata Ly shares how her own story of trying to conceive evolved into addressing the centuries-old issue countless women face. Fatoumata is now building Ninti, a company that provides digital solutions for personalised care around sexual and reproductive health.

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#28: Build an ideal team of investors and treat this as an alliance - Sonia Weymuller
Darya Kamkalova Darya Kamkalova

#28: Build an ideal team of investors and treat this as an alliance - Sonia Weymuller

Can FOMO (fear of missing out) be a market opportunity? Sonia Weymuller realised many people were seeking ways to invest into tech startups and be a part of the startup buzz. Yet, there was no platform in the MENA region to do so.

Sonia Weymuller is a Co-Founder and General Partner of VentureSouq (VSQ), a MENA-based venture capital firm, and Partner Lead for the VSQ Conscious Collective, its global impact-focused investment and educational platform.

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#22: Business angels’ wings and money for startups - Rita Vilas-Boas
Darya Kamkalova Darya Kamkalova

#22: Business angels’ wings and money for startups - Rita Vilas-Boas

9 out of 10 startups die, and the first years of any startup existence are the most challenging to navigate. This is where business angels can offer invaluable support to founders along with so much-needed capital.

Rita Vilas-Boas is a marketing professional, entrepreneur and angel investor focusing on consumer-centric startups. She is particularly interested in impact and women-led startups. In the last 20 years, she held top-tier roles at major global brands like Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola as well as family businesses. Rita shares a moving story of fear, flight and growth that brought her to work and live in 7 countries across 3 continents.

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#13: Investing in African women, detrimental copy-and-paste approach, curl classification - Lelemba Phiri
Darya Kamkalova Darya Kamkalova

#13: Investing in African women, detrimental copy-and-paste approach, curl classification - Lelemba Phiri

The backbone of the African economy, African women are the most entrepreneurial in the world. It’s statistically proven! In this episode, I am speaking with Lelemba Phiri, gender-lens angel investor and operating partner for Enygma Ventures Fund, based in Cape Town, South Africa. Lelemba shares her unconventional path to the venture capital world as well as her thoughts on how best to fuel the potential of African women.

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#12: Equity, portfolio careers, quotas for VCs - Naïma Camara
Darya Kamkalova Darya Kamkalova

#12: Equity, portfolio careers, quotas for VCs - Naïma Camara

Equity is often part and parcel of employees’ compensation packages. Particularly for start-ups, that cannot afford to offer new hires exorbitant salaries. In this episode we sat down with Naïma Camara, CEO & Founder of Ownership to discuss the evolving role of equity. She tells us why we need to view equity as more than merely an incentive.

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#11: AI tackling sexual harassment in the workplace - Eleanor Manley
Darya Kamkalova Darya Kamkalova

#11: AI tackling sexual harassment in the workplace - Eleanor Manley

Despite the advancements of the #MeToo movement, it seems we still have a long way to go when it comes to eradicating sexual harassment. In this episode, we speak to Eleanor Manley, co-founder of Metta Space, a B2B tech solution for workplace misconduct reporting and resolution.

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