#BeMyAngel — Emma Sinclair MBE, CEO EnterpriseAlumni
To start off our #BeMyAngel campaign, we speak to Emma Sinclair who came up with the idea in the fist place!
Hello, Emma! Who are you and what do you do?
My name’s Emma Sinclair and I’m chief executive of EnterpriseAlumni.
How did you get to where you are today?
If I charted how I got to where I am, it would look like a 3-year-old took a crayon and went mad on a white wall when no one was looking! The steps have included school, university, a graduate scheme. I co-founded EnterpriseAlumni loosely in 2015 and business became a reality in 2019.
What’s been your biggest hurdle of raising money?
As you get older and wiser, you recognise that you’ve got to spend your time and energy in the right places. Raising money is never easy, but it’s particularly hard right now because the world is not awash with capital as it was when I started my business.
The stats for female-led companies are pretty shocking. Why do you think this is?
I’ve been asked that question about 25,000 times, which is partially why I launched the #BeMyAngel campaign. Research shows that women and men are asked very different questions when they’re pitching for money. Women are asked questions around risk and experience, and men are asked questions around vision and size of market. Most of the world of venture capital is populated by men and people tend to do business with people that look and sound like them. There aren’t enough women on investment committees or making investment decisions at venture capitalists.
Why is the #BeMyAngel campaign such a great idea?
Well, I came up with it, so I’ve got to say it’s a great idea! It was a recent idea and a knee-jerk reaction after years of spectating on terrible statistics as regards women receiving investment. Things have barely improved in a decade and given I cannot see any change coming top down, the only near term fix is going to have to be bottom up … activating normal individuals to become angel investors. Most people are not aware that men are 50x more likely than women to raise VC. Equally, most people don’t have the opportunity to invest in businesses like ours. This is just the start of normalising crowdfunding for B2B businesses and creating action — not words — about how to help female founders fund their businesses.
If an angel came down from heaven and granted you one wish, what would you wish for?
Lots more revenue.
What’s your favourite Robbie Williams song?
I mean, obviously I can now only now think of Angels!
EnterpriseAlumni #BeMyAngel crowdfund early access here:
