SheStarts uses this series to profile those investors who identify investing in women as a significant part of their investing strategy. The goal of this series is to feature these investors to make them more accessible to women entrepreneurs who are seeking capital.
Q. What was the path you took to becoming an investor?
Frankly, it was totally accidental. A former colleague invited me along to and angel group meeting. I was an investor, in the sense of being involved in the public markets, but hadn’t given much thought at all to angel investing. But after that first meeting I just got hooked!
Q. When did investing in women-run companies become a priority for you, and why?
About Day One — when I realized that the startup investing world makes the public market investing, investment banking etc. look positively enlightened (relatively at least.) I just thought how can anyone think it is OK that 93% of Venture Capital partners are guys … and that only 3% of the CEOs of the companies they invest in are women. That is deeply unfair and plain wrong.
Q. How do you source your investment deals?
Through connections and random incoming inquiries. And other routes … I “met” one of the CEOs I ended up investing in on Twitter!
Q. Tell us about a recent investment you’ve made that you’re excited about.
Glassbreakers: the team (led by rock star founder/CEO Eileen Carey) is building an enterprise platform for inclusive talent development. US corporation spends billions of dollars a year on Diversity & Inclusion training and programs. But most of that is wasted, because demographics don’t budge. #HRTech platforms like Glassbreakers open-up the prospect of making real progress with solutions that are scalable across even the largest organizations.
Q. What is one piece of advice you typically give first time women entrepreneurs?
Take advice … but never follow advice.
Meaning soak up all the insights and ideas you can from smart and informed people around you. But 100% own YOUR decisions. Only you can frame what is right for YOUR business based on YOUR values and YOUR market insights.
Interested in connecting with Adam? Find him on LinkedIn or tweet at him at @adamquinton.
