Changing the narrative of “his”-tory
How a female-led investment round was built
Zoe Peden, Principal at Ananda Impact Ventures, says that it’s time for women to start blowing their own trumpet and raise their profile in the VC world.
When I was the founder of a successful technology start-up, I can’t tell you the amount of times I was asked how I had raised angel and VC funding for it. Ten years ago, it was still seen as being relatively novel for a female entrepreneur such as myself to be heading up a company and negotiating with investors.
Thankfully, times have changed, and while we still have a long way to go in achieving parity of representation in the technology industry, being a female founder or CEO isn’t quite as newsworthy as it once was.
Yet what we still don’t hear enough about is the female perspective from the other side of the investment table — about the talented women at VCs and other funds discovering and investing in some of today’s most innovative start-ups.
Having moved over to that side of the table when I joined Ananda in 2016, it’s really important to me that this female perspective is highlighted because, as with so many other industries, the dominant VC narrative is often still a “his”-tory, with men positioned as calling all the big shots. But it’s long overdue for that story to be re-written.
When I was growing up, I was told to be careful about “blowing my own trumpet” — speaking your mind as a young woman was frowned upon. Well, I’m long past that particular mindset! Instead, I’m here to encourage others in the female VC community to own their space with pride.
So here’s the story of the recent Nature Metrics deal that I helped to put together. I hope it’ll be an inspiration to all new and budding female investors out there looking to build their own deals and find their own identify in the VC world…
Nature Metrics — a major gap in the market
In 2012, my company Insane Logic and its Makaton app MyChoicePad was in the very first Wayra cohort, and it was at one of their Thirsty Thursday alumni events that I first met Kat Bruce. Kat had just finished her Phd in Molecular Ecology on the topic of Environmental DNA (eDNA) and she had an idea for a business… We got on like a house on fire and started following each other on Facebook.
Thanks to Kat’s regular postings I kept up with all the changes in her life, including the growth of her business Nature Metrics, her angel round, her adventures in the Amazon, and her formidable rowing skills. Once Covid allowed, we met up, had some wine, and talked about everything!
One of the topics that came up was the database she had been building from Nature Metrics’ e-DNA testing results. A database for life on earth! My jaw may have hit the table. I saw the potential of Kat’s company immediately, with business models swimming before my eyes! It was a major gap in the market and any product person’s dream.
I said straight away that if the chance arose to invest in the company, they should contact me immediately. And a few months later, they did just that.
Building the optimal syndicate
I knew that to really exploit this opportunity, we needed to build a substantial round with very special co-investors. Katie Critchlow, Nature Metrics’ CEO and a formidable leader with incredible energy, brought onboard SWEN Blue Ocean Fund, a new fund focused on regenerating ocean health. She also brought in BNP Paribas’s new solar impulse fund. The syndicate was starting to shape up nicely, but I knew the company needed a VC fund with solid Series B experience and the firepower to support it…
When I first moved into the VC world, there was a lack of diverse peer groups and communities focused on education and career advancement. So I created my own community, FutureWorldVC, which now has over 180 VCs who regularly gather for educational and social events. I’ve met so many great up and coming investors through this community and one of them was Margarita Skarkou…
Nature Metrics had a number of funds wanting to get into the round by this stage, but Margarita had recently joined 2150, a $312m urban sustainability technology fund. As a brilliant individual obsessed with biodiversity and working with a large fund that could assist with infrastructure clients, I knew that she was the woman for them.
Margarita quickly won the team over with her knowledge and background in the field. The term sheet was signed days before she gave birth to her first child. That’s fierce!
With additional investment from Ananda and Systemiq Capital, the round raised $15m in new funding.
A female all-star team built this investment round. By sharing the story behind the Nature Metrics deal, I hope to encourage others in the VC community to come forward and share theirs as well. If we make our voices heard, I’m certain we’ll see larger and more diverse investment deals happening soon.
Zoe Peden is a Principal at Ananda Impact Ventures
