Anthemis Entrance Interview: Hana Charnley
Hana Charnley joined Anthemis this month as an Investor with the Female Innovators Lab Fund. Read on to find out more about her journey to date, and why she’s looking forward to supporting female founders.
Welcome Hana! Let’s get started with why did Anthemis, and in particular the Female Innovators Lab Fund, catch your attention?
First and foremost, the focus on investing in strong female founders. In addition, Anthemis’ embedded finance thesis creates the opportunity to invest in fintech companies across many different industries and applications. The other factor that really drew me to Anthemis was the team. Getting to know Katie and Elizabeth over the last year & seeing their working style and how they interact with founders was so valuable. Finally, getting to know the broader Anthemis team, understanding Anthemis as a brand, and how they represent themselves were all things I loved.
Within fintech, are there any specific verticals that you are particularly interested in?
There are so many verticals in fintech that I am interested. One vertical that comes to mind is generative AI. Ever since college, I have been intrigued by large language models & the ability for them to impact industries such as fintech. While there are ongoing regulatory & privacy concerns, I am excited to see what companies are built with generative AI at their core, or as part of their product offering.
Was becoming an investor always a career aspiration for you, or did your interest evolve over time?
Definitely something that evolved over time. I started my career in banking & marketing with my first job at an early stage startup, where my interest in the tech/venture ecosystem began. From there, I was at First Republic Bank, where I was on the tech/VC team in New York, focusing on early stage startups and emerging VCs. I don’t think I saw myself as an investor until I started the process of getting to know Anthemis. Seeing how the strengths and the foundations I’ve built throughout my career apply into this role, especially at the pre — seed/seed stage, was very inspiring for me.
What opportunities do you see in taking on this role as an investor?
I’m looking forward to continuing to meet amazing founders, hear their stories & watch their visions come to life. My favorite part of my job has always been interacting with the community and building relationships, so I can’t wait to dive headfirst into that area of the role. I’m also excited about Anthemis as a global fund, the opportunity to get to know the whole global venture ecosystem and to learn from the talented Anthemis team located all over the world.
Aside from the world of investing that you’re now in, what else keeps you going personally, intellectually? What do you take inspiration from outside of work?
I was an athlete in college where I played field hockey. For me, athletics has always been a large part of my life. My Mom and Sister are avid marathoners and my roommate and I have recently stepped into that world. We’re running the New York Marathon this year, our first marathon! We’re currently training and that’s been our athletic outlet, and transition into non team sport.
We also have a family dog, a black lab called Blue and we love hiking with him on the weekends. Lastly, I love watching movies. My friends and I are membership/card holders to different movie theaters in New York, and we love to go once or twice a week, whether it’s some cheesy horror movie or something very critically acclaimed!
You will definitely fit in here at Anthemis, I know we have several avid marathon runners among us already. Welcome to the team Hana!
Additionally, to learn more about the Female Innovators Lab Fund, visit us.
