Becoming a part of Focal
I’ve recently joined Focal as Operations Lead, and I’m beyond excited to be working for a company that holds such a great reputation across the VC and startup space.
How did I get here?
I started my career as a graduate at global professional services firm, BDO; working closely with multinational companies and advising them on their group tax structures.
After a year in that role, I found myself yearning for something more fast-paced (and an escape from my accounting exams; I take my hat off to anyone with an ACA qualification — it’s an immense achievement). I then discovered Jumpstart, hailed as the UK’s only startup graduate scheme. It selects the top 2% of applicants from leading universities and matches them with roles in startups.
Through Jumpstart, I secured a position at the Caribbean PropTech startup, Bocobay. I joined as the first employee in the UK, contributing to the expansion of the UK team and recruiting over 10 new members within a year. Like any typical Founder’s Associate, I juggled many responsibilities and wore multiple hats, gaining invaluable insights into people and processes along the way. I also visited Aruba, spending three weeks on the ground to get an insight into company operations, which was a real highlight.
Why Focal?
Jumpstart taught me about the immense value that can be generated by building up large ecosystems and serving as the bridge between them.
I saw parallels to this when I first came across Focal. What was even more exciting were the ecosystems in play; some of Europe’s top VCs (including Balderton and Atomico) and most exciting startups (such as Honest Mobile, Jude and scan.com).
The same can’t quite be said for the entrepreneurial community. Networks are less accessible and more fragmented if you haven’t been through accelerator programs like Y-Combinator and Entrepreneur First. Entrepreneurial working schedules themselves also tend to promote isolation. The prospect of leveraging the Focal founder ecosystem to democratise access to a high quality community is incredibly exciting to me. I truly believe we can create something to rival Y-Combinator’s BookFace.
In essence, I saw huge potential to leverage Focal’s impressive black book and create exceptional experiences for all stakeholders. An approach that will raise awareness to the Focal brand, attract more partners, and, in turn, deliver even greater value to our existing ecosystem — an interconnected cycle that Hector has dubbed the ‘Focal Flywheel.’
This isn’t my first foray into community building. I was a founding team member of Embarc, a community for aspiring startup founders that amassed over 250 members and received backing from Notion Capital.
Presently, I’m collaborating with my friends at Jumpstart to establish a community tailored specifically to women in the startup sphere. Our recent launch event, hosted by Stride.VC, featured an impressive lineup of female leaders. One of my long-term goals is to expand my network of female connections and, ultimately, contribute to equitable gender representation at Focal.
Aside from my passion for community, I have a keen interest in optimising processes. Coupled with my proficiency in Airtable, I aim to ensure Focal operates seamlessly as we continue to scale to new heights.
Working alongside Taos, Hector, and Jack has been a pleasure thus far, and I am so looking forward to helping execute the exciting events we have lined up, starting with our W23 demo day on 12th October!
