WVC:E 2022: The Rockstar Women Behind the Scenes

What a lot of people don’t realise about the WVC:E 2022 Summit is that we were supported by an incredible group of women who deserve the spotlight and a huge amount of thanks. We are very excited to introduce you to the WVC:E working group.

Supporting WVC:E

When we started WVC:E, we were really starting from a blank slate and had nothing to show for it (no funding, no speakers, no website!). However, we were blown away that so many women we spoke to actively wanted to help and dedicate their time to support. But why did these awesome women take a chance on a new project?

I love the idea of an event to promote and connect women in the VC ecosystem. I knew it would be an opportunity to meet inspiring women, but also to discuss our careers and how we can make a difference. Loreley Mac Donald — VC Investor, Korelya Capital

As one of the few women of color in the French VC ecosystem, diversity in tech is a topic close to my heart. I know first hand what it is like to be the “only one” in the room and can’t stress how important representation is, especially for young professionals like me. I knew I had to get involved as I believe it could serve as an important driver for change. Clarisse Lam — Associate, New Alpha

It is incredibly important to me to champion initiatives that seek to improve diversity in Venture Capital in order to ensure a more inclusive and equitable society. I believe there is a gap for creating spaces for female investors and founders to come together discussing, common shared problems, opportunities and experiences on this scale. Margaret Sheyindemi — Startup Growth Manager, Etc.

Being part of a grassroots movement to establish a community with a 400+ person kick-off conference. Initially, the event sounded like a big lift on a tight timeline, but we quickly saw how badly women in VC wanted this community. Claudia Rowe — Growth Investor, Balderton

Having worked closely with startups and investors of all kinds throughout my career, I’ve long been disappointed at the lack of diversity within the world VC. When I heard about WVC:E I jumped at the chance to participate. Sarah Kocianski — Fintech Strategist

I promote and support female founders and investors in my day-to-day at AENU, and WVCE allowed me to do this at scale. Melina Sánchez Montañés — Principal & VP Impact, AENU

When I first heard about the project it immediately spoke to me. Networks are such a crucial part of our job, and there are so many amazing women out there in our industry but at points, there is a lack of connection. I loved the idea of promoting a space where women can support each other, across geographies and seniorities. Tamina Fogelberg — Investor, 8Roads

Working group meetings

In order to harness the energy of these awesome women, we formed WVC:E working groups around topics such as content development, event programming and speakers and invitees. These working groups met every other week in the 3 months leading up to the event.

When I started joining the calls, I didn’t know anyone in the room, everything seemed far and very new to me. During the next calls I realized that these women were always open to new proposals, there weren’t bad ideas, and you were able to share genuinely! I got excited about the enormous number of women, the power of these women and the constant mutual support among everyone in the room. Irene Prota — Analyst, Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital (IVC)

After the first working group meeting for WVC:E back in Spring of 2022, I just thought “Wow, finally, this is happening and it’s going to be great!” — the motivation, ideas and ambitions for this event were big and the energy contagious. Thuy-Linh Uong — Investment Associate, Lightbird Ventures

At the event

On the day of the event, it was so exciting to see everyone in person after months of virtual calls. A lot of the speaker recruitment, content development and people in the room where down to these women. But what did they most enjoy about it?

I had some of the most authentic and motivating conversations during the event and soaked all the learnings from workshops and panels. Thuy-Linh Uong — Investment Associate, Lightbird Ventures

During the event, I talked to many women and none of them was there to judge or criticize you. You always had the feeling to be welcome even though you were interrupting a conversation. Irene Prota — Analyst, Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital (IVC)

WVC:E was a very special conference, it provided a safe space to engage with peers from the industry, and collaboration and empowerment were the watchwords of the event. I couldn’t be more excited and honoured to have supported Sophie and Ruth in this endeavour. Clarisse Lam — Associate, New Alpha

It was so refreshing to meet women from all across Europe, moved by the same passion for tech and entrepreneurship. In the same event, you’d meet founders, investors, and sometimes both. There were women at all levels of seniority, sharing their experience and highlighting the evolution of the European VC ecosystem since its inception, in a wide range of macroeconomic contexts. Loreley Mac Donald — VC Investor, Korelya Capital

It was bottled magic! The content was fantastic and speakers were second to none. The content was focussed on the practical and industry-wide topics which were based on deep experience of the industry either from investors or partners who work closely with the ecosystem, with space made for reflections and conversations relevant to gender experience. Lauren Apostolidis — ​​Platform Director, Albion VC

The calibre of speaker at the event was higher than any other industry gathering I’ve attended — every person on stage had so much knowledge and experience to share, and did so willingly and honestly. I count myself highly privileged to have been allowed to join them. Sarah Kocianski — Fintech Strategist

I loved that we talked more about business than about being a women in business — the panels and workshops were more about exits, the path to partner, ESG challenges, etc Alice Groth — Associate, SISTA

There was something about the atmosphere that really made people speak to anyone, much more so that any other conference I’ve attended. I also liked the content-driven sessions, listening to senior women in the industry talk candidly about assessing companies, starting their own fund, or how to be the best board member. Tamina Fogelberg — Investor, 8Roads

What’s next?

And post the event, what are the working group participants most excited for next?

We have a lot of events in the VC ecosystem but few with content made by and for investors, and this is what makes this event different. So much energy, so much inspiration, so much experience all in one place. I believe that this is only the beginning and that other editions are to come. Loreley Mac Donald — VC Investor, Korelya Capital

WVC:E’s clear focus on community and shared knowledge to drive change has captured an incredible spirit and I’m excited for the impact that the concept and community will have in the next phase of WVC:E’s events, content and commitment. Lauren Apostolidis — ​​Platform Director, Albion VC

The forum WVC:E has created will only become increasingly useful and essential to the industry for men and women. I hope it will be a fast-track of centralised resources for women at the early start of their career in VC, starting a fund and founders seeking to find a directory of funds supporting female founders. Margaret Sheyindemi — Startup Growth Manager, Etc.

The era of a new generation of diversified entrepreneurs and investors, committed to a more inclusive ecosystem and who understand the impact of diversity on performance. Alice Groth — Associate, SISTA

Women in venture capital have to support and uplift each other. From sharing learnings on how to become the best (investor) version of yourself to how to enable inclusive workspaces, this is only the start of a game-changing initiative. Melina Sánchez Montañés — Principal & VP Impact, AENU

I’ve been amazed by the openness and level of collaboration that I’ve seen both leading up to the event, during, and afterwards. Women truly helping each other and new connections continuing to be made. It shows that the platform has so much potential going forward, because the need and engagement is there. Tamina Fogelberg — Investor, 8Roads

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Selection of WVC:E working group members

Thuy-Linh Uong — Investment Associate, Lightbird Ventures

Thuy-Linh is a VC investor at Lightbird, based in Zurich. She partners with world-class B2B SaaS founders in Europe at Pre-Seed / Seed stage with a particular interest for Bottom-up SaaS, PLG, Community-led Growth, and NFX.

Irene Prota — Analyst, Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital (IVC)

Irene works as an investment analyst at Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital (IVC), a Luxembourg-based VC firm. The portfolio companies of the fund are FinTech and InsurTech related, investing in late-stage (80%) and early-stage (20%) companies across Europe.

Clarisse Lam — Associate, New Alpha

Clarisse is an early-stage investor at NewAlpha, focused on fintech and insurtech

Loreley Mac Donald — VC Investor, Korelya Capital

Loreley joined venture Capital in 2019, after graduating from a Master in Public Policy. After a short period in Carlyle’s European Technology Partners team, she joined Korelya Capital, a European VC firms investing in tech companies across Europe.

Lauren Apostolidis — ​​Platform Director, Albion VC

Lauren focusses on supporting the Albion VC portfolio of founders and their leadership teams & building our ecosystem of investors, partners and experts.

Margaret Sheyindemi — Startup Growth Manager, Etc.

Margaret is a Startup Growth Manager at BT’s CVC arm, she focuses on partnerships and investments to help startups and BT scale faster. Margaret was named as one of the Global Corporate Venturing Rising Stars in 2022. Formerly an Investor Relations Manager at Wayra, Telefonica’s corporate accelerator and an advisory board member at Future VC.

Claudia Rowe — Growth Investor, Balderton

Claudia moved from NYC to London to join Balderton’s investment team in 2022. Prior to Balderton, Claudia worked at Activant Capital where she focused on growth-stage fintech and e-commerce investments globally, including Current, Deliverr, Hydrow, Settle, and Kargo. Claudia started her career at Goldman Sachs.

Sarah Kocianski — Fintech Strategist

Sarah is a fintech and insurtech strategist with 10+ years industry experience. She enables companies to succeed in today’s financial ecosystem by using expert insight and analysis to identify opportunities and how to capitalise on them. Previously of Founders Factory, 11:FS and Business Insider.

Alice Groth — Associate, SISTA

Alice is VC Associate at SISTAFUND, which she joined at the start of the fund as part of the founding team in 2022. Previously, Alice spent 3 years between Paris & Berlin working at early-stage traveltech & insurtech startups. She also worked with VC funds at Bpifrance and at growth stage at Korelya Capital, and has been involved in NGOs such as SISTA & StartHer since 2017.

Melina Sánchez Montañés — Principal & VP Impact, AENU

Prior to joining AENU as Principal and VP of Impact, Melina was setting up a $5M Fund for the Alfred Landecker Foundation as its Managing Director and helped build the World Economic Forum’s COVID Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs. Before that, Melina worked as an investor in Israel and the U.S. At Impact First and Pitango Venture Capital, a $3B Israeli VC fund, she supported the growth fund and developed an IMM tool for startups.

Tamina Fogelberg — Investor, 8Roads

Tamina is an Investor at Eight Roads, part of the Europe and Israel team. Based in London and partnering with companies at a Series A or B stage across sectors — mainly B2B SaaS, Fintech, and Consumer-tech. Additional focus on Nordics and Baltics. Prior to joining Eight Roads, Tamina worked at Goldman Sachs in London, investment banking division.