Angela Cretu spent 25 years at Avon, rising from area manager to Global CEO, where she led one of the most remarkable corporate turnarounds in recent history. Taking over in January 2020 when the company was predicted to go bankrupt, she navigated COVID-19 as a new CEO and transformed one of the world's most recognised beauty brands.

After stepping down in 2024, Angela made a fascinating career transition into angel investing, focusing on supporting female founders. In this episode, we explore:

• How crisis leadership experience translates to evaluating founder resilience
• What 25 years of managing network effects teach about startup claims
• The psychology of transitioning from running a 5-million-person sales network to backing 3-person startups
• Why her corporate background gives her unique insights that other angels miss
• Her investment philosophy and approach to supporting female founders

Angela shares candid insights about the mental shifts required when moving from CEO to angel investor, reveals red flags she spots that others miss, and explains how her expertise in network-based business models helps her evaluate early-stage companies.

Whether you're interested in angel investing, corporate turnarounds, or career transitions, this conversation offers valuable insights from someone who's successfully navigated both sides of the investment table.

Connect with Angela Cretu on LinkedInLearn more about angel investing: www.syndicateroom.com

In this episode, we explore Jodie O'Keeffe's fascinating journey from IT contractor in 1990s Australia to becoming one of Angel Academe's most insightful investors. Starting with a chance magazine discovery in a Melbourne supermarket, Jodie shares how her unconventional career path through technology, journalism, and philanthropy unexpectedly converged into angel investing expertise. We dive into her methodical approach to learning the ropes and how she successfully transitioned from Australia's Scale Investors to London's Angel Academe network.

The conversation reveals stark funding disparities: women hold 52% of wealth yet make up less than 10% of angel investors, whilst female founders receive just 2% of funding. Jodie explains Angel Academe's collective intelligence approach, where diverse expertise from IP lawyers to exited entrepreneurs creates powerful support systems. She shares her signature question for female founders—"How big do you think it can be?"—contrasting this with the risk-focused questions they typically face.

Throughout the episode, Jodie emphasises finding your tribe and offers practical advice for aspiring angel investors: start by observing, leverage network expertise, and understand that angel investing is about building meaningful connections whilst driving systemic change in the startup ecosystem.

As always, to learn more please visit www.syndicateroom.com

Standing at a copy machine at HSBC late one night, reviewing 50 statements of work that needed urgent attention, Kayleigh Kuptz had her lightbulb moment. "Technology should do this," she thought, "this should not be done by me." Four years later, that frustration has become Deployed—a B2B SaaS platform that's saving enterprise clients millions while transforming how corporations engage with service providers forever.

Deployed is one the the increasingly successful portfolio companies of Angel Academe.

If you'd like to find out more about investing alongside Angel Academe please visit SyndicateRoom.

Investing in startups is risky.

Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.

The last flight out of London carried just two passengers on that fateful March day in 2020. As Boris Johnson announced the UK's first lockdown, Mike Gammell and his co-founder Duncan were airborne, heading to Scotland with nothing but faith in their vision for alcohol-free beer. Four years later, Days Brewing has become the fastest-growing brand in the UK's no and low alcohol space, proving that sometimes the biggest risks yield the greatest rewards.

On this episode we're delighted to be joined by Days co-founder, Mike Gammell. Mike takes us through the Days journey, from the idea to present, and all of the milestones along the way.

Days is an Access EIS Fund portfolio company and we are delighted to be a part of their success.

How a biochemist turned management consultant became one of the UK's most experienced angel investors — and what new angels can learn from his journey.

When Simon Blakey made his first angel investment in 2000, the startup ecosystem looked radically different. There was no AngelList, no Seed Legals, and certainly no standardised term sheets. Finding deals meant subscribing to the "Venture Capital Report" — a physical, green-bound publication that featured just two or three opportunities with basic due diligence notes.

Fast-forward 25 years, and Blakey has completed over 100 funding rounds across 50-60 investments, ranging from robotics companies eventually acquired by GE Aviation to ticketing platforms processing over a billion in GMV. As Chair of the Investment Committee at Playfair Capital and a board member of Cambridge Angels, he's witnessed the entire evolution of early-stage investing.

His journey offers invaluable lessons for today's angel investors, particularly those making the transition from successful entrepreneurship to investing.

On today's episode, we are joined by Aled Phillips, Co-Managing Director at Niche Private Clients, who helps us take an in-depth look at the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), their similarities, differences, and when they might be right for your investment strategy.

It's a fascinating discussion that we hope you enjoy. Please do leave a comment or question and we'll do our best to reply.

In a world searching for sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel-derived products, Deep Blue Biotech – a graduate of climate-tech-focused fund Carbon13’s 2023  Venture Builder programme – is making waves with an innovative approach to chemical production.

Using cyanobacteria – one of the most efficient photosynthetic organisms on the planet – they're developing technology that not only creates valuable chemicals for the personal care industry but removes CO2 from the atmosphere through the process.

Tim Corcoran and Manuel Rios from Deep Blue Biotech sat down with us recently to talk through their groundbreaking work in synthetic biology, their business model, and their vision for a more sustainable future.

Join me, your host, Tom Britton, Partner at SyndicateRoom as we dive into another episode of Antel Insights and explore this incredible startup and the work they are doing.

In the latest episode of Angel Insights, we sat down with Rob Wallis, co-founder of Moth Drinks, a SyndicateRoom portfolio company revolutionizing the ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail market.

From humble beginnings in a home kitchen to expanding across the Atlantic, Moth has established itself as a premium brand in a rapidly growing category. Here's how they did it.For more information on the Access EIS fund please visit www.syndicateroom.com

While carbon dioxide (CO2) often dominates climate discussions, methane plays a disproportionately large role in global warming.

"Methane is a bit like the ugly duckling compared to CO2. It's between 28 and 84 times more potent, which means when it's in the atmosphere, it absorbs much more heat."

We had the privilege of speaking with Louise Parlons Bentata, the CEO and co-founder of Bluemethane. The conversation revealed the surprising scale of the methane problem and how Bluemethane is pioneering innovative solutions to tackle it, turning it from a warming agent into a clean energy.

Find out more about the Carbon13 SEIS fund which backed Bluemethane and many companies like it.

Cocoon was formed through the ⁠Carbon13⁠⁠ venture building programme with the desire to tackle the emissions produced by the world's second most consumed good, concrete.

Eliot Brooks, CEO and Co-founder, joins us to share more about Cocoon's journey and how its product uses a byproduct of steel production to reduce emissions in concrete manufacturing.

If you enjoyed the episode please like and subscribe and head to ⁠www.syndicateroom.com⁠ for more information.

Please note, investing in early-stage companies is risky. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.