Angel Insights | Your guide to angel investing

By Angel InsightsBusiness

Angel Insights | Your guide to angel investing episodes

October 21, 2021Mac Conwell: Breaking into VC as an outsider and building billion-dollar returns through diverse deal flow
Mac Conwell took the unconventional path from entrepreneur to VC, literally accepting a junior position at below his previous salary just to break into venture capital. Now, as Managing Partner of Rare Breed Ventures, he's proving that diverse perspectives don't just find different opportunities—they find better ones.
In this episode, Mac shares:
How he convinced a VC firm to create a position for him despite having no traditional pathway
The moment he realized diverse teams spot opportunities he'd never see (including a Gen Z dating app that became a major win)
Why his fund specifically backs underrepresented founders solving problems outside mainstream VC experience
The real challenges of fundraising as a diverse GP in a homogeneous industry
His philosophy: "When people hear pattern matching, they think about the way people look. For me, pattern matching is about the way entrepreneurs think"
Mac's journey from struggling to get meetings to building a successful fund reveals why the future of venture capital depends on expanding beyond traditional networks and perspectives. Essential listening for anyone interested in the intersection of diversity, deal flow, and investment returns.
"There is no world in which I would ever find, discover, think about, or want to play with a Gen Z dating app. But I had members on my team who were telling me like, Mac, have you heard of this really cool app? I've been spending hours on it."

Angel Insights: Your guide to angel investing and the entrepreneurs shaping tomorrow's economy.

To learn more about EIS funds, visit SyndicateRoom
26 min
September 21, 2021 Sarah Turner on the importance of bringing more women into angel investing
Sarah Turner, co-founder of the incredible Angel Academe, joins us today to discuss the changes she has seen in the angel investing ecosystem over the last decade and shares thoughts on what more needs to be done to bring more women into angel investing.
33 min
September 06, 2021 The parallels between Molecular Marine Biology and Angel Investing
Dr. Silvia Mah, PhD, MBA, is a founding partner of Ad Astra Ventures, Stella Angels, Stella Labs and Women's Venture Summit, and is a prolific angel investor.
51 min
June 21, 2021 Peter Cowley on angel investing and the importance of being coachable
Peter Cowley started life as an engineer but quickly developed a passion for entrepreneurship which has stuck with him his entire career. He fell into angel investing before he really knew what it was all about and soon became a true student of the game.
28 min
May 19, 2021 Backing diverse founders with Denzel Walters
Denzel Walters, co-founder for Community Growth Ventures, sat down to chat with us about his professional experience, his approach to angel investing, and the gap in the market in backing diverse founders that led to the founding of Community Growth Ventures.
43 min
April 22, 2021 Investing in Cleantech with Caroline Halliday
Today we had the privilege of chatting with Caroline Halliday, from the Green Angel Syndicate. Caroline has a wealth of experience working with environmentally-minded businesses and investing in cleantech startups. Listen in to learn how she approaches a cleantech investment opportunity.
31 min
March 22, 2021 Angel investing lessons learned with Kirsten Connell
Super Angel Kirsten Connell talks to us about her career, both before angel investing and since, and the lessons she's learned along the way that have led to her becoming one of the top business angels in the UK with a particular focus on cybertech.
30 min
February 22, 2021 Angel investing lessons learned with Simon Thorpe
We had the opportunity to chat with Super Angel Simon Thorpe about his career, before angel investing and since, and the lessons he's learned along the way that have led to him becoming one of the top business angels in the UK.
18 min
January 25, 2021 Angel investing lessons learned with Chris Mairs CBE
In addition to having an enviable angel portfolio, super angel Chris Mairs CBE has held various executive roles at Metaswitch Networks, including a long stint as CTO. He's been the Chairman of Magic Pony Technology, Curon Medical, Phoelex, Board Member at Raspberry Pi, Venture Partner at Entrepreneur First and is a Fellow at the Royal Academy of Engineering.
We had the chance to sit down with Chris and discuss his incredible experience in both his professional life and angel investing.
In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:
1) The angel investing trends we should look for in 2021
2) Is there appetite for UK startup from external investors?
3) The difference between working with UK/US tech companies
4) The biggest lessons learnt from having a large portfolio
As always, you can learn more about SyndicateRoom here:
www.syndicateroom.com
26 min
December 03, 2020 Angel Investing Lessons Learned with Ros Singleton
Beyond being an incredible angel investor, Ros has built an enviable career in telecoms and IT, having been COO at Relish Networks, the Managing Director for broadband at three, and Chair of the UK5G advisory board. We had the chance to sit down with Ros and discuss her incredible experience in both her professional life and angel investing.
In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:
1) How to transition into angel investing
2) Should you always invest in what you know?
3) The red flags to look out for when considering an investment
4) How is Covid-19 affecting the investing space?
As always, you can learn more about SyndicateRoom here:
www.syndicateroom.com
24 min