"Keep your energy on your vision. Not your current problem and not your bank balance. Keep it on your vision, because where you put your energy is where you're ultimately going to grow."

⚡ Flipping the Switch: Tracy O'Rourke's Clean Energy Bet!

🎙 In this episode of the InvestHer Podcast, host Anne Ravanona speaks with Tracy O'Rourke, Founder & CEO of Vivid Edge, about building an award-winning climate tech startup from a financial services background, navigating a funding journey that defied conventional wisdom, and why the right investor fit matters far more than the size of the cheque.

🌍 Discover how Tracy transformed her expertise in aircraft leasing and financial services into Vivid Edge — a pioneering platform that helps commercial organisations eliminate energy waste through fully funded retrofits, with zero capital outlay for customers. After years of bootstrapping through accounting rule changes and a global pandemic, Tracy flipped the switch on her fundraising approach and closed a €555K angel round in just six weeks — through her own network, without ever directly asking anyone for money.

💡 Don't miss this episode with actionable insights on:

• How Tracy identified a massive funding gap in energy efficiency — and why it represents 40% of the climate solution that the world is largely ignoring

• The innovative risk and funding model behind Vivid Edge that gives customers fully funded energy retrofits with no upfront capital and no obligation until after installation

• Why Tracy said no to an investor when the bank account was nearly empty — and why she has never once regretted that decision

• The "flip the switch" fundraising moment: how Tracy closed €555K from seven investors in six weeks by telling everyone she was fundraising — without asking anyone directly for money

• Thinking of your investor relationship as a marriage: the questions to ask before you sign, from board control and voting rights to timeline alignment and cultural fit

• Why regulatory drivers like CSRD and commercial property energy ratings are creating powerful new tailwinds for Vivid Edge — and what that means for investors right now

• Tracy's parting wisdom for every entrepreneur in the trenches: keep your energy on your vision, not your bank balance

Learn how to build a fundable, scalable business — on your own terms.

🔗 Listen Now | 🎧 Apple Podcasts | Spotify | ▶️ Full Show Notes

About Tracy

Tracy O'Rourke is the Founder & CEO of Vivid Edge, a climate tech company that delivers fully funded energy efficiency retrofits to commercial businesses with no capital outlay required. Drawing on her background in financial services and aircraft leasing, she is also a Fellow of the Cartier Women's Initiative and the Barclays Unreasonable global programme for entrepreneurs.

About Vivid Edge

Vivid Edge is an Irish-founded climate tech company that helps commercial businesses identify energy waste, access fully funded energy efficiency retrofits, and manage ongoing reporting — all through one comprehensive platform. Vivid Edge removes the financial and operational barriers that have historically slowed energy efficiency adoption. Customers save energy, reduce costs, and cut carbon emissions with no capital outlay, while Vivid Edge manages the entire process as a long-term service partner.

Resources Mentioned

🌐 Vivid Edge: https://www.vividedge.ie

🏛 Enterprise Ireland: https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/

🌍 Cartier Women's Initiative: https://www.cartierwomensinitiative.com/

🌍 Barclays Unreasonable Programme: https://www.unreasonablegroup.com/

📋 CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive): https://finance.ec.europa.eu/capital-markets-union-and-financial-markets/company-reporting-and-auditing/company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en

🏆 Earthshot Prize: https://earthshotprize.org/

Connect with Anne & Global Invest Her

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🗨️ LinkedIn: Anne Ravanona https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneravanona/

#WomenFounders #CleanEnergy #EnergyEfficiency #Climatetech #InvestHerPodcast #WomenInClimate #StartupFunding #IrishStartup #WomenEntrepreneurs #SustainableBusiness #ImpactInvesting #InvestHer #FemaleFounders #ClimateAction

"There's a lot of education that needs to be done to get women more comfortable with investing."

🎙 From Serial Fundraiser to VC: Melinda Wittstock's $20M Journey

🎙 In this episode of the InvestHer Podcast, host Anne Ravanona speaks with Melinda Wittstock, Founder & CEO of Podopolo, about her journey raising $20 million across multiple tech ventures—and why she's now on a mission to change the venture capital game for women founders.

🌍 Discover how Melinda built Podopolo, an AI-powered podcasting platform, while navigating one of the most challenging funding climates for women in tech. She shares candid insights from her serial entrepreneurship journey, the reality of keeping momentum alive during delayed funding rounds, and why she's now stepping into the investor role as a junior partner at a VC focused exclusively on backing women.

💡 Don't miss this powerhouse episode packed with actionable insights on:

• What it really takes to raise $20 million across multiple ventures as a woman in tech

• The harsh realities of fundraising delays—and how to maintain company momentum when capital calls stretch for months

• Why tech fundraising is uniquely difficult for women founders compared to consumer product or female-focused industries

• The shift from founder to investor—and how Melinda is working to close the funding gap from the other side of the table

• Why women make better CEOs and how to educate more women to become comfortable with investing

Learn what it takes to not only survive the funding journey—but come out the other side ready to lift other women up.

🔗 Listen Now 🎧 Apple Podcasts | Spotify | ▶ Full Show Notes

🌐 Podopolo: https://podopolo.com

🌐 Website: https://podopolo.com

💼 LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/melindawittstock

🌐 investherpodcast.com

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💬 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneravanona/

#WomenFounders #PodcastTech #AIInnovation #InvestHerPodcast #WomenInTech #StartupFunding #VentureCapital #WomenEntrepreneurs #SerialEntrepreneur #InvestHer #WomenInVC

"If you have an idea and you feel passionately about it, you will not fail. If you have enough dedication, and you believe in your product, you believe in yourself — you will not fail."

🏢 From Basement to Boardroom: How Shena Brien Built Ireland's Most Customer-Obsessed Telco!

🎙 In this episode of the InvestHer Podcast, host Anne Ravanona speaks with Shena Brien, Co-Founder & CEO of IPTelecom, one of Ireland's leading cloud communications companies. Shena shares what it really takes to bootstrap a tech company from scratch, grow it organically for over a decade, and then make the leap to private equity — all while building one of the most gender-diverse teams in Irish tech.

🌍 Discover how Shena and her co-founder, Brian Chamberlain, turned a house basement, second-hand servers, and a shared passion for customer service into a 40-person, PE-backed scale-up now targeting a place in Ireland's top five telcos. With a 50/50 gender split across the company, Shena is rewriting what leadership in the telecom sector looks like.

💡 Don't miss this episode with insights on:

• Why staying self-funded for 13 years gave IPTelecom the structure and stability to attract the right investor — at the right time
• How Shena "interviewed" potential investors just as hard as they interviewed her, and what made Development Capital stand out
• Building a gender-diverse, multinational team (15 nationalities!) in a male-dominated industry — without a quota in sight
• The "telecom in a box" concept that powered an international proof-of-concept in South Africa — and what it signals for IPTelecom's global future
• Why zero downtime and customer centricity aren't just values — they're a competitive moat
• Hard-won founder wisdom: direct debit billing from day one, outsourcing HR until you're ready, and why your employee handbook is your Bible
• Her message to every woman who hesitates to walk into a room full of men: you belong here

Learn how to build a fundable, scalable business — on your own terms.

🔗 Listen Now 🎧 Apple Podcasts | Spotify | ▶️ Full Show Notes

• 🏢 IPTelecom: iptelecom.ie
• 🏛 Enterprise Ireland: enterprise-ireland.com
• 💼 Development Capital (investors): developmentcapital.ie

• 📧 Email: [email protected] (Shena with one 'e'!)
• 🌐 Website: iptelecom.ie
• 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iptelecom_ireland/
• 🐤 Twitter (X): https://x.com/iptelecom

• 🌐 investherpodcast.com
• 📂 Funder Directory: https://funderdirectory.globalinvesther.com/
• 🛍 Buy From Her Directory: https://www.buyfromher.com/
• 🗨️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneravanona/

#WomenFounders #IrishTech #Telco #InvestHerPodcast #WomenInSTEM #Bootstrapped #PrivateEquity #ScaleUp #WomenInBusiness #CustomerFirst #WomenEntrepreneurs #InvestHer #FemaleFounders #StartupFunding

"Founders really need to know themselves in this journey, and know where their thresholds are and what their limits are. I am now at the point where I am setting the boundaries and the rules. It's not up to investors to determine the timeline — if you're not there during that timeline, then you're out."

🏠 The Monadd Story: Venture-Backed PropTech with Jessica Mendoza!

🎙 In this episode of the InvestHer Podcast, host Anne Ravanona speaks with Jessica Mendoza, founder of Monadd (since acquired by Bunch), about building and scaling a venture-backed, data and AI-powered proptech startup — and what it really takes to raise funding, build with ethics, and grow a business that makes a real difference.

🌍 Discover how Jessica transformed a personal frustration with moving house into a residence management platform now reaching a third of all UK households. She shares her journey from idea to raising venture backing, ranking in the top

💡 Don't miss this episode with actionable insights on:

• Why founders have more power than they think when choosing investors
• Building AI and data ethics into your startup from day one
• Pivoting from B2C to B2B and unlocking commercial scale
• Navigating the UK vs. US investor landscape — and why Jessica flipped her company to a US domicile
• Turning rejection into rocket fuel — and setting your own rules

Learn how to build a fundable, scalable business — on your own terms.

🔗 Listen Now 🎧 Apple Podcasts | Spotify | ▶️ Full Show Notes

• 🏛 Open Data Institute (UK): theodi.org
• 🏛 Alan Turing Institute: turing.ac.uk
• ⚖️ Mishcon de Reya (AI & data law specialists, London): mishcon.com
• 🌐Bunch: https://the-bunch.co.uk/

• Website: jessgmendoza.me
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicagmendoza/

• 🌐 investherpodcast.com
• 📂 Funder Directory: https://funderdirectory.globalinvesther.com/
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• 🗨️LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneravanona/

#WomenFounders #PropTech #DataEthics #AIEthics #InvestHerPodcast #WomenInTech #StartupFunding #VentureCapital #WomenEntrepreneurs #VentureBackedStartup #InvestHer

🚀 Women Investors: Unlock the Nordic Investment Revolution!

🎙 In this episode of the InvestHer Podcast, host Anne Ravanona speaks with Michaela Berglund, CEO of Feminvest, about investing in women entrepreneurs and transforming women's financial futures in the Nordics.

🌍 Discover how Michaela is challenging the investment landscape, where less than 1% of private equity goes to women entrepreneurs. She shares her inspiring journey from making her first €20 investment at 18 to launching the Nordics' first VC fund dedicated to women-led startups.

💡 Don't miss this game-changing episode packed with actionable insights on:

• Building financial confidence from scratch
• Overcoming investment fears
• Creating a powerful women's investor community
• Accessing funding for women-led tech and retail startups

Learn how to take control of your financial future, build wealth, and support women entrepreneurs across the Nordic region.

🔗 Listen Now 🎧 Apple Podcasts | Spotify | ▶️ Full Show Notes

#WomenInvestors #FinancialEmpowerment #WomenEntrepreneurs #InvestHer #NordicStartups #VentureCapital #WomenInFinance

🚀 Women Entrepreneurs: Unlock the secret world of grants!

🎙 In this episode of the InvestHer Podcast, host Anne Ravanona speaks with Vanessa Sanchez, Senior Grant Development Consultant at Grants Office, about unlocking funding opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

🌍 Discover how Vanessa is transforming the grant funding landscape by helping women entrepreneurs navigate complex funding strategies. She reveals insider secrets from her unique journey from neuroscience to grants consulting, sharing practical advice on accessing non-dilutive funding across local, national, and international levels.

💡 Don't missthis game-changing episode packed with actionable insights on:

• Crafting compelling grant applications

• Understanding different types of grants

• Overcoming funding barriers

• Leveraging Dell's Women Entrepreneur Network opportunities

Learn how to turn your passionate project into a fundable opportunity and accelerate your business growth with expert grant strategies.

🔗 Listen Now 🎧 Apple Podcasts | Spotify | ▶️ Full Show Notes

#WomenEntrepreneurs #Funding #BusinessGrowth #Grants #StartupFunding #WomeninTech #EUGrants

🎙 In this episode of the InvestHer Podcast, host Anne Ravanona sits down with Andie Cooper, Account Director at Beach Hut PR, to unlock the secrets of powerful tech communications for founders.

🚀 Discover how innovative startups transform their stories into global headlines, with insider strategies for media relations, fundraising visibility, and authentic storytelling. Andie reveals the critical differences between a press office and a strategic PR partnership that can truly elevate your startup.

💡 Learn practical tips for:

• Nailing media interviews

• Building meaningful journalist relationships

• Amplifying your startup's mission

• Positioning yourself as a thought leader in tech

Whether you're a women founder, tech entrepreneur, or aspiring innovator, this episode is your blueprint for breaking through the noise and making your mark in the competitive world of tech communications. Get ready to revolutionize how you tell your startup's story! 🌍🔥

#WomenInTech #PRStrategy #StartupFunding #EntrepreneurshipTips

🌍 Transforming Africa's Economic Landscape: One Woman's Mission to Empower 60,000 Entrepreneurs

Join Cathy Latiwa, founder of Latiwa Development Foundation, as she reveals how "Build Her A Future" is revolutionizing women's entrepreneurship across Central Africa. From survival businesses to global market players, this episode uncovers the power of digital skills, strategic partnerships, and unwavering determination.

Discover how technology, mentorship, and targeted support can turn women's entrepreneurial dreams into reality. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, business leader, or change-maker, this conversation will challenge everything you thought you knew about economic empowerment.

Get ready to be inspired by real stories of women building factories, breaking barriers, and reshaping their communities - one business at a time! 💪🚀🌟

#WomenEntrepreneurs #AfricaRising #BuildHerAFuture #EconomicEmpowerment #Entrepreneurship

🌟 Transforming Lives Through Beauty: Meet Sarah Naylor, the social entrepreneur rewriting success stories for marginalized communities!

From helping teenagers build confidence to supporting individuals seeking a fresh start, Sarah's academy proves that practical skills are powerful tools of empowerment. Her journey from Dublin's challenging neighborhoods to creating a thriving beauty business training program shows that your background doesn't define your potential.

Discover how one woman is creating economic opportunities, breaking societal stigmas, and helping people rediscover their worth - one nail, one lash, one dream at a time. 💅🚀

In this raw, inspiring podcast episode, Sarah shares her mission to uplift communities, teach business skills, and prove that entrepreneurship knows no boundaries. Whether you're a teenager, a migrant, or someone seeking a second chance, there's a path forward.

Tune in to hear a masterclass in resilience, community building, and turning personal challenges into transformative opportunities! 💪❤️🌈

#WomenEntrepreneurs #EmpowermentThroughSkills #SocialImpact

🔥 Ready to rethink financial security for women? In this episode, Lesley Tully, founder of This is Penny, shares her inspiring mission to close the gender pension gap through innovative fintech solutions.

Discover how This is Penny combines technology, education, and community to empower women to take control of their retirement savings. Whether you're just starting your financial journey or looking to make smarter pension choices, Lesley's insights will inspire you to build a stronger financial future.

Tune in and start revolutionising your pension today! 💼💪💡