Raise the Bar

Christine Yu left the Corporate world and jumped into the world of impact investing and entrepreneurship. Christine, with her husband, is the founder of Lapidary Limited, an impact investing firm and founder of AndAll, a sustainable, ethical gender neutral clothing brand. In this episode Christine takes us through her personal journey starting impact investing into South East Asia and her venture building approach which drive her to launch AndAll. 

As part of our Female Funding Fair on 19 November, 2020 we have released this special edition podcast which brings together 3 amazing experts. Karen See from EMBRACE, a renowned leadership coach; Subhendu Mukherjee from 10th Floor, a digital data expert and Georgie McNee an experienced angel investor and CFO. All three will explain why it's critical to be able to present financial information and data with clarity and conviction.  They will also offer their expert advice and a holistic approach presening this and achieving presentation confidence. For founders, if you want to improve your pitch skills and be able to engage with investors at a professional level then we hope you learn from this podcast. 

Courtney Haley, our Entrepreneur-in-Residence, shares her entrepreneurial journey as the founder of 10th Studio an end-to-end manufacturing and product development agency. Courtney has built a successful business that operates globally with a remote workforce. This kind of structure has enabled the company to adapt, survive and even thrive during challenging global times. Courtney is an experienced entrepreneur and her energy shines throughout the podcast plus she explains how she brings out her 'Lucy Liu' in difficult contract negotiations. 

Yosha Gupta, July's entrepreneur-in-residene, tells her story of launching two very different businesses.  Her first tech cash-back business successfully raised venture capital but eventually closed due to market changes.  Yosha explains how she dealt with the resulting investor discussions and how she went on to launch her second business brining Indian folklore to create one-of-a kind handpainted bags.   Yosha inspires all with her energy and creativity in continuing to explore her entrepreneurial life.

Gail Wong, July's investor-in-residence, has recently founded Her Capital in Singapore. They are investing in women-led businesses that are making a positive impact on society or the environment. Gail is also a coach and works closely with her investees to make sure that they are walking that fine line between commitment to mission and commercial success.

Alex Lamb and Rebecca Grover launched Lanterne Rouge in Singapore to provide clients with talent management support. Their Boldly platform connects employees with thousands of coaches and measures development outcomes for their employers. They have found a scalable solution for the Future of Work and are in the process of raising a Seed Round. Alex talks candidly about building the business with tech and consulting, navigating accelerator programmes with a newborn, and raising money in Silicon Valley during COVID-19.  And, as a coach herself, she has some wonderful advice for her fellow entrepreneurs.

Joanna Hotung is June's Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Next Chapter Raise. Joanna has deep entrepreneurial experience as founder of Kids’ Gallery, est. 1996, inspired by her desire for a more creative and enquiry-based education for her own children. The KG Group – Kids’ Gallery, Star English, Face Productions, and Mills International Preschool – has seen over 60,000 young people pass through its doors.   
Joanna shares her experience building KG Group from one classroom to a business that is now looking at international expansion.  Joanna also talks about staying true to her values and finding the right investment partner to grow the business, her experience in building a team and establishing strong fundamentals for a durable business.

Georgie is June's Investor-in-Residence at Next Chapter Raise.  Georgie has leveraged her corporate M&A experience to become a savvy angel investor with  7 Angel Investments. Georgie supports them with advice on growth strategy, governance and financial analysis.  Georgie shares her insights on valuation for early stage companies, how startups should also interview investors to get the right fit, and how to work meaningful financials into your pitch, without the 'hockey stick'.    

Welcome to the first episode of the Raise the Bar, the new podcast from Next Chapter Ventures. Hosted by Amanda Williams, the strategy lead at Next Chapter Raise, a platform for female founders with a very simple mission - get them funded faster.  

Women are running successful businesses - tech startups, consultancies, agencies, ecommerce shops. Side hustles and full-time pursuits. One-woman bands and fast-growing empires. 

However, statistics show that female-led businesses are less likely to get funded, and less likely to seek funding in the first place. This severely limits their business’s potential for growth and impact.

 Why is this a particular problem with female founders? Are investors just biased? Does the system not work for women? Or are women founders not working hard enough? Well, we know that last one can’t be it! 

Failure to invest in women is not a new problem, and it is not limited to one market or region. However, there have been painfully few attempts at a practical, sustainable solution. 

Lucky for us, Nicole Denholder has found one. Nicole is launching Next Chapter Raise this month, an online platform to give female founders the right tools to plan and execute their funding pathways and rally those that are working to change the system to work better for female founders.