Mary McKenna MBE - Vision for Angel Investing & Empowering Female Founders

In this insightful interview, Andrew Gaule (linkedin.com/in/andrew-gaule-aimava) sits down with Mary McKenna (linkedin.com/in/mmarymckenna), a successful tech entrepreneur and angel investor, to discuss her entrepreneurial journey and her passion for supporting women in business.

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Mary shares her experience building Learning Pool, an online learning business she co-founded in 2006, and reflects on the challenges she faced as a female founder. After bootstrapping the business to a £10 million turnover, she successfully exited in 2014.

Mary transitioned into angel investing shortly after her exit and now focuses on supporting female-led businesses through her involvement in AwakenHub (https://www.awakenhub.com) and AwakenAngels (https://www.awakenangelshq.com). These initiatives aim to create a more inclusive investment ecosystem by bringing more women into angel investing and supporting early-stage businesses. Throughout the conversation, Mary emphasizes the importance of building a values-driven business, the need for diversity in investment, and her belief that empowering women entrepreneurs can drive positive change.

In addition to supporting women entrepreneurs, Andrew Gaule introduces UpStarts4StartUps (http://upstarts4startups.com), a program he created to encourage entrepreneurship among young people. The program allows children to develop business skills by creating and selling products, fostering early creativity and entrepreneurial thinking. Mary enthusiastically supports Andrew's initiative, aligning it with her own mission to promote entrepreneurship, particularly for young women.
The interview offers valuable lessons on resilience, leadership, and the evolving landscape of entrepreneurship and angel investing.

Key Topics discussed
Q: What is your entrepreneurial background?
A: Mary McKenna founded Learning Pool, an online learning business, in 2006. She bootstrapped it to a £10 million turnover and exited in 2014. The company thrived through acquisitions and a major sale post-COVID.
Q: What were the challenges you faced as a female founder?
A: Mary explained how difficult it was for female founders to secure investment, especially in tech, nearly 20 years ago. She bootstrapped her business due to the lack of access to funding.
Q: What lessons did you learn from building a business?
A: Mary emphasized the importance of building the right team and establishing values from day one. She noted that maintaining a strong company culture becomes more challenging as a business grows.
Q: How did you transition into angel investing?
A: Mary began angel investing shortly after selling her business. Although initially headstrong, she learned the importance of taking time, joining syndicates, and performing due diligence before investing.
Q: What is AwakenHub and AwakenAngels?
A: AwakenHub is a community for women founders, and AwakenAngels is a syndicate aimed at supporting women in business and bringing more women into the investment ecosystem.
Q: What do you look for in businesses you invest in?
A: Mary looks for businesses led by women, with a focus on tech-for-good and early-stage companies where she can add value. She also values businesses with strong growth potential.
Q: What advice do you have for new entrepreneurs?
A: Mary advises entrepreneurs to define their values early and to be prepared to stick by them, even when faced with difficult decisions. She also stresses the importance of building a strong team.
Q: How do you approach diversity in investing?
A: Mary advocates for more women in angel investing and highlights the need for diversity in business decision-making. She founded AwakenAngels to address this issue.
Q: What are the challenges female founders face in the investment space?
A: Mary acknowledges the lack of funding available to female founders, who receive only 2% of VC funding. She believes that more female investors can help correct this disparity.
Q: What are your thoughts on the future of entrepreneurship?
A: Mary is optimistic about the future of entrepreneurship, especially for women. She sees more women entering the space, but emphasizes the need for ongoing support and access to investment.

To book a meeting to discuss entrepreneurship, AI and other business change with Andrew - https://calendly.com/andrew-gaule/30min?