Insights
Should VCs sit on startup boards? This founder-first article challenges the default model, unpacks the risks of conflicted interests, and makes the case for independent, balanced boards that truly support growth.
Integrity is a vital value in business, yet not everyone lives by it. Here's what integrity really means, why it matters, and how to spot the red flags when it's missing.
Your board must evolve as you scale. Learn when to make changes, how to do it well, and why it matters - especially for female founders leading growth.
In uncertain times, a strong board can be a founder’s most valuable asset. This article explores how boards can support startup and scaleup leaders through economic challenges, strategic pivots, financial pressure, and difficult decisions, with practical insights for building and leveraging a high-impact board.
Should board members ever take on operational roles in a startup? This article explores when it can work, what can go wrong, and how founders and boards can manage the risks — including formal approval, clear deliverables, and conflict of interest safeguards.
Scaling a business without a clear growth strategy is like driving with no destination. In this article, we explore how founders can define a personal vision that balances impact, financial reward, and work/life balance — then translate that into goals, KPIs, and operational focus. Whether you're scaling up or seeking board advisory support, this guide will help you put your strategy into gear and drive your business forward with purpose.
Honest conversations with women raising, leading, and growing bold businesses.
The Enter The Arena podcast features real stories from female founders navigating the fundraising journey, the highs, the lows, and everything in between. Expect candid insights, practical tips, and the kind of advice you won’t find in pitch decks.
If you enjoy the show, please rate and review it, so more founders and investors can discover these powerful stories.
£3.6m raised. Stripe and stare make stylish, comfortable knickers, loungewear & sleepwear made with TENCEL™ Micro Modal.
£450K raised.Peter’s Cleaners is a laundry services that enables customers to drop off and collect their items whenever they want in locations convenient for them.
From marketing agency owner to SaaS tech entrepreneur, Lisa Eaton didn’t have the intention to raise investment when she started up Fabric Academy, an online training provider for marketers. However, it was when she realised the business potential and her ambition to dominate the space globally that she started looking at the equity investment route. Being new to the world of investment, Lisa mapped out local experts in the North East of England that could fill certain knowledge gaps. It was after discovering who could add value to the business that she “accidentally” found her Angel investors and went on to successfully close her round of funding. Listen to Lisa’s investment journey to find out what she learned along the way and her tips that might help you with your own fundraising endeavours. In this episode, you’ll discover: The value of having advisors from the start Why you should think of raising investment as a sales process How to select the right route to investment
RAI$E: The female founder's guide to securing investment
This practical, empowering guide gives female founders everything they need to raise investment on their terms. Based on Julia Elliott Brown’s proven five-step approach, it walks you through how to build the right mindset, prepare a compelling pitch, speak the language of investors, navigate bias, and negotiate a deal that truly works for you and your business.
Packed with real-world insights and case studies from women who’ve successfully raised and scaled, RAISE is your step-by-step roadmap to funding — clear, honest, and designed to help you lead with confidence from day one.
