Episode 139: Mary McKenna MBE - Vision for Angel Investing & Empowering Female Founders

Gaule's Question Time

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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.
Q: What is your entrepreneurial background?
A: Mary McKenna founded Learning Pool in 2006, bootstrapping it to a £10 million turnover before exiting in 2014. The company grew through acquisitions and was later sold post-COVID.
Q: What were the challenges you faced as a female founder?
A: Mary highlighted the difficulty of securing investment as a female founder in tech nearly 20 years ago, which led her to bootstrap the business.
Q: What lessons did you learn from building a business?
A: Mary emphasized the importance of building a strong team and establishing values early, noting that maintaining company culture becomes harder as a business scales.
Q: How did you transition into angel investing?
A: After her exit, Mary began angel investing. She learned the importance of due diligence and joined syndicates to better evaluate opportunities.
Q: What is AwakenHub and AwakenAngels?
A: AwakenHub supports women founders, while AwakenAngels is a syndicate aimed at increasing women’s involvement in investing and business.
Q: What do you look for in businesses you invest in?
A: Mary focuses on female-led, tech-for-good, and early-stage companies with high growth potential where she can add value.
Q: What advice do you have for new entrepreneurs?
A: Define your values early and stick by them, while building a strong team from the start.
Q: How do you approach diversity in investing?
A: Mary advocates for more women in angel investing and stresses the importance of diversity in business.
Q: What are the challenges female founders face in the investment space?
A: Female founders receive only 2% of VC funding. Mary believes more female investors can help close this gap.
Q: What are your thoughts on the future of entrepreneurship?
A: Mary is optimistic about the future, particularly for women, but stresses the need for continued support and access to investment.