Great VCs and fund managers can come from anyway and Jenna Bryant, a true force of nature is living proof of that. Together with her co-founder Jordan Noone, both from non-traditional backgrounds, they created Embedded Ventures as a next generation VC firm investing in early -stage startups in deeptech and space, that can serve the U.S. Department of Defense. With a degree in fashion design and a passion for dance, she started her career as a tech recruiter, blazing a trail in emerging tech startups, before becoming a venture capitalist and in turn co-founding Embedded Ventures. Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a truly wild ride into deeptech and space tech investing, learn more about Embedded Ventures and who they invest in and get key insights into space tech funding, as well as practical key tips for women founders and those who want to get into VC. Ready for Lift Off? You're in the right place.

About Our Guest:
Jenna has a very unique story and passion for supporting women in tech as a result of it. Her professional experience can be described as unique and diverse, spanning entertainment, design, deep-tech and venture capital. Learning computer aided design tools during her degree in fashion design led Jenna to a tremendously successful career in tech. It began during the rise of Silicon Beach, when she recruited for the likes of Snap and Tinder, which opened doors to VC. After learning the ropes at another firm she decided to start her own. Throughout the last decade as a tech recruiter turned venture capitalist, Jenna has invested in and helped build some of the most notable early-stage startups in the country.
Jenna went on to co-found Embedded Ventures with Jordan Noone. With a mission to empower the bold founders who represent the next generation of deep tech advancement, the firm invests in companies focused on space operations, digital engineering, and advanced manufacturing. To date, Embedded Ventures has announced investments in Akash Systems, Chromatic 3D Materials, Inversion, KittyCAD, Slingshot Aerospace and Skyryse. In 2021, the duo secured a first-of-its-kind multi-year partnership with the United States Space Force for Embedded Ventures enabling the two entities to collaboratively research and develop opportunities promoting U.S. space industry growth to prepare for the future of an expanded space economy and for the defense of U.S. interests.
Jenna’s lifelong passion for dance has followed her through each professional endeavor, and she still dances as a creative outlet. Jenna believes that her dual interests in dance and tech challenges the status quo, and embraces the act of pursuing a life and developing a career that is free of restraints.
She has become a powerhouse in tech and venture capital – both industries that are historically notorious for their lack of inclusivity – and she’s improving each through her work at Embedded Ventures. She is a strong-minded female-founder who shows how multifaceted, nonlinear career paths serve as assets.

Learn more about Jenna on LinkedIn

About Embedded Ventures:
Launched in 2020, Embedded Ventures is a next generation venture capital firm investing in national security space startups beyond launch. With a thesis that takes a commercial-first approach to investing in early-stage startups with applications that can serve the Department of Defense, Embedded has a first-of-its-kind partnership with the United States Space Force. Co-Founders Jenna Bryant and Jordan Noone have non-traditional backgrounds and strong passions for the communities they represent. The firm invests in pre-seed, seed and Series A rounds for startups focused in digital engineering, advanced manufacturing, and space operations. To date, Embedded Ventures has announced investments in Akash Systems Inc., Chromatic 3D Materials, Inversion, KittyCAD, Slingshot Aerospace and Skyryse.

In Today's Episode You'll Learn:

• Insights into Jenna's unique career & what led her to become a VC
• Why she launched Embedded Ventures, together with Jordan Noone
• Their investment thesis and what makes them different from other VC funds who invest in Space
• First investments and founder diversity
• How they like to be approached by founders
• What they look for in a first meeting an subsequent meetings
• Key trends in space and security investing?
• What needs to change in funding to help get more women founders funded
• Her key tips to women founders looking for funding (key do’s and don’ts)
• Her message to other women thinking about becoming a VC
• The best way to contact her​

Roni Eiger is a very experienced Angel Investor and Technology Scout based in Israel. In this episode you'll learn all about the Israeli culture that influenced the birth of their innovative Startup Nation, the specificities of the Israeli funding scene and about the women angel network in Tel Aviv Roni is part of, investing in great new companies. Above all,  come on a journey with a smart, innovative, hard working and focused woman angel investor and mother, who seamlessly navigates the Israeli and Spanish funding and startup ecosystems, helping startups and other partners in each country build bridges with each other. What's fascinating about Roni is that she is both a wealth manager (managing her a single Family Office), angel investor, and serial connector, who happens to be a technology and innovation expert who is passionate about Agrifood and Agritech. You'll love the insights you're about to hear, so dive in!

About our Guest:

I am Roni Eiger. An Israeli who lived many years in Madrid now back in Israel, mother of 4, angel investor, hi-tech veteran, multiple time entrepreneur & manager of a single-family office. I hold a BA in computer science and economics, an MA in economics and an MBA in finance. Growing up in the Israeli hi-tech industry, I have filled every possible position, from software engineer to product manager, marketing, biz-dev, project manager, entrepreneur and M&A.

Everything that has to do with technology and investments excite me, and I love generating creative ideas and solutions to facilitate tech adoption.

Learn more about Roni on Linkedin.

In today's episode you'll learn:

• Who she is and how she decided to become an angel investor in parallel to managing her family's Family Office
• How she invests in startups in Israel and Spain and facilitates partnerships between both countries
• Her insights into the Israeli culture and how that has shaped Israel as a Startup Nation with a thriving funding ecosystem
• About NEOME the key women angel group in Israel she co-invest with 
• How the funding ecosystem began in Israel and the different sources of funding available to startups
• Key tips to women entrepreneurs looking for funding
• and her parting message to us all

Click Read more below to see how to contact her and the resources mentioned in this episode

Mope Abudu is Founder and General Partner of Knight Ventures, the Pan Africa Digital Accelerator providing a platform to connect startups, mentors and Investors. Their mission is to develop 100 high-growth tech enabled startups to scale and success and also have a venture fund  (AfriGlocal) to financially back those startups. They primarily invest in west Africa, and are key players in the Africa Rising movement, where local Africans take active part in investing in and developing African businesses. She is also founding a $10M venture fund to invest in the pre-seed portfolio companies coming out of her Accelerator. Learn more about her accelerator and fund below.
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"Think Bigger and be ready to drive bigger".

About our Guest:
Mope Abudu has over 20 years accounting and management experience working with the United States, UK and Nigeria. Before starting Knight Ventures, Mope had several management and executive positions in Natwest Cards UK, HSBC Rail UK, The Financial Services authority UK, HEIRS Alliance Nigeria and Nextzon Business Services. Mope has a BSc in Sociology from the University of Lagos - Nigeria, and is a Chartered Management Accountant and has a diploma in Computer Programming.

Learn more about Mope on LinkedIn here.

What you'll learn in todays episode:

• Why she decided to become a VC
• About Knight Ventures Accelerator:
  • the accelerator programme
  • criteria to join
  • tips to founders to have a successful application
• About AfriGlocal VC Fund:
  • investment thesis
  • fund size
  • geographical scope
• The state of funding in Africa at the moment and in NIgeria in Particular
  • key trends
  • key challenges and opportunities
  • what needs to change in the world of funding for women entrepreneurs
• What’s it like for women founders looking for funding? 
• How to break into VC as a woman
• Key tips to women founders currently raising funding - do's and don'ts

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Click Read more to access her key contact details and resources mentioned in the episode.

When you listen to Olga Duka, Managing Partner from Improve Ventures, you cannot help but hear her passion for all things funding great founders in emerging markets, and supporting emerging Fund Managers to help diversify the startup funding landscape.  This episode will appeal to both investors and founders alike, as Olga explains and explores the challenges and opportunities for both 'emerging' sides of the funding table. Once thing's for sure, you'll walk away full of a new found understanding of both topics and assured she's going to leave a mark on this industry. Enjoy!

About our Guest:
1x founder, 2x co-founder, raised a total of $5M, Investment Funds with AUM up to $60M. 
Experience in Talent Development, Investment Funds, EdTech, HR Tech, Fintech, Arts, Creative Industries, and launching new market niches. That's her official bio. Her unofficial bio is, insatiably curious, always learning and applying meta thinking and news ways of looking at things to different industries. Passionate about the worlds of business, music, funding and culture and now Managing partner of new fund Improve Ventures to help fund pre-seed and seed round founders from emerging markets. Also passionate about training the next round of emerging fund managers, and in particular women fund managers.

Learn more about Olga here:

Did you know there is currently only one VC fund in Mexico set up by a woman vc to invest in women and diverse founders? And that special lady is Anna Raptis, Founder & Managing Partner of Amplifica Capital. She is truly on a mission to help close the funding gap for women entrepreneurs in Mexico and to influence same across Latin America. In this episode, she shares many insights into what's going on regarding funding women entrepreneurs in the region, why she cares so much about making change and lots of practical advice for all the women entrepreneurs in Mexico thinking of looking for funding. You'll really enjoy this engaging chat with Anna!

About our Guest:

Anna Raptis leads the first female-focused fund in Mexico. They make investments to generate excellent returns and positive impact on the lives of women in order to increase their opportunities and participation in the economy. They invest in early stages where technology is an enabler to drive sustainable growth in Mexico and Latin America. Anna is also a founding member and President of Mujeres Invirtiendo, an organization that aims to support and increase the participation of women in private capital in Mexico.

Learn more about Anna here:

Did you ever wonder where venture capital funds get the money they invest from? Or how fund managers actually learn to become fund managers? Or why having more diverse fund managers is more important now more than every before? In this exciting episode, Sara Zulkosky from Recast Capital deftly sheds a light on all of this topics and explains why they invest in diverse funds and created their own training programme called the 'Enablement Program' to help train more diverse emerging fund managers. Enjoy!

About our Guest:
Sara is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Recast Capital, a 100% women-owned platform supporting and investing in emerging managers in venture, with a focus on diverse partnerships.
Sara Zulkosky has over 15 years of experience in the venture ecosystem, including both investing in venture capital funds and directly in underlying portfolio companies, and as an operator of a venture-backed company. Prior to co-founding Recast Capital, Sara was a Venture Partner at Greenspring Associates where she led and supported venture fund evaluation teams, among other responsibilities. Before Greenspring, Sara was a Principal at CNF Investments, an affiliate of Clark Enterprises, a private family office, where she invested in venture and private equity funds, and companies. Prior to that, Sara participated in Foundation Capital's Young Entrepreneurs Program, where she helped identify promising investment opportunities in the Washington, DC area. Earlier in her career, Sara was Director of Product Management for a venture-backed company serving the US Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. She was with the business for over seven years beginning at its inception, also supporting it as a Project Engineer, Project Manager, and its Director of Engineering.
Sara received a M.B.A from Georgetown University, and a M.S. in Engineering Management and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The George Washington University. Sara is also a Kauffman Fellow.
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Learn more about Sara here:

Wondering how to stand out to investors in the competitive European startup market? Looking for an ecosystem of ambitious, innovative Business Angels? Learn more about early-stage funding opportunities and angel investing across Europe in this episode of InvestHer Podcast as you hear from Denise McQuaid, CEO of GoBeyond Investing. 

About our guest:
Denise is a results-oriented leader with a track record in successfully building and growing businesses in multiple geographies spanning from the US to China and with extensive start-up and investment experience. She joined GoBeyond as CEO in 2020 to further develop and grow the business with a unique approach to angel investing at its core. Through its Portfolio Programmes GoBeyond creates communities of like-minded investors with different levels of experience around specific topics like Climate Action or Circular Economy and enables the participants to build a portfolio of early-stage investments while providing them with knowledge and tools to become effective Business Angels.
In 2006 Denise was promoted to her first Managing Director role and since then has worked in senior roles across various industry sectors. Before joining GoBeyond, she was Managing Director of UP Accelerator and senior consultant for Europe’s largest seed capital and angel entity, Enterprise Ireland, among others. Denise is also a start-up mentor with the Imperial Venture Mentoring Service and plays an active role in a number of non-profit organisations.

​Learn more about Denise here. 

Why are fintech and blockchain dominating the VC market today? How do Latina entrepreneurs locate funding opportunities in the machismo environment still present in Mexico? Learn more about getting a head start on your funding journey in this episode as you hear from Carlos Torres de la Cuba, Managing Director at AMG Block Ventures in Latin America. 

About our guest:
Carlos is a proven finance professional, entrepreneur, and executive with experience in venture capital, portfolio management, origination and structuring of transactions, fund raising, and company valuations. He has an extensive knowledge of both the Mexican and U.S. financial markets.
An industrial engineer with an MBA, Masters in Fintech and Blockchain and post graduate degrees in Venture Capital, Private Equity, fintech and blockchain, he has worked with clients in various industries providing personalized financial solutions that resulted in cost effective resource and capital allocation. He is very passionate about blockchain and financial technology as well as developing entrepreneurs, having been on both sides of the table, as an investor and as an entrepreneur.

Learn more about Carlos here. 

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How do unrepresented communities find funding when investors are looking elsewhere? Why is diversity so important in venture capitalism? Learn more about how to stand up and stand out during your entrepreneur journey in this episode as you hear fromMac Conwell II, Founder and Managing Partner of RareBreed Ventures in North America.

About our Guest:
Mac Conwell II is a former software engineer who decided to take on venture capitalism when he realized the need for Black entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs from other underrepresented communities, to get funded in the United States. Based out of Maryland, USA, Mac is the Founder and Managing Partner of RareBreed Ventures, which focuses on funding startups outside of North America's major tech hubs in Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston, during the pre-seed phase.
Mac has founded two companies, one of which he successfully exited, and he has a wealth of knowledge and experience to offer pre-seed companies.

Learn more about Mac here.

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Where do funds get their funds to invest in startups? Where do fund managers learn how to be fund managers? Why is it important to fund more diverse fund managers? In this episode, you'll all this and more from Sara Zulkosky, Managing Partner from Recast Capital. Hear her passion as she tells you all.

About our guest:
Sara is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Recast Capital, a 100% women-owned platform supporting and investing in emerging managers in venture, with a focus on diverse partnerships.
Sara Zulkosky has over 15 years of experience in the venture ecosystem, including both investing in venture capital funds and directly in underlying portfolio companies, and as an operator of a venture-backed company. Prior to co-founding Recast Capital, Sara was a Venture Partner at Greenspring Associates where she led and supported venture fund evaluation teams, among other responsibilities. Before Greenspring, Sara was a Principal at CNF Investments, an affiliate of Clark Enterprises, a private family office, where she invested in venture and private equity funds, and companies. Prior to that, Sara participated in Foundation Capital's Young Entrepreneurs Program, where she helped identify promising investment opportunities in the Washington, DC area. Earlier in her career, Sara was Director of Product Management for a venture-backed company serving the US Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. She was with the business for over seven years beginning at its inception, also supporting it as a Project Engineer, Project Manager, and its Director of Engineering.

Sara received a M.B.A from Georgetown University, and a M.S. in Engineering Management and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The George Washington University. Sara is also a Kauffman Fellow.

Learn more about Sara here.