Two Pence Worth: Stories from Female Founders in ClimateTech

On our eleventh and last episode of Two Pence Worth: Stories from female Founders in Climate, I spoke to Nikki Gaddo: Founder and CEO of GoodMine.Nikki is CEO and Founder of GoodMine, a female-led, profit-for-purpose technology company redesigning how consumer goods flow through the system to advance the circular economy (SDG12). In her earlier career, she spent 13 years in investment banking, which equipped her future entrepreneurial self with the skills required for success!0:00: Podcast introduction01:50: Tell us about GoodMine. What are you building and who is it for?07:45: What was your inspiration for GoodMine? And tell us about the early days of getting it off the ground?15:30: How was the process winning your recent grant with Innovate UK?17:00: How have you found going through this journey as a sole female Founder? Do you feel you’ve faced adversity?26:30: What people-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?30:05: What media-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?32:10: Do you have anyone that you look up to?30:28: ConclusionVideo versions of these episodes are available here.

On our tenth episode of Two Pence Worth: Stories from female Founders in Climate, I spoke to Saasha Celestial-One: Co-Founder and COO of OLIO.Saasha is Co-Founder and COO of OLIO, a free app harnessing the power of mobile technology and the sharing economy to provide a revolutionary solution to the problem of food waste. Before OLIO, Saasha founded London’s first pay-as-you-go high street childcare provider, and prior to that she spent 13 years at Morgan Stanley, McKinsey and American Express.00:00: Podcast Introduction02:28: Talk to us about Olio03:45: What’s the origin story? How did you meet Tessa?12:50: What are the key milestones that you’re most proud of?17:10: Given that your platform is primarily B2C, would it work as well as B2B do you think?20:30: What as your experience going through the funding process? Why do you think you got the money where perhaps others haven’t?27:30: What people-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?28:40: What media-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?30:28: ConclusionVideo versions of these episodes are available here.

On our ninth episode of Two Pence Worth: Stories from female Founders in Climate, I spoke to Lucy Lyons: Co-Founder and CEO of Kestrix.Lucy, commercial Co-founder of Kestrix, is an entrepreneurial leader with international experience founding and scaling sustainability-focused ventures and conducting policy research. After their first experience as a founder as the CEO of reLive, an angel-backed sustainable end-of-life platform, she was the first hire under the CCO at Berlin-based Plan A, Europe’s first B2B carbon accounting SaaS company.00:00 - Podcast introduction02:45: About Kestrix04:18: Was this an idea you came into the Venture Builder with or is it one you formed after meeting Matt?06:15: When did you actually come out of Cohort 4 and go it alone? How has the business evolved since that point?09:35: How has the fundraising process been? Have you found through the journey that you have felt any gender adversity?16:23: How have you found the rest of your working career? Can you share some of your journey with us please?21:38: What people-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?24:20: What media-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?27:37: Do you have a role model you look up to? 29:57: ConclusionVideo versions of these episodes are available here.

On our eighth episode of Two Pence Worth: Stories from female Founders in Climate, I spoke to Alexandra Birtles: Co-Founder and CEO of In Good Company.Alexandra is the Co-Founder and CEO of In Good Company, a tech-for-good start-up which makes it quick and easy for people to find the best ethical and sustainable businesses and experiences around them. She's a firm believer in businesses doing well by doing good and the power of technology to help make the world a better place.00:00: Podcast introduction02:35: Talk to us about In Good Company, what does the platform do, who is it for and what makes it unique?08:37: At what point did you meet your Co-Founder / Decide to go for it with the business?12:30: Talk us through the early days of getting it off the ground16:00: At what point did you bring in your CTO? And is it just the three of you at this point?19:20: How have you found being a woman in business building a career? Have you or Sarah felt adversity due to gender?28:35: What people-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?30:30: What media-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?32:10: Do you have a role model you look up to? 34:35: ConclusionVideo versions of these episodes are available here.

On our seventh episode of Two Pence Worth: Stories from female Founders in Climate, I spoke to Jade Cohen: Co-Founder and CPO at Qualis Flow.Jade is Co-Founder and CPO of Qualis Flow (Qflow), a construction tech company committed to reducing carbon in construction. After spending time on site on two of Europe's largest infrastructure projects, Jade created Qualis Flow in 2018 alongside industry peer Brittany Harris, bridging the AI, software and civil engineering worlds.00:19: Podcast introduction02:54: What is Qflow? Talk us through the platform, who it’s for and what it does07:06: How did you found the business and meet your Co-Founder?11:20: How was your experience with Entrepreneur First (EF)?12:50: How much did the idea change throughout the first 6 months in EF?14:00: At what point did you bring in the technology resource?15:15: What was your journey from Seed to Series A?18:30: What does this Series A unlock for you?20:50: How has the journey as a female-founded team been? Has there been challenges or adversity?24:50: Do you think that your past experiences within your career gave you an inner resilience to deal with the sort of adversity you’ve dealt with as a female founder?26:57: Do you have any core bits of advice for people in a similar funding position to you?28:45: What people-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?29:35: What media-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?31:22: Do you have a role model you look up to? 32:25: ConclusionVideo versions of these episodes are available here.

On our sixth episode of Two Pence Worth: Stories from female Founders in Climate, I spoke to Francesca Kennedy Wallbank: Co-Founder & Co-CEO at CarbonBright.Francesca is a passionate advocate for sustainability, dedicated to making eco-friendly choices easier for everyone. Leveraging her expertise in lifecycle assessments and a drive for innovation, she co-founded CarbonBright, an automated platform that utilises machine learning to help the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry measure, report, and reduce their product environmental footprints in real-time.00:00: Podcast introduction02:35: What’s the platform for, what does it do and what are you generally working on?06:00: It’s a huge data challenge I imagine?08:45: Your experience of Carbon13 and meeting your Co-Founder11:50: How much did your idea change during the Carbon13 process?14:30: When did you spin-out of Carbon13 and where are you today in your journey?15:40: What does the next 6-12 months look like for you?17:00: Talk us through your experience in Uniliver and the Founding of your other businesses23:25: Did you feel scared or feel imposter syndrome during those experiences?29:25: What people-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?29:55: What media-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?31:14: Do you have a role model you look up to? 32:40: ConclusionVideo versions of these episodes are available here.

On our fifth episode of Two Pence Worth: Stories from female Founders in Climate, I spoke to Marianna Herold: Co-Founder and CEO at NatureBound.Marianna is Co-Founder and CEO of NatureBound, who help farmers and corporates leverage functional biodiversity. Their observability platform integrates agricultural and biodiversity data from an open ecosystem with remote sensing and AI technology. She has a PhD in supply chain management with a focus on sustainability, and has previously spent over 15 years working in the food sector.0:00: Introduction3:00: About NatureBound and what you’re currently working on4:25: What was your experience going through Carbon13 and finding your Co-Founder Gidi?6:50: How much did the idea change from the first seeds of you and Gidi in the beginning?08:10: What are you looking forward to for the rest of this year and into next year? What does potential funding unlock for you?09:45: Are you happy to share your positive journey into being an entrepreneur?12:10: Tell me about the early stages of your career journey?14:00: Did you overcome the feeling of imposter syndrome and if so, how?17:20: Have you always been interested in yoga and self care? Or was it a result of burn out?17:50: Tell me about your travelling19:35: How long did it take for you to do the journey and roughly what route did you take?21:00: Do you think your experiences travelling taught you anything specific that has been helpful for your journey into business?21:55: How do you juggle being a single parent and a Founder?25:00: What people-based resources would you point people in the direction of for support?26:35: What media-based resources would you point people in the direction of for support?27:45: What female business role model do you look up to?30:30: Conclusion and the future of the sessionVideo versions of these episodes are available here.

On our third episode of Two Pence Worth: Stories from female Founders in Climate, I spoke to Aranzazu Carmona Orbezo: Founder and CTO of Parallel Carbon..Aranzazu is the Founder and CTO of Parallel Carbon, a start-up developing technology that removes carbon dioxide from the air while producing hydrogen to eliminate emissions. She has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Manchester, with experience in electrochemical engineering, water treatment/desalination, and more. 00:00: Introduction to episode 301:20: Introducing Aranzazu Carmona Orbezo02:12: About Parallel Carbon and how the technology works03:15: Where did the idea come from and how did it develop?05:50: What was the experience like working with a Co-Founder so geographically different to you?07:35: Since spinning out from the venture builder, how has the last 18 moths - 2 years been for you? How has the technology and business developed in that time?08:35: What does the future look like or the next 12 months?09:45: How has your funding experience been? Is it your first time going through it? 11:29: Post-funding round13:15: How have you found the experience as a female founder? To what extent do you feel you’ve faced adversity?17:00: Balancing a brand new business with a baby19:00: Managing without a physically-close support network21:15: Cherry’s own experience with building a family and a business simultaneously22:30: Communicating to people in the industry that you’re pregnant24:35: Controversial book: Sheryl Sandberg: Lean In27:10: What support or resources have you leant on that could benefit other people?30:00: What people based resource has helped you?32:00: What media based resource has helped you?34:25: Who is your female business role model?35:35: Conclusion and the future of the seriesVideo versions of these episodes are available here.