Opening for young impact companies looking for angel funding
Are you a young green, mission-driven company trying to change the world for the better, and would you like a bit of money to help you do so?
Perhaps I can help.
I am willing to give the chance of an investment to one (or two) new companies. I will invest one (or two) small tickets of €20,000 (app. 150,000 DKK) in a company that’s green and scalable.
The reason I’m opening up like this is that I want give a chance to someone not already part of the tight startup community.
To get considered you need to comply with all of these
European company
Tech-enabled
Early stage
Have the freedom to agree on a convertible note deal now (by Dec 1.)
I only invest in companies that are part of the solution for a greener planet.
So you need to be building something scalable that is good for planetary health and biodiversity. That could be products that reuse water, green walls that purify air, green roofs that capture rain, recycling platforms, plastic reuse products/methods, monitor forest protection, conserve energy or materials, new green materials, food tech, alternative proteins or something else that provides a net green effect because it either reduces production/consumption or replace it with a greener alternative.
It needs to be a commercial and scalable company, not a project or a social business.
It is a small advantage if you’re a female founder or of a minority that receives little traditional investment. But I invest on a commercial basis in teams I think can win so this is not enough on its own.
More about my investment focus here
How to reach out
To get in touch with me send an email that confirms you comply with the above as well as a short deck to tt@tinethygesen.com. Don’t message me on social channels, call me or anything third. Send me an email with the requested. Do it fast, as I’ll make decisions as we go.
Why am I doing this?
In 2007 I started my first company in my garage in Australia, knowing absolutely no one that could help me start or build a company. The journey towards starting had already been a long one at that point. For years I’d been reading all the books about entrepreneurs I could get my hands on, thinking big thoughts and sketching out business ideas. But I was terrified of failing, of loosing people’s respect and of loosing faith in myself.
When I finally made the decision to start my own company it was thanks to my boyfriend at the time who told me three things: Firstly he told me that I “think big but act small”. I realised immediately that he was right, and that I would have simply have to find more courage if I wanted any chance to get this exceptional life I dreamt about. Secondly I told me that we could take 20,000 Australian dollars of our shared money (of which we had very few) and it would be ok if I lost them all. That took away some of the pressure to succeed which was paralysing me. Thirdly he told me to either start now, or stop talking about it. He’d been listening to business ideas for 5 years by then and was probably sick of listening to big plans that would never materialise.
His words gave me the courage to quit my job as a special events manager and start an ecommerce company which sold design and decor objects to professional decorators and event organisers. Online sales were not common then in Australia, but I managed to get it to work, learnt a million things and sold the company to one of my suppliers one year later. In the process I had become an entrepreneur.
Back in 2007 I didn’t know anyone who had ever started a business. I would have given my right arm for someone to ask questions, who could support me in difficult decisions and tell me that I was doing ok (or not). I remember how lonely and difficult it was starting up the first time, therefore I want to offer that first-step-help to other entrepreneurs who are in similar situations to mine back then.
The reasons I’m doing this is also because it's evident that angel and venture investments go to a select small group of people, rather than to the wide array of talent out there. That's because there is bias in venture investing, despite best intentions. We need to break the current pattern, and the way to do that is to start funding new companies with diversity, female founders, impact agendas etc. across a wide geography.
This is my tiny contribution to that agenda, giving a shot at getting an angel investment to founders outside the "typical investment range".
How might I help you? More here
Image by Brooke Cagle, Unsplash @brookecagle