Wales’ first all-female angel investor syndicate has made its first investment.
Women Angels of Wales (WAW) has backed Newport-based Talent Intuition and its chief executive Alison Ettridge with a £60,000 investment. The firm’s Stratigens SaaS (software as a service) product brings together labour market, economics and location data to support firms in decision making
Headquartered at Tramshed Tech in Cardiff, the business’ customers include major brands such as BP, EY and Netflix.
As part of a £211,000 equity investment round it has also received £20,000 from Matthew Epps along with £80,500 from the Development Bank of Wales’ Angel Co-investment Fund and £50,000 from its Wales Technology Seed Fund.
Bethan Darwin of legal firm Thompson Darwin Ltd acted on behalf of the syndicate.
Founded earlier this year, WAW aims to encourage more women to become investors, and aims to support women running early stage businesses. As a syndicate its deals have access to the Wales Angel Co-investment Fund.
Jill Jones, lead investor at WAW said: “We were all very pleased to invest in Alison and the Stratigens software – her passion, drive and knowledge were obvious, and it was very easy for all of us in Women Angels of Wales to work with her. She clearly understood the impact and implications of angel investing, and her ambition, foresight and forward-planning provide us a clear route to exit.
“The software addresses a very clear gap in the market, and the fact Alison runs an established business with a good track record gave us strong cause for confidence.”
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Ms Ettridge said: “I’m delighted to have received the backing from Women Angels of Wales. They have varied and extensive experience as business leaders and investors, and getting their support means so much more than just capital investment alone – it’s a mark of confidence and trust from respected businesswomen from across Wales.
“I look forward working with Women Angels of Wales and other backers as we continue to expand and increase our offering to the market.”
Carol Hall, regional manager for Angels Invest Wales, said: “I’d like to congratulate Women Angels of Wales on making what will be the first investment of many, as they continue in their goal to support more female-owned and female-led businesses throughout Wales. It’s especially pleasing to see the syndicate support Talent Intuition, an exciting business which has been in the Development Bank portfolio since 2018.
“This investment is a great example of multiple angels coming together to provide small amounts of capital to help de-risk investment, while bringing together a wide network of support for the company.”
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