Rethinking Start-up Funding for more Equitable Entrepreneurship: Featuring Andy Ayim MBE

This episode, we are joined by Andy Ayim MBE, a serial founder and Angel Investor who is known for his human centered approach to business. 

Over a decade ago, Andy cofounded Mixtape Madness, a proudly bootstrapped 7 figure business. When he left day to day operations there, he dove into Product Management with high growth startups such as WorldFirst, acquired for $700m by Ant Financial; and Series C startup Zilch where he was Head of Product Management. In 2018 he took his next leap, to become Managing Director at US based VC firm, Backstage Capital where he raised over $2.5M to deploy into underrepresented founders.

As you’ll hear, improving equity in the startup ecosystem has been a huge driver for Andy, and led to his next startup, The Angel Investing School, a company on a mission to train the next generation of angel investors, including those who feel excluded by the current system, or haven’t seen typically  themselves represented among angels. Additionally, Andy supports startups, scaleups and corporates as an advisor; this is someone who knows what it takes to grow a company. 

Andy’s impact has seen him get voted as one on the top 10 BAME Leaders in Tech in the FT, as well as being awarded an MBE for his services to diversity in tech.

Andy has also been one of our biggest supporters at IfWeRaise from the very early days, in fact even before I met my co-founder, and is now one of our Board Advisers, so it was extra special having him on the show.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Andy’s personal user guide as his intro into the world of entrepreneurship (and why we probably all need one)
• Why Andy created Angel Investing School and how it’s evolving
• The importance of building social capital and a personal brand as a founder
• Why fundraising isn’t always the best option
• What Andy looks for in founders from an Angel's perspective
• The importance of storytelling and how to nail it
• The backwards relationship we have with failure in the UK

Links:

Angel Investing School:

• https://angelinvestingschool.com/

Andy’s Personal User Guide:

• https://andyayim.com/my-personal-user-guide/

Mixtape Madness:

• https://www.mixtapemadness.com/