Reflections, Vol. 1

As co-CEO's of Scale Investors since March 2021, we (Samar Mcheileh left, and Chelsea Newell right) have been talking about sharing our thoughts on the amazing angel network we lead and community we are a part of for almost two years! We plan to publish our reflections at least twice a year moving forward. We’ve put it out there now, to hold ourselves to account!

Let's begin with a bit of history...

Our history.

Scale Investors began its journey in 2013. A time when angel investing, let alone investing in gender diverse teams, was akin to the Wild West. Rising from the dust, four visionary women came together to create a space where investors could learn the ins and outs of this somewhat opaque asset class. They opened doors to new investors to learn alongside their peers and those who were ‘outside their swim lane’. Their hard work resulted in the creation of a syndicate investing in an underserved asset class - women entrepreneurs and gender diverse teams. 

Today, the startups in the Scale portfolio are at 42 and counting. Our portfolio companies have not only received the necessary capital, but the invaluable support of angel investors who over the lifecycle of an investment lean in with their skills, expertise and networks - and are committed to empowering the future of diverse investment.

Exits.

Scale's first exit, Trademark Vision, (Dr Sandra Mau) had raised just one round of seed capital in 2014 before exiting the Scale portfolio in 2018. Yes, that's one round of total funds raised across the life of the business! Alongside the seed investment provided by Scale, syndicate investor Lauren Melton took on the all-encompassing role of Chair of the TradeMark Vision board alongside her capital commitment. In 4 short years, Trademark Vision was acquired by industry conglomerate Clarivate Analytics, a transaction spearheaded by Lauren in her role as Chair of the board. The result for investors? A 32x return to the syndicate and an even bigger return on investment to the Australian startup ecosystem. Today, the successful and uber experienced founder and CEO, Dr Sandra Mau is an active Scale angel investor, giving back more than just money to the next generation of women entrepreneurs. 

What we think about at Scale.

We think a lot about the corresponding risk that the underrepresentation of women in technology companies today, has on the potential to entrench disadvantage tomorrow. Particularly in relation to the decision making tools that have the potential to let the unconscious bias of a small number of homogeneous creators dictate the life outcomes of many.

We don’t subscribe to the notion that investing in women is something we should do just because it is good for society, we believe it's what we should do because it makes good business sense. In our years of investing at Scale, we have seen gender diverse teams achieve spectacular outcomes more economically and with much lower risk than their all-male peers. We also see gender diverse teams uncovering huge unmet needs. With big addressable markets and their unique perspectives enabling us to achieve access to opportunities that we are not seeing in other venture segments.

To the sceptics: there has been extensive chat about how "more women investors will not shift the dial," or "more women early-stage investing networks don’t help" or "we need to share more horror stories" or despite the research indicating otherwise *investing in diversity/women does not create better results…"

Re-read the section above. What future do you want to be a part of creating? Do you believe that startups have the potential to reshape and reimagine the future? A better future?

We can agree that we need more proof points and even more amazing exits. So, let’s focus on that! How does that happen? An unrelenting focus on where your time and money is spent. Right? So let’s stop talking about it and let’s see more people putting their money where their mouth is, and investing and supporting women entrepreneurs.

We say yes to creating more connections, more networks, more meaningful communities, more inclusivity, more sincerity and ultimately, more capital!   

We’ve been busy.

Apart from our re-brand - and not only to the ochre you all seem to love (our new signature colour)!, it is safe to say the team have spent a LOT of time and energy on sh*t no one can see in plain sight. Things like resetting our foundations, signing a new platform provider Startup Galaxy, and restructuring the business to be for-profit, for-purpose - because investing in diversity is NOT a charity!

The stats: 

Since we took over in March 2021 - with no execution platform for the first 5 months (*sleepless nights*) - we have since completed 26 deals. These consist of 12 new portfolio additions and the completion of 14 follow-on rounds.

Additionally, more than 1,000 founders and investors have completed one of our ScaleEducatEd programs. The past 2 year have seen the successful launch of our women-entrepreneur specific programs EmpowerEd and FoundEd, and the relaunch of our investor focused angel investing 101 course - InvestEd.

Our thesis: investments and investors

Are you a woman with equal or majority shareholding and decision making power? Are you raising pre-seed or seed capital for your startup?

If you have answered yes to both of these questions, we would love to meet you!

Our angel investors are an exceptional cohort of accomplished individuals from diverse backgrounds. They not only possess the desire to support women founders at the early stage, but understand the clear economic opportunity that investing in women-led and gender diverse startups provides.

The future…

We are ready (and a little scared!) for what the next chapter holds. Above all however, we are so excited. Since taking the hot seats, we are refining our purpose and what we stand for.

We are an inclusive network of angels who believe that investing in diversity is a better investment. We know women entrepreneurs possess a unique advantage in a market that continues to be dominated by the few, it must be more accessible. We believe intersectionality and men's allies are the answer. We open access and provide education - because we believe you need to know the system to reinvent it. We play in the innovation arena, so, let’s innovate angel investing and shape the future of this amazing country, and the world over.