Raise the Bar

In this episode, Nicole Denholder sits down with Maaike Doyer, co-founder of Epic Angels, to discuss her inspiring journey from corporate finance to angel investing, the mission behind Epic Angels, and her vision to empower women to take charge of their financial futures.

In this episode, I share insights on how you can overcome rejection in pitching. I'll be giving you practical techniques to walk into meetings with the right mindset, identify the right investor, and effectively seek feedback to refine your approach and increase your chances of pitch success."Every no brings you closer to a yes, stay strong. keep refining your pitch and believe in the value of you and your business idea."

Join me, Nicole Denholder, your scale-up expert and fellow entrepreneur, on our latest episode of the Raise the Bar podcast by NCR! Today, we delve into the crucial topic of understanding different founder profiles and the types of money that best suit each stage of business growth. Tune in to gain valuable insights and strategies to propel your business forward!

On this podcast we talk to Shea Stanley  In 2011, she founded Little Steps Asia, the leading website and weekly e-newsletter dedicated to delivering the inside scoop to parents on what to do, buy, and discover in Asia and beyond. Little Steps Asia has been successfully running regionally with dedicated local sites in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bali, Jakarta, Macau, and Kuala Lumpur.  I talked to Shea about building her team, the right culture for international expansion, her use of tools, data and standard operating procedures for streamlined business management. So many invaluable and actionable takeaways you can use today! 

On this podcast we talk to David Friedrichs who co-founded Cerqular, which was borne out of their passion for sustainable living.  In this episode, David shares their moment of inspiration to launch, their transition from corporate to startup life, their vision for Cerqular and why most of their investors are female! 

On this episode, Nicole Denholder speaks with Vaishnavi Reddy about how Unsweetened Beauty is using AI-powered personalisation to simplify skincare. Vaishnavi also shares how they built their community to 30,000 people since launch, how they engage with the customers, the importance of micro personas, why they wanted an investor who backs their business and how they are deploying the $500,000 they recently raised. 

In this Episode, Nicole Denholder speaks with Denise Sandquist, the co-founder of SKAPA, the parent company FIKA, Asia's first female-focused AI social & dating app and the newly launched LIKA, authentic social network for Gen-Z where you connect with people in groups around mutual interest.  Denise shares her personal story that led to recognise the power of community, the launch of LIKA and the expansion into LIKA.

On this episode of Raise the Bar, we speak with Alison Eyring, the founder of Produgie, a Singapore based company that is building a new category in software to multiply the impact of every leader & team in all businesses. 

On this episode of Raise the Bar, we speak with Kate Choyce, the founder of HR Tech, a Hong Kong based company revolutionising the recruitment industry through technology.  Kate explains how she is driven night and day to change the recruitment industry through their flagship product the HR Pod and how success, through validation by companies such as Microsoft, keeps her motivated. 

Rithika Gupta, the founder of Ollie, a Singapore based retail brand that helps you better harness the power of essential oils. Rithika shares learning about essential oils through her family's wholesale business , FP Aromatics Singapore, and how she then launched Ollie as a direct to consumer product business and the differences that she has experienced between these two business models. She also shares the benefits of starting in Singapore and how she is focused on Ollie being innovative in an existing industry segment. As a member of Next Chapter's Capital Club programme, an exclusive programme for women business leaders ready to fundraise, we are pleased to be sharing Rithika's journey as a founder and her plans for Ollie.

Iva is the co-founder of RE.VITYL, a company producing a collection of holistic sleep-routine products that will naturally revitalize the way you live your best life. Iva has a 20 year global corporate career spanning North America, Europe and Asia in management and product development with Adidas, Ralph Lauren, Timex Group, Hudsons Bay Company. She shares how sleep and wellness become critical to her health and wellbeing and how this led to the creation of RE.VITYL, her plans for growing REVITYL , and gives tips for women starting their fundraising journey including how being bold on LinkedIn has been instrumental in reaching out to customers and potential investors. As a member of Next Chapter's Capital Club, an exclusive programme for women business leaders ready to fundraise, we are pleased to be sharing Iva's journey as a founder and her plans for RE.VITYL.

April Lam is the founder of Aello Consulting, a HK-based market entry company that focuses on Hong Kong and Southeast Asian markets. At Aello consulting, they strategize and execute as the extended team for your company.  April is a Brand Maven with 18 years track record of increasing revenue and driving transformation in luxury retail and branding industries. She is experienced with market-entry strategy, omnichannel marketing, brand launch, forming partnerships and re-branding. After working in HK, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Poland, April is in touch with market trends and challenges in entering these markets. As a member of Next Chapter's Capital Club programme, an exclusive programme for women business leaders ready to fundraise, we are pleased to be sharing April's journey as a founder, her industry experiences and her growth plans for Aello Consulting. 

Adrian Warr, CEO Edelman South-East Asia, is a communications consultant whose work in New York, London and Hong Kong with some of the world's best consultancies has given him experience in corporate, crisis, branding, marcomms, employee engagement, public affairs and digital marketing. He is a founding member of The Male Allies, and through this role as a gender equality champion, we have invited Adrian to share his views on gender diversity and how rewriting capitalism can change the world.

Chris Edwards the founder of Honeycombers, a digital lifestyle magazine in Singapore, Hong Kong and Bali, shares about how she started Honeycombers with 3 other co-founders, talks through Honeycombers growth, how she has used revenue and other key factors to supercharge the business, and how company values are important and drive the hiring process for Honeycombers.

This episode features Marianne Hughes, one of our recent Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at Next Chapter Raise and an award-winning entrepreneur and thought leader on transparency. As the Founder and CEO of Kno Global, her goal is to humanize the supply chain and reach 10m factory workers globally. Our philosophy at Next Chapter Raise is that fundraising is a journey and not just a one-off event. Kno Global is nearly a poster child in terms of their fundraising story.  They have received Angel investment, joined the Chinaaccelerator and now are fundraising with Venture Capital form and institutional investors.   Marianne shares how she became an “accidental journalist” to moving to China and building Kno Global including her fundraising experiences. She highlights how important it is to become an equal partner with investors and stay focused and intentional in building a company.

As part of the StartmeupHK 2021 Festival, featuring the Next Chapter Raise Female Funding Fair on 24 May, 2021 we have released this special edition podcast featuring the final event of the Funding Fair, sharing insights on all things Female Financial Power. Debbie Watkins (LUCY), Dipika Jaikishan (Basis), Adrian Warr (Edelman), moderated by Gwen Faure (The Women's Foundation Board Member), referenced a survey conducted by The Women's Foundation which stated that “42% of men think families will suffer if more women are at work” and that changing perceptions still remains important. As it stands, the gender pay gap in Hong Kong is 20%, which is less than it was ten years ago. Yet, 1 in 6 women in Hong Kong still live below the poverty line. Accessible finance for women seems more essential than ever, with more and more women in developing countries are considering how they can access the same finances that their fathers had.   To view the whole event, watch here.

As part of the StartmeupHK 2021 Festival, featuring the Next Chapter Raise Female Funding Fair on 24 May, 2021 we have released this special edition podcast featuring the second inspiring event of the Funding Fair, which was joined by female founders Nicki Ramsey (CardUp), Emma Holcroft (Imunis), and Precious Silvia (PearlPay). Moderating the Showcase was Victor Lang- Chief Operating officer, Gini.  The 3 founders represented fintech and health-tech and said that the reason for their growth has been the ability to identify and create solutions for a very clear gap in the market. The conversation tracks the personal and professional journeys of these founders as they've begun to scale up their businesses and the challenges they've faced.To view the whole event, watch here.

As part of the StartmeupHK 2021 Festival, featuring the Next Chapter Raise Female Funding Fair on 24 May, 2021 we have released this special edition podcast which brings together 3 amazing experts. Discussing whether female founders can be a better investment, were Melissa Widner (Lighter Capital), Amar Gokhale (Intellecap), and Jeff Begine Ng (Transcend Capital), with Nicole Denholder (Next Chapter Raise) moderating the event. With an array of VC and consulting expertise between the speakers, they were quick to establish the importance of creating an ecosystem that supports female founders. However, they added that businesses are required to look inwards to achieve this.To view the whole event, watch here.

Emma Sherrard Matthew shares her authentically driven investment journey across the world. Emma launched Quintessentially in Hong Kong and brings her entrepreneurial mindset to investing where her real passion lies. As an investor and entrepreneur she shares her evolution from casual investor to the formal development of STEM Innovations which has made 25 investments across the globe. Hear how Emma has taken risks and made personal connections to enjoy the investment journey and make an impact through her investments. 

Christine Yu left the Corporate world and jumped into the world of impact investing and entrepreneurship. Christine, with her husband, is the founder of Lapidary Limited, an impact investing firm and founder of AndAll, a sustainable, ethical gender neutral clothing brand. In this episode Christine deep dives into the world of angel investing, her investment activities and gives advice for founders, investors and wannabe investors.

Christine Yu left the Corporate world and jumped into the world of impact investing and entrepreneurship. Christine, with her husband, is the founder of Lapidary Limited, an impact investing firm and founder of AndAll, a sustainable, ethical gender neutral clothing brand. In this episode Christine takes us through her personal journey starting impact investing into South East Asia and her venture building approach which drive her to launch AndAll. 

As part of our Female Funding Fair on 19 November, 2020 we have released this special edition podcast which brings together 3 amazing experts. Karen See from EMBRACE, a renowned leadership coach; Subhendu Mukherjee from 10th Floor, a digital data expert and Georgie McNee an experienced angel investor and CFO. All three will explain why it's critical to be able to present financial information and data with clarity and conviction.  They will also offer their expert advice and a holistic approach presening this and achieving presentation confidence. For founders, if you want to improve your pitch skills and be able to engage with investors at a professional level then we hope you learn from this podcast. 

Courtney Haley, our Entrepreneur-in-Residence, shares her entrepreneurial journey as the founder of 10th Studio an end-to-end manufacturing and product development agency. Courtney has built a successful business that operates globally with a remote workforce. This kind of structure has enabled the company to adapt, survive and even thrive during challenging global times. Courtney is an experienced entrepreneur and her energy shines throughout the podcast plus she explains how she brings out her 'Lucy Liu' in difficult contract negotiations. 

Yosha Gupta, July's entrepreneur-in-residene, tells her story of launching two very different businesses.  Her first tech cash-back business successfully raised venture capital but eventually closed due to market changes.  Yosha explains how she dealt with the resulting investor discussions and how she went on to launch her second business brining Indian folklore to create one-of-a kind handpainted bags.   Yosha inspires all with her energy and creativity in continuing to explore her entrepreneurial life.

Gail Wong, July's investor-in-residence, has recently founded Her Capital in Singapore. They are investing in women-led businesses that are making a positive impact on society or the environment. Gail is also a coach and works closely with her investees to make sure that they are walking that fine line between commitment to mission and commercial success.

Alex Lamb and Rebecca Grover launched Lanterne Rouge in Singapore to provide clients with talent management support. Their Boldly platform connects employees with thousands of coaches and measures development outcomes for their employers. They have found a scalable solution for the Future of Work and are in the process of raising a Seed Round. Alex talks candidly about building the business with tech and consulting, navigating accelerator programmes with a newborn, and raising money in Silicon Valley during COVID-19.  And, as a coach herself, she has some wonderful advice for her fellow entrepreneurs.

Joanna Hotung is June's Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Next Chapter Raise. Joanna has deep entrepreneurial experience as founder of Kids' Gallery, est. 1996, inspired by her desire for a more creative and enquiry-based education for her own children. The KG Group – Kids' Gallery, Star English, Face Productions, and Mills International Preschool – has seen over 60,000 young people pass through its doors.   Joanna shares her experience building KG Group from one classroom to a business that is now looking at international expansion.  Joanna also talks about staying true to her values and finding the right investment partner to grow the business, her experience in building a team and establishing strong fundamentals for a durable business.

Georgie is June's Investor-in-Residence at Next Chapter Raise.  Georgie has leveraged her corporate M&A experience to become a savvy angel investor with  7 Angel Investments. Georgie supports them with advice on growth strategy, governance and financial analysis.  Georgie shares her insights on valuation for early stage companies, how startups should also interview investors to get the right fit, and how to work meaningful financials into your pitch, without the 'hockey stick'.    

Welcome to the first episode of the Raise the Bar, the new podcast from Next Chapter Ventures. Hosted by Amanda Williams, the strategy lead at Next Chapter Raise, a platform for female founders with a very simple mission - get them funded faster.  Women are running successful businesses - tech startups, consultancies, agencies, ecommerce shops. Side hustles and full-time pursuits. One-woman bands and fast-growing empires. However, statistics show that female-led businesses are less likely to get funded, and less likely to seek funding in the first place. This severely limits their business's potential for growth and impact. Why is this a particular problem with female founders? Are investors just biased? Does the system not work for women? Or are women founders not working hard enough? Well, we know that last one can't be it! Failure to invest in women is not a new problem, and it is not limited to one market or region. However, there have been painfully few attempts at a practical, sustainable solution. Lucky for us, Nicole Denholder has found one. Nicole is launching Next Chapter Raise this month, an online platform to give female founders the right tools to plan and execute their funding pathways and rally those that are working to change the system to work better for female founders.