Anne RavanonaCEO & Founder, Global Invest Her · On a mission to get 1M women entrepreneurs funded by 2030 through access to Capital, Customers and Community. Founder & Ceo Global Invest Her, global Advocate and Keynote Speaker

Investor Interview with Kelly Hoey - Angel Investor & VC at Laconia Capital (USA)

5 Mar 2018 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

2:05

In this brief interview, Kelly Hoey shares a personal anecdote about her Canadian heritage, being a middle child, and a name change from Catherine Jane Hoey to Julia Kelly Hoey at age three, honoring her great‑grandmother. She then offers three concise pieces of advice for women entrepreneurs seeking funding: (1) prioritize paying customers and revenue as the strongest form of funding; (2) cultivate peer relationships because VCs often rely on referrals from fellow entrepreneurs; and (3) conduct focused research on target investors, knowing exactly who to approach and why they fit the company’s portfolio. The interview concludes with a call to inspire and empower women founders.

So, Kelly, can you tell us one cool fact about yourself? Something we don't know about you.
Okay, I guess I tell everyone I'm Canadian, so that's already— that cat's been like out of the bag. Oh, I don't know. I'm a middle child. I've had my name changed. Ooh. I was born— when I was born, I was christened Catherine Jane Hoey and had my name changed at 3 to Julia Kelly Hoey after my great-grandmother who died at 101. Wow. So I'm gonna be around for a while.
We want you around forever. Okay, forever. And you're forever on this film. That's fantastic. So what would be your— you're an angel investor, you are a venture capitalist. What are your key tips to women entrepreneurs looking for funding? What are the key dos and don'ts?
Okay. So my first point on funding is your best form of funding is a paying customer. So focus on revenue. So my second tip would be reach out to your peers. VCs get referrals through their networks, and the strongest referral is from another entrepreneur who they've worked with. So build relationships with your peers. And my third point would be, yes, start researching and focusing on the investors you want to meet. Never ask for someone just to, hey, do you know an investor? You should know who you want to meet and why your company belongs in their portfolio.
Great advice. And so what would be your parting message to inspire all those women out there, those women entrepreneurs, to inspire them?
You know what? Hopefully you're building the products and services that are going to transform the world and that we as women want to see out there. So I want to say Persist. Make it happen. Yay!