Replay - Sarah Dusek; Investing In Women Led Businesses with host Catherine Gray Ep. 362

·24 min·2 clips

Sarah Dusek vowed to invest in other women after selling her company for $100 million.

Catherine Gray introduces the episode by highlighting that women receive less than 2% of venture capital funding, a statistic unchanged for 25 years. Guest Sarah Dusek joins from Cape Town, discussing her background in nonprofit work and transition to business as a vehicle for change. Sarah shares her experience selling Under Canvas, a glamping company, for $100 million after bootstrapping it to $7-8 million in revenue. She explains how this led her to found Enigma Ventures, a fund investing in women-led businesses in Africa. Sarah details the difficulties she faced raising capital as a female founder, including encountering all-male venture teams and years of rejection. She describes Enigma's focus on sophisticated women entrepreneurs in Africa, citing a FinTech company that already has more EBITDA than Under Canvas did at sale. The conversation contrasts investment levels, with $5 billion invested in Africa versus $234 billion in the US last year. Sarah emphasizes that women are four times more likely to repay debt and build profitable businesses, making them a smart investment. Catherine promotes her documentary 'Show Her the Money', which aims to educate women about venture capital through a 50-city tour. They discuss the accredited investor rule and various entry points for investing in women-led businesses. Sarah encourages women to take control of their financial decisions and follow their passions. The episode concludes with contact information for Enigma Ventures and resources for further learning.

As heard by us

Sarah Dusek ties a long-bootstrapped founder story to a practical case for women entering venture capital.

Sarah Dusek's route from a long-bootstrapped operator to Enigma Ventures gives this episode its sharpest business thread. She describes building Under Canvas to about $7 million or $8 million in revenue before taking institutional capital, with bank debt, friends-and-family…

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Why you'd press play

You get Sarah Dusek's Under Canvas money story: revenue, debt, credit cards, stress, and the post-sale pull toward venture capital.

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