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No degree, no network, no capital. Volume outreach and self-education opened the door. Keeping it open turned out to be a different problem.

He proved investing judgment part-time while still operating, so when the startup wound down the performance was already the interview. His own advice: budget five to ten years.

A decade of corporate venture experience pointed at Africa. Not an outsider breaking in, but an insider claiming unclaimed ground.

An informal angel syndicate became a fund thesis at business school. There was no shortcut around the meeting volume, only a credential that compressed it.

The value she gave away became the credibility she later raised on. An internship, a scout seat, then a tool that created measurable value for both sides.

Her first attempt at an Africa fund failed for lack of a track record. So she built a services business next to the market instead.

Brand roles at Apple, Red Bull and Chanel, then a founder, then a venture seat. Her useful contribution is the actual cost of raising a first fund.