Women Entrepreneurs get Investor Ready! Anne Ravanona, InvestHer founder, speaking at National Digital Week

By @SimonCocking great interview with  Anne Ravanona Founder & CEO #GlobalInvestHer  which helps to get women entrepreneurs funded  who will be speaking at the Digitalweek in Skibbereen hosted by the Ludgate Hub, November 10th to 12th. To book tickets and see more click here. Global Invest Her will also be relaunching their new website full of great resources for female entrepreneurs very soon.

How and why did you get involved with the Digitalweek event?

The wonderful Mary McKenna introduced me to Dee Forbes, key wonder woman behind Digital Week and Dee asked me to come and speak.

I fully support Digitalweek because;

1) I am Irish and proud of this event

2) I am a proud woman’s advocate and fully support this event that showcases great  inspiring women leaders in the startup ecosystem

3) I want to  increase access entrepreneurship resources in remote areas, especially to women who are even more isolated.

Business Showcase event : National Digital Week, hosted by Ludgate Hub, Skibbereen

You were due to be a speaker last year, but were unable to, did this make you doubly interested to attend this year?

I was due to attend, but unfortunately needed to rush home for a family emergency, so I missed it. That’s why am so happy to be here this year! I read all the press and followed twitter over the event to keep up to date and everyone sang its praises!

What are you excited about for this year’s version of the event

It’s a fantastic schedule – touching on global trends (virtual reality, internet of things, mobile), rural trends & digital (agri-tech, agri innovation), a full day on Women & Leadership on November 11th (my favourite of course!), practical workshops, great live exhibitions for all the family and of course amazing entertainment! I love the international, local, rural and multi-generational feel to it – very different to any conference or event I have ever been to (and have been to many!).

What will you be talking about this year?

Women Entrepreneurs – get Investor-Ready! – Key tips to be better prepared for funding.

Investors – your biggest investment opportunity is women

It’s all about inspiring both women entrepreneurs, future women entrepreneurs and investors – to get us all on the same page to help create more gender equality in startup fundraising. I want to help smash the Funding Ceiling for women and these will be part of my key messages.

How has the last 12 months been? 

Rollercoaster ride! A lot of public speaking internationally to raise awareness about the challenges facing women entrepreneurs raising funding and how to overcome them (EY Women in Leadership summit (Monaco), Women Innovation Forum (New York) Angel Summit Dublin, London Business School (Angel Network) South Summit (Madrid), StartupWeekend Women (Paris and Grenoble). And of course, building and launching our fabulous Global Invest Her platform to help early stage women entrepreneurs get investor-ready –  3 years in the making! My key insight has been to really learn to trust my gut – it’s always right – whether it comes to choosing the right tech partners, team members, events to speak at. The key challenge for me is how to manage my time – I want to do so much!!

What would your tips be for people aiming to communicate their message digitally?

Learn as much as you can about social media and really use it – it can exponentially impact your global outreach, and solidify your personal and corporate brand. Watch how key global thought-leaders communicate (their words, style, hashtags used and who they follow) and try some of their techniques – they do work. Be clear on what your key messages are and have a clear schedule of how and when you want to communicate it digitally. Finally, surround yourself with a great team and get as many millennials on board – they are truly great at this!

The Ludgate in Skibbereen, West Cork, showcases the value of remote / rural locations, how do you explain the value when people ask about not being based in a major urban area?

Talent is everywhere and we need to be able to access it. In this day and age, it’s not acceptable that some people who live in rural areas still don’t have access to proper broadband/high speed internet and great entrepreneurship resources. Ludgate/Skibb is a fantastic example for other rural areas in Ireland and internationally to learn from, about what can be done when you bring the right passionate, talented, well connected people together – united by a strong mission and vision.

How can people find out more about you?

www.globalinvesther.com @anneravanona, @globalinvesther,
Watch my TEDx on Investing in Women Entrepreneurs
Read my Trailblazing Women series on Huffington Post

Anything else you’d like to add / should have asked?

Sign up for this fabulous event and help spread the word! Women Entrepreneurs and future entrepreneurs – do come! You will meet amazing women role models and learn so much from them in a short time – this is a great opportunity for you, so grab it! Carpe Diem and Invest in Women!

Helping fund 51% of the worlds entrepreneurs. Anne Ravanona, Global Invest Her founder

If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at Simon@IrishTechNews.net or on Twitter: @SimonCocking