4 ESSEC Alumni Engaged in Female Entrepreneurship and Investment

Jessica Vignoles (M13) worked with the scale-up Nickel before moving into venture capital. Lydia Seyler (E16) led an entrepreneurial project in mental health prior to becoming a mentor with several incubators. Sophie Mina (E15) began her career in mergers & acquisitions and then learnt to code so she could join a start-up. Chloé Roubach (E14) spent 10 years in investment finance before launching an impact company in the energy sector. Today, they are among the founders of Olympe Capital, a collective of twenty women business angels committed to developing female entrepreneurship and investment.

ESSEC Alumni: It’s no secret women are under-represented in the world of entrepreneurship. Does this apply to business angels in France? 
Sophie Mina: The investment sector does indeed suffer from the same lack of equality. Regarding venture capital, the proportion of women in mature market teams amounts to 20%, and less than 10% in emerging markets. The figures are relatively similar for business angels.

EA: How do you explain this?
Lydia Seyler: There are several factors at play. Accessibility firstly; this is a closed sphere in which the network plays a key role and this continues to favour men. Culture secondly; money is still a taboo subject, and even more so for women. Thirdly, there’s the financial barrier to entry: on average, women always have lower purchasing power. Psychological hurdles lastly; women are lacking in role models who open the way, even if we are seeing a growth in initiatives such as Sista or Leia Capital.

EA: As female business angels or entrepreneurs, have you personally experienced discrimination or other forms of exclusion? 
L. Seyler: In my view, it’s above all women entrepreneurs who suffer from discrimination. In 2022, start-ups founded by women in the main European markets represented only 10% of newly-created businesses and just 2% of capital raisings. These figures are even more unacceptable given that there is no established correlation with female entrepreneurs’ performance. On the contrary, start-ups with women on the founding team tend to be more sustainable and profitable. According to the Sista x BCG barometer, ‘start-ups founded or co-founded by women are 2.5 times more profitable investments than others.’ 

Chloé Roubach: In the investment sector, the proportion of women in decision-making positions nevertheless remains very low, at around 20% according to the 2023 McKinsey report on diversity in private markets. Investment decisions are inevitably biased, due to the same mechanisms which ensure that a majority of men are appointed to company management positions. 

EA: What does Olympe Capital offer in this context? 
Jessica Vignoles: Olympe Capital is a collective consisting of twenty women with complementary profiles, who wish to promote equal opportunity in business and investment, and encourage female entrepreneurship and investment. Our name is a tribute to the iconic Olympe de Gouges, a visionary and pioneer of feminism, who championed women’s rights and fought for their emancipation during the French Revolution.

EA: Why did you bring together women business angels exclusively? 
J. Vignoles: We wanted to shape a new, unconventional framework in which women entrepreneurs would feel at ease. Coming together with women who often share the same professional and personal issues strengthens ties and offers a source of help. This aspect enriches our relations, and we learn from each other’s experience.

L. Seyler: In addition, we wanted to make a splash for the launch and establish our position in female investment. Note that people are less surprised to see men coming together to make decisions between themselves in their famous ‘boys’ clubs’. That said, we are open to including men in an upcoming tour of the table.

EA: Regarding the projects you support, you select companies with at least one woman among the founding team. Why this choice? 
C. Roubach: Yet again because projects led by women are largely under-funded despite the fact they generally create more sustainable and better-managed companies. We believe it is essential to encourage women who are starting out, especially in a world cruelly lacking in successful female role models. In the collective subconscious, the image of the entrepreneur is still widely associated with men.

J. Vignoles: Not to mention that diversity fosters the emergence of more balanced leadership. 

EA: Do you also seek to support entrepreneurial projects that tackle gender equality directly, whether in-house via their organisation and culture, or externally through their activities? 
J. Vignoles: We remain investors, so we’re looking for profitability, but always in keeping with the other aspect of our investment statement, i.e., sustainability and responsibility. We therefore do not invest in economic models we believe to be dangerous for society and the environment.

EA: What are your medium- and long-term goals for Olympe Capital? 
S. Mina: We aim to reverse the trend to attain greater balance and representation between genders in French entrepreneurship and investment. In the medium term, this aim will take the form of an initial portfolio of 7 to 8 deals in the coming 18 months, with a globally positive ROI.

EA: Beyond your activities, what measures do you see as necessary to reach gender equality in the entrepreneurship and investment sector? 
J. Vignoles: Action in education and representation is the priority. Raise awareness and have inspiring role models speak in schools. Boost the number of articles devoted to the issue in the media, particularly media geared towards women, which is still (overly) focused on fashion and beauty.

C. Roubach: Develop mentoring and networking initiatives for women entrepreneurs to guide them in their projects. Initiatives are starting to emerge in this field; things are moving, slowly admittedly, but there is an improvement and that’s also worth pointing out!

Interview by Louis Armengaud Wurmser  (E10), Content Manager at ESSEC Alumni
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