The Purse Podcast

Jana Hlistova

At The Purse, we track how women are not just participating in finance — they’re transforming it. From angel investors to institutional leaders, from fintech founders to capital allocators, this is where women, wealth, and innovation meet to shape what’s next. (The Purse Ltd).

  1. JAN 16

    #158: Rethinking early-stage investing for diverse founders with Simon Glass

    Simon Glass is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Qodeo, a platform created to address the challenges he observed while working across the venture ecosystem. Qodeo matches venture and private equity investors with entrepreneurs, with a particular focus on founders from diverse, regional, and female communities. Simon has previously worked at two UK venture capital firms, including Amadeus Capital Partners, the first backer of ARM Holdings. His broader career includes roles at EY in academia and media, at WPP as Deputy Chair of a publishing house, and in project finance where he supported Roy Hill, the world’s largest private iron ore mine, in raising $9 billion. Simon has written for the Financial Times, holds a BA, MA, and MBA from the University of Cambridge, and completed training in corporate finance at London Business School. We cover the following: 00:11 Meet Simon Glass: CEO of Qodeo 01:13 Exploring the venture ecosystem 02:35 Challenges for underrepresented founders 05:55 Platform: matching investors and entrepreneurs 14:05 Addressing unconscious bias in investing 19:32 Comparing UK and US startup ecosystems 28:40 Entrepreneurial boom in Europe 32:01 Cultural shifts in entrepreneurship 32:38 Moving the needle in who VCs invest in 36:58 Challenges with angel investors 49:28 Improving the startup funding ecosystem 53:43 Final thoughts. *** For more information on Qodeo, see: https://qodeo.com/  ***

    54 min
  2. 11/20/2025

    #155: Mismanaged decline, economic shifts, and UK's future resilience with Vicky Pryce

    Vicky Pryce is Chief Economic Adviser at the Centre for Economics and Business Research and Visiting Professor at King's College London. She was previously Director General for Economics at the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and Joint head of the UK Government Economic Service. Vicky has held senior roles across the private sector, including senior managing director at FTI consulting, Partner and Chief Economist at KPMG, and Partner at London Economics, following earlier positions in banking and the energy sector. She's also co-founder of Good Cooperation, a frequent media commentator, and the author of many books, including Women versus Capitalism. Her latest book, Mismanaged Decline, co-authored with Andy Ross, will be published by Biteback in November of 2025. We cover the following: 01:16 Discussing 'Mismanaged Decline' 02:51 The UK's economic challenges 04:41 Policy missteps and industrial decline 07:09 Service sector and underinvestment 11:15 Industrial strategy and government role 16:26 Impact of Brexit and COVID 25:04 Honesty in economic policy 32:25 Regulatory developments in the UK and Europe 33:58 The role of UK leadership in crypto adoption 34:45 Concerns about crypto and global positioning 37:09 The politics of economic growth 39:20 Challenges in economic policy communication 50:11 The importance of gender inclusion in economic strategy 56:57 The need for long-term industrial strategy 01:00:12 Final thoughts on building a resilient economy ***

    1h 2m
  3. 10/07/2025

    #152: Building Scotland's innovation economy and female-focused initiatives with Derek Shaw and Alison Loveday

    Derek Shaw is Director of Entrepreneurship and Investment, where he leads the teams supporting Scotland's spinouts, startups, and scaling companies with wrap-around support and commercial investment. Under his leadership, Scottish Enterprise co-invests more than £50 million annually, making it Scotland’s most active early-stage investor, and the UK’s fourth largest by volume. The portfolio includes around 330 high growth companies, valued at approximately half a billion pounds. Alison Loveday is part of the extended management team and leads the National High Growth Entrepreneurship team. She focuses on ecosystem development, partnerships, and leadership programs for founders — including Pathways to Scale, a flagship initiative inspired by the 2023 Pathways Report, which supports female founders by upskilling leadership and investment readiness. Together, they're helping to shape Scotland's innovation economy. We cover the following: 00:11  Meet Derek Shaw and Alison Loveday 02:16  Overview of Scottish Enterprise 03:08 Scottish Enterprise's strategic missions 07:03 Supporting ambitious Scottish businesses 12:06  Collaborations and female founders 14:28  Challenges for deep tech companies 20:31  Case Study: ZOEX and Ash Penley 26:04 Working with universities and research centres 28:21  Metrics and measuring success 30:12  Supporting female founders 35:17  Lessons from recent successes 43:27 The future of Scotland's innovation economy. ****

    47 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

At The Purse, we track how women are not just participating in finance — they’re transforming it. From angel investors to institutional leaders, from fintech founders to capital allocators, this is where women, wealth, and innovation meet to shape what’s next. (The Purse Ltd).