Femme & Fortune

Ayesha Ofori

👉 A podcast about how wealth is actually built. Hosted by Ayesha Ofori, it explores the real stories behind successful women. The decisions, risks, instincts and turning points that don’t make it into headlines. Each episode goes beyond the surface to look at how money, mindset and life experience shape outcomes. From career moves to big leaps, from setbacks to defining moments. Because building wealth is not just about what you earn. It is about how you think, and the decisions you make along the way.

  1. 1d ago

    I Negotiated a Full Year's Salary as a Sign-On Bonus - Twice: Tara's Guide to Negotiating

    From a council estate in Peckham to Goldman Sachs, McKinsey and the Financial Times, Tara's career reads like a masterclass in building wealth as an employee. In this episode, we get into exactly how she did it.Tara opens up about growing up between two worlds, the shame she felt hiding where she lived, and the moment she realised her story wasn't a weakness but her biggest asset. We talk about what it actually takes to build a network from nothing, why finding a sponsor (not just a mentor) changed everything for her, and the negotiation tactics she used to secure a sign-on bonus worth a full year's salary, twice.We also dig into something I don't think gets talked about enough: the difference between how men and women get judged at work. Tara breaks down why men are so often hired on potential while women have to prove it first, and what that means for how you should be negotiating your pay.And finally, Tara tells me why she walked away from a corporate career managing millions of customers to build her own health tech startup from scratch, and what it actually took to make that leap.If you've ever wondered how to build real financial security without owning your own business, this one's for you.Chapters:0:00 Intro0:52 Welcome, Tara1:44 Growing up between Nigeria and a council estate9:39 Luck, opportunity and building a network24:35 How to build wealth as an employee28:18 Men get potential, women get proof33:47 Negotiating salary, bonuses and equity39:15 Investing and why women hold onto cash48:41 Why she left corporate to build a startup59:12 The Femme and Fortune FiveNewsletter: https://ayeshaofori.com/newsletter/

  2. Aug 11

    She's a Risk Expert Professionally, But Too Scared to Take Any Risk With Her Own Money.

    Livia advised governments and multinationals on political and geopolitical risk for a living. She spent her career helping some of the world's most powerful organisations decide who to trust and where the danger was. Then she sold her own company, walked away with millions, and left it sitting in cash for three years because she couldn't bring herself to trust anyone with it. In this episode she sits down with Ayesha to talk about growing up in a family where knowledge mattered more than money, staying with a business everyone else was fleeing and coming out of it an owner, hiding a pregnancy from the buyers during the sale, and the long, honest road to finally understanding what to do with her own wealth. It is a conversation about ownership, agency, financial independence, and why so many capable, successful women freeze the moment the money is their own. Chapters 0:00 Introduction1:43 Welcome back, and the episode we lost the first time2:14 A family that prized knowledge over money6:00 The wartime history that shaped her8:52 Studying politics, and her first job in risk13:48 The sinking ship: becoming an owner when everyone else fled16:09 What ownership actually feels like20:04 What the company really did21:08 The exit, and the pregnancy they hid from the buyers24:45 Motherhood and the 80 per cent rule25:58 Why having her own money mattered29:38 The cash that sat untouched for three years34:34 Why women hoard cash36:32 Distrust, 2008 and learning to invest41:35 What she had to unlearn, and the two flats44:25 Money as a motivator, and its limits46:38 Raising daughters who get it50:40 Why she ran for office54:08 Her advice for women sitting on cash57:46 The Femme and Fortune Five

  3. Aug 6

    She built a business and made life changing money. Now she’s doing it again

    In this episode of Femme and Fortune, I sit down with Victoria Peppiatt, three-time founder and Co-CEO of Hey Savi, the AI-powered fashion platform she describes as Shazam for fashion.Vic's journey is remarkable. She ran creative agency The Pink Group with her husband for 11 years, sometimes putting the mortgage on a credit card to keep things going. Then she co-founded Phrasee, an AI marketing platform, and scaled it to a multi-million pound exit. That sale changed everything, not just for her but for the friends and family who backed her early. Some of her angel investors walked away with life-changing, tax-free returns.We talk about what it actually takes to build a business worth selling, the difference between a lifestyle business and one built for an exit, why timing your sale matters so much, and what she learned taking on VC money. Vic is also refreshingly honest about the cost of it all: the years of travel, the time away from her children, and the moment a family illness put the money into perspective.And we get into a subject close to my heart: why women don't talk about money enough, how deals get done in networks we're often not part of, and how to start angel investing even if you're beginning small.If you've ever wondered whether you could build something worth millions, or back someone who will, this one is for you.Sign up to my newsletter for more on building wealth: https://ayeshaofori.com/newsletter/

  4. Jul 28

    She Married into a Billionaire Family. Then her Husbad Died. The Financial Truths No One Talks About. | Christine Dawood

    In June 2023, the world watched as the search for the Titan submersible gripped every news channel and feed on the planet. Christine Dawood was on the support vessel. Her husband Shahzada and her 19 year old son Suleman were on board the sub.Three years on, Christine joins Ayesha for her most personal interview yet. This is not the story the headlines told. It is the story of who her family really were, what those 96 hours were actually like, and how a woman rebuilds a life, and a financial future, when the worst happens in front of the whole world.Christine shares how she moved from a small town in Germany to Pakistan for love, built an organic farming business supplying the country's biggest supermarkets, and why being involved in her family's finances long before the accident became the thing that protected her. She talks openly about the hate comments, the assumption that wealthy people's grief counts for less, and why she rebuilt her entire financial team with only women.She has since written 96 Hours, with all proceeds going to her foundation, which is building a residential healing centre for trauma and loss in Devon.In this episode:Why every woman should understand the family finances, even if she never leads themWhat a widow is legally entitled to in different countries, and why it matters where your assets areThe reality of grieving in public while the internet commentatesHow Christine chose her all female team of advisersHer advice for couples on money, transparency and planning for the worstGet Christine's book, 96 Hours: https://www.waterstones.com/book/ninety-six-hours/christine-dawood/9781918191042Chapters:0:00 Introduction1:30 Growing up in Germany and the family textiles business5:00 Meeting her husband and choosing to move across the world7:30 Relocating to Pakistan and learning English from scratch10:00 Marrying into the Dawood family and culture shock12:30 Navigating the wealth gap in a relationship14:00 Building an organic farming business from seeds in a suitcase20:00 Motherhood, confidence and wanting something of her own23:00 Learning the financial basics and managing money as a team27:30 The Titan accident and the 96 hour wait31:00 Online hate and the dehumanisation of wealthy people35:00 Widowhood, inheritance law and the Global Fund for Widows38:00 Rebuilding with an all female advisory team42:00 Writing 96 Hours and the story behind the book43:30 The healing centre for trauma and loss46:00 Walking 500 miles from London to Glasgow for Suleman47:30 Advice for women in relationships with unequal wealth49:00 The Femme and Fortune Five quick fire

  5. Jul 22

    3 Things Every Parent Gets Wrong About Kids And Money | GoHenry Founder: Louise Hill

    What if everything you were taught about money came too late? Louise Hill was 47, a single mum with two kids, a mortgage and virtually no savings when she quit her job to build GoHenry, the app that has taught millions of children how to earn, save and spend. In this episode she tells me how it really happened: the years of dead ends, the record breaking crowdfund that raised £4 million in a single weekend, and the truth about what founders actually take home when their company sells for a reported £180 million.We talk about why schools are still failing our kids when it comes to money, the habits children form far earlier than most parents realise, and what Louise believes every parent should be doing at home instead of waiting for the education system to catch up.We also get into the reality behind the headlines. GoHenry's UK business was bought by Barclays, yet Louise will tell you herself that she is not rich yet, and her explanation of why is one of the most honest conversations about founder wealth you will hear.In this episode:00:00 Introduction: the £180 million question1:47 From kitchen table to iTunes overspend: how the idea was born3:23 Quitting a job at 47 with a mortgage and no safety net8:39 The early rejections: "nice little charity"13:15 Sheer bloody mindedness: surviving the early slog17:41 Raising the first £672k and learning to scale properly25:28 Why CrowdCube changed everything31:16 The £4 million weekend that broke records36:29 Marketing 101: what made the raise actually work39:53 The black cab story: what building GoHenry actually cost her42:39 "I don't think there is a balance"43:56 The Little Red Book of GoHenry49:03 GoHenry sold twice: Acorns, then Barclays50:10 "I hadn't walked away with pockets full of cash"55:01 So is she rich? The truth about founder payday55:36 The Femme and Fortune 5Sign up to my newsletter for weekly wealth building insights: https://ayeshaofori.com/newsletter/

  6. Jul 8 ·  Bonus

    The Real Secret to Wealth Isn't a Big Idea: 4 Lessons From a £100M Ice Cream Founder

    Everyone tells you that you need a completely original idea to build wealth. Here's why that's nonsense.In this Femme and Fortune deep dive, Ayesha breaks down one of the biggest myths in business: that you need a never been done before idea to build real wealth. Drawing on a conversation with Vivian Wong, cofounder of Little Moon's Mochi Ice Cream, Ayesha unpacks the concept of an edge, and why it matters far more than originality ever will.Little Moon's did not invent mochi ice cream. Viv and her brother took something that already existed and made it better, bootstrapping the business by hand for over a decade before it became the viral brand you know today.In this video, Ayesha covers:Why an edge beats an original idea every timeThe four edges that built a multi million pound ice cream brandHow to find your own edge, whatever your background or industryWhy real wealth is built slowly, and rarely looks glamorous from the outside.The difference between a salary and ownership, and why it mattersWhat actually happens emotionally when the big payout finally lands.This is a taster of a much longer conversation. The full episode with Vivian Wong is out now on the Femme and Fortune podcast, link below.Watch the full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4h157Y53U4 Subscribe for Season 2, coming very soon: https://www.youtube.com/@FemmeandFortuneJoin the weekly wealth newsletter: https://ayeshaofori.com/newsletter/

  7. Jun 30 ·  Bonus

    How £1,000 Turned Into £600,000: Angel Investing Explained

    Because for every Revolut, there are thousands of startups that go to zero and take every penny with them. In this Femme and Fortune deep dive, Ayesha Ofori breaks down how angel investing actually works, why you don't need to be wealthy to start (you can invest from as little as £10), and how two UK government schemes, SEIS and EIS, can give you back up to 50% of what you invest through tax relief.This deep dive is based on Ayesha's full podcast conversation with venture capitalist Yvonne Bajela, linked below.LINKSWatch the full episode with Yvonne Bajela: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxbFjidz8Ik Join Ayesha's weekly newsletter, and be first to hear when her angel syndicate opens: https://ayeshaofori.com/newsletter/Subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss Season 2 of the Femme and Fortune podcast, coming very soon.ABOUT AYESHAAyesha Ofori is a former Goldman Sachs wealth adviser and an angel investor of more than 15 years, who has also raised millions of pounds in angel funding for her own company. Femme and Fortune is her platform helping women build wealth and confidence as investors.DISCLAIMERThis video is for education only and is not financial advice. Startup investing is high risk. Your money is locked up for long periods and you can lose everything you invest. SEIS and EIS are UK government schemes for UK taxpayers, so if you are watching from outside the UK, look for your local equivalent. Always do your own research.

About

👉 A podcast about how wealth is actually built. Hosted by Ayesha Ofori, it explores the real stories behind successful women. The decisions, risks, instincts and turning points that don’t make it into headlines. Each episode goes beyond the surface to look at how money, mindset and life experience shape outcomes. From career moves to big leaps, from setbacks to defining moments. Because building wealth is not just about what you earn. It is about how you think, and the decisions you make along the way.

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