How the Women to Women Programme helped Fiona Martin build the confidence, knowledge and perspective to become part of the angel investment community
Creating the conditions for people to thrive
Across a senior career in public service, government, education and board roles, Fiona Martin has always been interested in people.
More specifically, she has been interested in what helps people do their best work.
“We talk a lot about valuing people and how much they matter,” she says. “But there is a real art to creating an environment where different people can thrive.”
That interest was shaped by the difficult situations Fiona often encountered earlier in her career.
Working alongside managers and organisations, she regularly became involved when workplace relationships had already broken down. Formal processes were underway, grievances had been raised, or individuals felt they had been bullied.
The organisation might have been following the correct procedure. But Fiona could also see the human toll.
“Sometimes, when you follow the formal process, you can lose sight of the individuals affected,” she explains. “Going through something like a grievance takes a huge amount of courage and has a real personal impact.”
Even when a complaint was upheld, it rarely felt like a victory.
“I do not think many people walk out of that process feeling like they have won, or that it is an experience they would ever want to repeat.”
That realisation led Fiona towards workplace mediation.
In 2010, she joined a small cross-public-sector consortium of mediators, supporting conversations in organisations where she was not personally known.
Not every mediation worked. But when it did, Fiona describes it as “a bit of magic in the room”.
“You could see a shift happen,” she says. “I found that hugely rewarding. That was an inspiring day for me.”
As her career became more senior, Fiona spent more time on strategy and less on mediation. When she later stepped away from full-time work, she found herself returning to it.
“I retired, although it has not quite worked out like that,” she laughs. “But it gave me the opportunity to rekindle my mediation work, and I still love it just as much.”
Finding the lightbulb moment away from the desk
Fiona’s career has involved complex organisational problems, difficult conversations and competing perspectives.
Yet some of her best thinking does not happen at a desk.
She remembers once being asked where she did her best work.
“It might be when I am in the garden, weeding, or even organising a cupboard,” she says. “It gives my brain the space to work through the Rubik’s cube of a problem.”
Removing herself from the complexity creates room to think constructively.
“That is often where the lightbulb moment comes. It is rarely when I am sitting at my desk thinking, ‘How am I going to deal with this?’”
Life outside work also includes baking, spending time with her husband and friends, two much-loved Egyptian Mau cats and a growing cast of rescued chickens.
Chicken keeping began almost by accident when a friend Fiona had met at an aerobics class asked whether she could rehome her hens.
“It was far enough in the future that it was very easy to say yes,” Fiona recalls.
Since then, she has rehomed hens through the British Hen Welfare Trust.
Some arrive without many feathers and are initially unsteady on their feet. Over time, Fiona watches them adjust to life outdoors, recover and reveal their personalities.
“They are such characters,” she says. “Did I ever imagine I would be outside in my wellies chasing escaped chickens? Absolutely not.”
They have also given her an unexpected new perspective on workplace dynamics.
“I had heard of a pecking order, but I did not realise it actually happens. It really does. Sometimes it is a bit like the workplace.”
Seeing equality through a different lens
Equality was not always an explicit focus for Fiona. When she began her career in the 1980s, it was not something she thought about in the same way she does now.
Experience changed that.
“I genuinely believe inclusive workplaces are better places to work,” she says. “If you have a diverse team and can bring together those different strengths, you will be capable of delivering more.”
Her interest in equality became stronger as she saw how workplace systems affected individuals, and how unequal access could shape people’s choices and opportunities.
But joining the Investing Women Angels community introduced her to a different form of inequality.
“I had always looked at equality through a workplace lens,” Fiona explains. “Investing Women Angels showed me, in very stark terms, the different experiences women have when setting up businesses and trying to gain investment.”
She was struck by the calibre of the women she met.
“Women are so talented. But it can be frightening to step outside what is expected, take risks and do something different.”
Seeing that combination of ambition and unequal access made the investment gap feel immediate rather than abstract.
“We are making progress, but we are still so far from a level playing field.”
A difficult year and the question of what came next
Fiona’s route into angel investing began during a period of significant personal change as COVID brought personal impact for Fiona’s family.
“It felt like one thing after another,” she says.
After leaving work, Fiona gave herself some time to regroup.
The question was: what now?
A conversation with her sister-in-law opened an unexpected door.
“She said, ‘I think you would be really good at Investing Women Angels. I think you would enjoy it and get a lot from it. Elizabeth Pirrie (AccelerateHER’s CEO) is amazing, and I must introduce you.’”
Angel investing had never been part of Fiona’s plans.
“I probably thought investment was about large companies, stocks and shares, and something I would need to learn about someday,” she says. “Angel investment was completely new to me.”
Fiona connected with AccelerateHER CEO Elizabeth Pirrie, who invited her to an event at V&A Dundee. There was a panel discussion. Founders pitched their businesses. Fiona walked into the room knowing very few people.
For someone who describes herself as cautious and shy about networking, that was not a small step.
“Walking into a large room where I do not know anyone is daunting for me,” she says. “But that day was brilliant.”
The founder stories caught her attention immediately.
“The pitches were so impressive. When we stopped for lunch, it was easy to speak to people. It felt very inclusive.”
Fiona left wanting to know more.
“I still did not know whether I had anything to offer, but I thought, ‘This is really exciting.’”
From excitement to feeling stuck
Following the Dundee event, Elizabeth and Investing Women Angels member Rhona Campbell arranged for Fiona to shadow several founder pitch sessions.
The only problem was that Fiona liked almost every business she saw.
“I thought nearly every company was great,” she laughs. “I wanted to invest in all of them.”
She joined Investing Women Angels, excited by the founders, the learning and the community around her.
Then she reached a bit of a blocker in her investment journey.
“Suddenly, you think, ‘That is my money, and I do not know how all of this works.’ How do I know whether I am making a good decision?”
Fiona could see that the Investing Women Angels network contained a significant depth of experience. Members were willing to share what they knew, and different perspectives consistently improved the conversation.
But she still did not feel ready to act.
“There was curiosity, but there was also fear,” she says.
She questioned whether her professional background was relevant enough.
“I thought I had quite a narrow background. I wondered whether I deserved to be in the room or had anything to contribute.”
Her experience in people strategy, leadership, governance and mediation gave her a strong lens on teams, resources and organisational planning.
But she had not yet recognised those skills as part of her value as a potential investor.
“That has been part of my journey. Recognising that I can help and support, while also learning about an area that was completely new to me.”
The programme that brought both sides together
Fiona joined the Women to Women Programme hoping to understand the practicalities of angel investment.
She wanted to know which questions to ask, what information mattered and how experienced investors weighed up an opportunity.
She gained all of that.
What she did not expect was how much she would learn from being in the room with founders.
“The fact that the programme was for both founders and investors was hugely powerful,” she says.
Founders preparing to raise investment learned alongside women who were considering becoming investors. They explored the businesses, plans and questions from different sides of the table.
For Fiona, it felt familiar to mediation.
“When two people enter mediation, they each have a perspective that is completely real to them. Sometimes the shift happens when you understand that another perspective exists.”
The Women to Women programme created space for those perspectives to meet.
“You were getting real-life insight from different points of view,” she says. “The energy in the room was buzzing, and it was incredibly supportive.”
The cohort did not all think or behave in the same way. That was part of its strength.
“There were so many people in that room who could help each other because everyone brought something different. It might be connections, professional experience or a path they had already walked.”
What stood out most was their generosity.
“People were willing to share their time and what they had learned to help someone else. It was incredible to be part of.”
Realising she had something to bring
Fiona had entered the angel investment community worrying that she lacked the right background. Women to Women helped her see her experience differently.
Her understanding of leadership and organisational culture helped her assess how founders planned to build and resource their teams.
Her board experience helped her think about governance and decision-making.
Her mediation skills made her attentive to trust, communication and the relationship between founders and investors, citing chemistry as a key driver.
“It gives me a particular perspective when I am looking at a business,” she says. “I naturally think about the plans, the people and how the work is going to be resourced.”
The programme also showed her that there is no single profile an investor needs to match.
Across the room, every participant brought something distinct.
“You could see how all those perspectives created a better discussion.”
It helped Fiona move past the question of whether she belonged and start thinking about how she could contribute.
Understanding the investor she wanted to be
Fiona expected the Women to Women programme to give her a checklist.
Instead, it helped her identify what mattered personally.
“I thought I would come out clear on the right questions to ask and what to weigh up when making an investment decision,” she says.
“I did get that. But I did not expect to come away with such a strong understanding of how important it is to be clear about my own values and where I want to invest.”
That felt more human than searching for a perfect investment formula.
“There is not simply a magic answer that says, ‘This is the right company.’ You also need to know what matters to you.”
For Fiona, the founder remains central.
“The chemistry and the founder are really important.”
She is also particularly drawn to businesses addressing climate and environmental challenges.
“I think there are environmental issues racing towards us,” she says. “I am interested in businesses with a strong environmental focus and technologies that could change how we respond.”
That interest is rooted in the world future generations will inherit.
“We are often making decisions for the present without fully understanding what is coming towards us.”
Looking beyond a compelling pitch
The W2W programme gave Fiona a more structured way to assess the story behind a business.
She learned to step back from a single pitch and look at the connection between the founder’s ambition, business plan, financial assumptions and milestones.
“If a founder says, ‘This is where we are going,’ is that trajectory also evident in the business plan?” she asks.
“Can you see it in how performance is measured and in the milestones they have set?”
When those elements align, Fiona feels more confident in the opportunity.
“It gives the investor more information and a clearer understanding of whether the plans hold together.”
Sessions covering the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) were also valuable.
“I had not fully grasped the tax implications,” she says.
A session on digital profiles with Sooz Young offered another unexpected lesson.
“It gave me a perspective I did not have before, and it was explained in a very accessible way.”
Together, the sessions made angel investing feel less like an unfamiliar financial world and more like a practical decision-making process she could learn.
“The sky will not fall in because I have taken a risk”
Knowledge was only one part of Fiona’s shift.
The other was becoming more comfortable with risk.
“Women to Women helped me build greater knowledge and understanding, but it also made me feel less scared,” she says.
“The sky is not going to fall in because I have taken a risk.”
That does not mean taking decisions casually.
It means asking questions, understanding the risks and then accepting that uncertainty is part of early-stage investing.
“I have done my homework,” she says. “It is a business and a founder I believe in and want to support.”
That confidence helped Fiona move from attending events and observing pitches to joining the Investing Women Angels syndicate and Women to Women Programme in a meaningful way.
The programme had unblocked the point where interest previously stopped.
She no longer needed complete certainty before acting. Instead, Fiona needed enough clarity to make an informed decision.
Being kind, not simply nice
Fiona does not see angel investment as money alone.
Capital matters. But so do experience, connections, encouragement and honest challenges.
“Investment is not the only way you can support someone,” she says.
A good investor-founder relationship also requires trust and chemistry.
That applies between fellow angels as well as between an investor and founder.
“When the chemistry works, you can bring different perspectives together and create enough trust to say the difficult things.”
She compares it to a good friendship.
“A good friend does not simply tell you everything is fine when it is not. Sometimes being kind means being honest, rather than just being nice.”
That philosophy sits naturally alongside her mediation background.
Support should not mean avoiding difficult conversations. It should mean creating the conditions where those conversations can happen constructively.
Seeing what founders carry
Learning alongside founders gave Fiona greater insight into the emotional weight of raising investment. She was struck by the resilience required.
“You are putting yourself out there,” she says. “It must feel incredibly personal when it is your business, your idea and something you have invested so much of yourself in.”
Yet the final investment decision can be shaped by factors that are not personal at all.
“Sometimes the thing that tips the decision about whether to invest is not about the founder personally. But I am sure it can feel that way to the founder.”
Founders have to absorb those decisions, continue running the business and return to the next conversation.
“You have to pick yourself up time and time again and keep going after any setback.”
Her respect for founders has only grown.
“You often meet female founders who have really thought through the different scenarios. They have passion, drive and commitment, and they can articulate it clearly.”
Sometimes, she says, the founder is the most compelling part of the entire opportunity.
A culture that made staying possible
The fact that Women to Women was women-led and women-centred mattered to Fiona, although it was not the only reason she applied.
She certainly wanted to contribute to addressing the lack of equity faced by women in business, but she was equally influenced by the culture of the programme.
“If the community had not felt right, I probably would have backed out quite quickly,” she admits.
She might have decided the process was too difficult or taken a lack of welcome as evidence that she did not belong.
Instead, the programme created a space where any questions could be asked and different forms of experience were valued.
“There is something about how this community is framed that creates a positive experience,” Fiona says.
Face-to-face events and online coffee catch-ups have helped those relationships continue.
“Getting to know people makes a real difference. It is the oil that helps the wheel turn.”
Wishing she had discovered it sooner
Before Elizabeth and the Investing Women Angels community encouraged her to apply for the Women to Women programme, Fiona had been almost completely unaware that angel investing could be an option for her.
Now, she wishes she had discovered it earlier.
“I wish I had understood Investing Women Angels when I was in my forties,” she says. “I would like to think I would have contributed then, but I would also have learned so much.”
She believes more women need to understand how flexible involvement can be.
Life does not move in a straight line. There may be periods when someone has more capacity to contribute money, time, expertise or introductions.
“You might have children going to university or ageing parents who need support. There are different stages of life when you can give more or less.”
Being part of the angel community does not need to look identical for everyone.
“It can be flexible around what you are able to contribute.”
Dipping a toe in the pond
For another woman who is curious about angel investing but unsure whether it is for her, Fiona’s advice is to start small.
“Dipping your toe in the pond is a great way to learn more and make an informed decision about whether this is something you want to become involved in.”
That might mean attending an investor-curious Lunch and Learn session, joining an in-person event or speaking with someone from the team. Or applying for the next Women to Women Programme.
There is no requirement or expectation to arrive already knowing the language, the structures or the right questions. The point is to learn.
Fiona knows that caution can keep capable women outside rooms where their judgement and experience would add real value.
“I am probably more cautious than some people,” she says. “But I am very glad I overcame that caution. The experience has been overwhelmingly positive.”
A two-way decision for founders and investors
Fiona also has advice for founders preparing to raise.
Understand what investors are looking for, but do not forget that the relationship needs to work for you too.
She compares it to a job interview.
“You are assessing whether the chemistry feels right and whether this is an organisation you want to work with. Investment should be a two-way process.”
A founder is not simply trying to secure approval. They are deciding who they want around the table as the business grows.
“You need to make sure it is right for you too.”
From curiosity to contribution
Fiona remains thoughtful, cautious and interested in understanding different sides of a problem.
What changed because of Women to Women was her ability to see those qualities as strengths.
The programme helped her understand that angel investors do not all need finance careers or years of startup experience.
They need curiosity, judgement, a willingness to learn and something valuable to contribute.
For Fiona, Women to Women provided knowledge.
It provided perspective.
Most importantly, it provided enough confidence to take action.
She moved from watching pitch sessions and wondering whether she belonged to feeling ready to contribute as an angel investor.
That decision was not based on a magic formula.
It came from doing her homework, understanding her values and accepting that informed risk is still risk.
The sky did not fall in. Instead, a new chapter began.
Interested in the Women to Women Programme?
The Women to Women Programme brings together female founders preparing for investment and investor-curious women who want to understand early-stage investing.
For founders, it offers practical support to strengthen the business, understand what investors are looking for and tell a clearer investment story.
For investor-curious women, it provides an accessible route into angel investing, with practical learning, founder insight and a supportive community where questions are welcomed.
You do not need a finance background.
You do not need to arrive ready to invest.
You need curiosity, an open mind and a willingness to bring your own experience into the room.
Because more women investing means more women getting funded.