In our second series focused on founders, allocators and investors on the Frontier – we hear from a diverse group of professionals who share their vision for investing, impact and change.  From venture capitalists focused on the burgeoning world of Prop-Tech, to investing with a gender lens, developing a network to change the black narrative in the professional world, to harnassing the power of music royalties, to payment platforms  – we share insights from the coalface.

Our guests in Series 2 and the dates of podcast launch are:

Wednesday October 12: Ashwini Asokan is the founder and CEO of Mad Street Den, an Artificial Intelligence company, powering Retail, Education, Healthcare, Media, and more with its Image recognition platforms, Vue.ai and Blox.ai. Headquartered in the Bay Area, California, the company has offices around the globe. She previously worked at Intel, where she led the Mobile Portfolio, which explored the future of mobile technology and designed compelling mobile experiences that people will love. We hear why AI needs to move beyond “Brains, Bots and Bullshit”.  Ashwini also features in our 2022 Women in Tech miniseries.

Wednesday October 19: Ahryun Moon is Founder and Head of Company Strategy at GoodTime.io, a company designed to boost employee productivity by making scheduling meetings easier. This is not her first time founding a company – she also founded Etch Keyboard and previously worked as a financial accountant and financial analyst.  Ahryun also features in our 2022 Women in Tech miniseries

Wednesday October 26: Frans Van Eersel is the CEO and Founder of doPay, a payments company headquartered in London but with a primary market of Egypt, where he lived for 4 years. He has had a long career in industry, and is also CEO of Driver’s Seat Investment.  He is currently based in Abu Dhabi.

Wednesday November 2: Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes is the founder of Aruwa Capital Management, a growth equity impact fund investing in untapped opportunities across Nigeria and West Africa.  Founded when she was only 29, Aruwa Capital Management aims to change the narrative for women as capital allocators and entrepreneurs by investing in businesses that make an impact on addressing the gender gap. She previously was Partner and Managing Director at Syntaxis Africa and prior to that JP Morgan, and also holds a number of director roles as well as volunteer roles in groups such as Gaia Africa, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity and Rising Tide Africa.

Wednesday November 9: Constance Freedman is Founder and Managing Partner at Moderne Ventures as well as Moderne Passport – an early stage investment fund and industry immersion program which is focused on investing in technology companies in and around the multi-trillion dollar industries of real estate, finance, insurance, hospitality and home services.  She sits on numerous boards and has received several awards including Crain’s Business 40 under 40 and Chicago Top Tech 50 (on three occasions).

Wednesday November 16: Adam Demuyakor is the founder and managing partner at Wilshire Lane Capital, a venture capital and private equity firm that focuses on Prop-Tech solutions based in Los Angeles California.  Born in the US to a family originally from Ghana, Adam  started out on Wall Street in investment banking and held a number of private equity and venture capital roles before found in Wilshire Lane.  He also holds a number of Board roles and is a Board Trustee of the education nonprofit 9 Dots.

Wednesday November 23: Kike Oniwinde Agoro is the Founder and CEO of BYP Network, a platform that connects Black professionals to each other and corporations. She is a BSc Economics graduate of The University of Nottingham, University of Florida MSc scholar, and an ex-Great Britain javelin thrower. She previously worked in investment banking, and then in Business Development at a fast-growing financial technology company for two years because she realised ‘tech is the future’. Kike was a member of the Forbes 30 under 30, Maserati Top 100 Most Innovative Founders and a Financial Times Top 100 BAME Leaders in Technology. She is on the board of the London Chambers of Commerce Black Business Association, Getting on Boards and is a London Tech Ambassador.

Wednesday November 30: Sherrese Clarke Soares who is the Founder and CEO of HarbourView Equity Partners, her second time founding a fund, having previously founded Tempo Music Investments.  She has over 20 years experience in leadership roles across corporate finance with a particular focus on the communications, media and entertainment sector.  She has been recognized in the Billboard Top Women in Music 2020, Change Agent List 2021 and Dealmaker List 2020.  She sits on the board of a public company, Evoqua Water Technologies, is a Member of the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Hall and the Treasurer and National Board Member of Planned Parenthood of America