At the top of my bucket list is to invest in other people's dreams, particularly female entrepreneurs, by providing encouragement and expertise, as well as financial backing. After attending a full day workshop sponsored by the Pipeline Fund Fellowship (PFF), I've expanded that vision.
The Pipeline Fund Fellowship empowers women to become savvy angel investors through a combination of education, mentoring and the actual investing of $50,000 (each fellow invests $5,000 of her money), while focusing on what's called the triple bottom line of people, planet and profits. PFF was created by 27-year-old visionary Natalia Oberti Noguera, who is determined to not only fund social investors, but to teach women to invest.
There has been a great deal of talk about the increasing power of a woman’s purse, and yet it's estimated 13% of the angel investments made in 2010 were by women (according to the Kauffman Foundation it was 8% in 2006). Many women I know are quite adept at bootstrapping, and donating time and money to causes they care about. Oberti Noguera is determined to take this a step further, to expand the pool of women who are not only adroit at managing scarce resources, but who know how to build wealth through investing, and want to extend their influence in a meaningful way.
Source: NY Times/Erica Torres
Paraphrasing John Maynard Keynes, “we must have the courage to take limited means, and invest in and encourage others.” It's one thing to have someone invest in you (whether your education or a start-up), to take stock in your dreams.
What if you, in turn, invest in others?
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Thoughts?
In the context of the Psyche myth, why is learning to invest important?
Just to get you thinking and writing, when you leave a comment, you'll be eligible to receive the new book Warren Buffett Invests Like a Girl.
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More on the Pipeline Fund:
Business Week: A Bootcamp for Angel Investors
Teaching Women to Think Like Angels
NY Times: Angel Investors Learning to Assess Business Plans
More on women investors:
Forbes: Warren Buffett Invests Like a Girl?
Globe and Mail: Where are all the female investors?
Bloomberg: Female Outperformers