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Sophie Winwood

Early Stage VC Investor

Sophie Winwood is a prominent figure in the fintech and venture capital industry. She previously served as an Investment Principal at Anthemis Group, where she focused on discovering, evaluating, and executing early-stage investments in FinTech and InsurTech companies, as well as supporting their portfolio companies.15

Career Highlights

Anthemis Group:: Sophie spent 5 years at Anthemis, where she played a key role in the investment team.2 Her investment range was typically between $100K to $5.0M, with a sweet spot around $1.5M.4

Foxe Capital:: As of 2024, Sophie has transitioned to a new role as an Operating Partner at Foxe Capital, an early-stage FinTech fund.2

WVC (Women in Venture Capital: Europe):: Sophie co-founded and is currently the CEO of WVC, an organization that promotes the inclusion, empowerment, and integration of women in venture capital across Europe.13 In 2022, WVC launched its inaugural Women in Venture Capital Europe Summit, which attracted over 350 attendees and 55+ speakers.1

Recognition and Expertise

Sophie has been recognized for her contributions to the industry:

  • Featured on the Innovate Finance Women in FinTech Powerlist in 2020, 2021, and 20232
  • Named one of the 34 rising stars in Venture Capital in 2023 by Business Insider2
  • Regular guest on the 11 FinTech Insider podcast2

Background and Education

Sophie's journey into venture capital began after working in M&A, where she realized her passion for wealth creation and fast-paced, innovative organizations.1 She holds a degree from Oxford University.3

Sophie Winwood's career demonstrates a strong commitment to promoting diversity in the venture capital ecosystem and supporting innovative fintech startups that have the potential to transform the financial services industry.

Highlights

Aug 2 · linkedin

It's August - wishing everyone a great summer! ☀️ But before you go off on your holidays, help me in celebrating these WVC:E wins! 👏🏻

Erin Platts is leaving her role as CEO at HSBC Innovation Banking and will be the new CEO of Octopus Ventures from January. Kara Conway has joined Bootstrap Europe as a Vice President on the investment team. Isabelle O'Keeffe gets an exit under her belt with Landvault — acquired for $450m — that has returned the fund. Esha Vatsa joins Mercuri as partner. Stuti Pandey has been promoted to Partner at Kraken Ventures. Katharine Spooner has been promoted to Principal at Speedinvest. Sabrina Stöckl has been promoted to Principal at b2venture.

Anyone I’ve missed? Let me know in the comments !

Jul 19 · linkedin

📣 Female LPs - I know you are out there ✨

🚀 When I was first entering venture, I was told repeatedly there were no female founders. I now know that is absolutely not true. A lot of the investments i've made are being led by a female founder and new research showed that a quarter (24%) of founders deciding to build startups in 2023 were women.

💃 Repeatedly during my venture career I was told there weren't that many women in VC. I now run a community of over 1,000 and Sifted keep a list of over 350+ female partners. So, again, not true.

💰Right now, I am being told there aren't any female LPs. I JUST DON'T BELIEVE IT.

Below are some awesome female LPs to get started, please tag others in the comments and i'll update the list!

Elodie Donjon and Nadya Petrova, CFA - European Investment Fund (EIF) Theresa Bardubitzki and Sabrina Senzel - KfW Chloe Dagnell and Omolade (Rachel) Adebisi - Isomer Capital Deepali Nangia - Speedinvest Dr. Golnaz Borghei - PwC Rebekah Brady - Ireland Strategic Investment Fund Lindsay Sharma - Industry Ventures Hayley Hand - Better Society Capital Christine Hockley - British Patient Capital Liz Bailey - British Business Bank

Related Questions

What inspired Sophie Winwood to transition from M&A to venture capital?
How has Sophie Winwood's role at Anthemis evolved over the years?
What are some notable companies Sophie Winwood has invested in at Anthemis?
How does Sophie Winwood identify and support diverse companies in her investments?
What are the key goals Sophie Winwood has for the future of FinTech and InsurTech?
Sophie Winwood
Sophie Winwood, photo 1
Sophie Winwood, photo 2
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Location

United Kingdom