UrbanGeekz 50: Europe

Andy Ayim – The Angel Investing School

Andy Ayim MBE is a UK-based powerhouse on a mission to level the playing field in angel investing. Ayim has lived across three continents, is a celebrated entrepreneur, and was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) for his contribution to diversity & inclusion in the tech sector.

Ayim currently runs The Angel Investing School, where he trains professionals from all backgrounds on investing in the next generation of diverse founders. Prior to this he was managing director of Backstage Capital.

His angel investing courses have been taken by over 300 people across over 50 different countries. With his angel investing over $2m over the last two years. He has personally invested in over 17 startups, with 70% led by women and/or diverse founders.

Andy has contributed to Sifted by The FT, People of Color in Tech, and Blavity among other publications.

Over a decade ago he cofounded Mixtape Madness and then grew his career in Product Management with startups such as WorldFirst, acquired for $700m by Ant Financial to Series C startup Zilch.

He is passionate and experienced in supporting Black founders and creating spaces to encourage different ways of thinking about building a startup.

Deborah Choi – Founderland

Born in Nigeria and raised in the United States, Deborah Choi is a successful serial entrepreneur. Choi holds the impressive feat of being a six-time startup founder. Some of these startups include AvantGaudy, Mater mea, Bright Leap, Horticure, and Kibo.

She is presently the Managing Director at Founderland, Europe’s fastest-growing community for women of color entrepreneurs. Founderland supports women of color founders based in Europe and the UK, who’ve faced obstacles tied to their ethnicity and race in their business journeys.

Choi is a recipient of the Google for Startup’s Black Founders Fund (2021) and was listed as a Top 100 Woman for Diversity in Germany (2023).

In addition to raising VC funding, she was a Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek ‘Top 25 under 25’ with her first startup and Business Insider’s top 25 Zukunftsmacherinnen (Futuremaker) list for 2022.

Oliver Kent-Braham – Marshmallow

Oliver Kent-Braham started Marshmallow to breathe new life into insurance and disrupt the way things are done. While working with a major insurer in the UK, he became aware of the inherent inefficiencies in traditional insurers and the lack of customer-centric options for UK consumers.

Together with his identical twin brother, Alexander Kent-Braham, the British-Jamaican founders launched Marshmallow in 2017. Recently, in September 2021 the tech-driven car insurance company reached unicorn status – meaning it is valued at $1bn (£727m) – making it the UK’s second black-founded unicorn.

Marshmallow helps 100,000s of UK newcomers get a fairer deal on their car insurance every year. The service specialises in offering cover for those who struggle to get the right cover from more traditional providers, including young male drivers and those on temporary visas.

The startup recently raised a staggering £62 million from a Series B funding round with participation from tech investors like the Passion Capital. The startup is now valued at $1.25 billion.

Izzy Obeng – Foundervine

Izzy Obeng is at the forefront of helping underrepresented groups get more visibility in the predominantly white and male tech industry. The 27-year-old founder uses her voice to promote not only her startup, Foundervine, but to equip entrepreneurs with the tools they need to scale.

During her management consultancy career at KPMG, Obeng noticed that most women of color were interested in entrepreneurship, but didn’t have access to opportunities to test these ideas. This problem gave birth to Foundervine, a startup accelerator that provides mentorship, training, and financial support to early-stage companies.

Currently, more than 330 entrepreneurs have started new businesses with the help of Foundervine since its founding in 2018. The program has helped over 5,000 leaders build new skills. Foundervine has partnered with world-leading institutions such as Barclays Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Sainsbury’s, Amazon, PwC, and WeWork.

Main Image: Andy Ayim