Just 18% of businesses in the UK are led by women, and although data suggests that women entrepreneurs are on the rise, men still receive more funding and are entrusted with higher average loans to get started.
In an eight-part series for Sky News’ Money blog, our reporter Jess Sharp speaks to women who are at the helm in their respective fields – hearing their stories, struggles and advice for those who want to follow in their footsteps.
This week, she spoke to Kelly McCabe, co-founder of the UK’s first virtual cancer clinic, Perci Health…
When Kelly and her co-founder Morgan Fitzsimons created their business, they made an unusual decision: They sat down and planned when they would both have children.
It’s a subject that many men will never feel the need to discuss with their business partners, but as two women, it was something they needed to think about realistically.
“We had a long conversation and decided that we would have children at different times so that one person would stay in the business to allow the other to take as much time off as they needed,” Kelly said.
“Of course, you can’t plan this perfectly, but we were lucky that it happened this way.”
Morgan was the first to have her son and returned to work after a few months off, and Kelly gave birth six months later.
A month after having her almost two-year-old son, Kelly returned to work and Perci Health has continued to grow since then.
‘Whether NHS or private care – I saw the same problem’
Although Perci Health is a virtual care clinic, Kelly’s professional background had nothing to do with app development – she started out in the NHS.
One of the roles she played was helping people with cancer eat and drink during treatment.
Working primarily with people with head and neck cancer, she supported them with tube feedings and their rehabilitation back to solid food.
After working in a similar field in private healthcare, she realized that all cancer patients had the same problem.
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Kelly and Morgan of Perci Health
“There was a universal experience at the end of treatment where you would have your final assessment with your oncology nurse or oncologist, and they would say ‘see you again in six months or 12 months,’” Kelly said.
“Patients were coming back to our follow-up clinics with all kinds of problems that they had been living with for six or 12 months and no one was really taking care of them.
“They were just grinning and bearing it, thinking it was normal after having cancer.”
She decided to come up with an idea that would connect people living with cancer to professionals who could provide long-term support and optimize their well-being.
Male investors in a male-biased industry
With a plan in mind, she reached out to her friend Morgan, who had experience in digital marketing, and the pair began working weekends and evenings to build their company.
When COVID hit, they made the decision to “just go for it,” quit their jobs, and put all their focus on the business.
The first round of funding came from family and friends, raising £500,000, which gave them enough to pay a reduced salary and hire a small team.
But more funding was needed and they started looking for investors.
With Kelly’s clinical experience, the problem she was trying to solve in the healthcare sector seemed “obvious,” but the first hurdle she faced was convincing others that it was “important enough to solve.”
“The challenges seemed very obvious to us, but they may not necessarily be obvious to investors, and I think that’s particularly true if we’re solving an issue that affects women,” she said.
“I’m very sad to say that these are old-fashioned things you think, like a lot of them are sold on the golf course, during lunch or to shoot, and we’re not invited to play golf or shoot. .
“There aren’t many women-owned tech companies, so that was a barrier.”
Read more from this series:
How a cafe accident and £400 turned into a genius business idea that’s about to go global
‘How I went from an unqualified mother to the owner of a large law firm’
Meet the woman behind the UK’s first zero liquid whiskey distillery
Pregnant, Flipping and Identifying Red Flags
When meeting potential investors, Kelly was pregnant and was “nervous” to explain her situation for fear it would deter them from investing.
“When I had my first conversation with our now lead investor, I was 38 weeks pregnant, so we all talked on Zoom,” she said.
“She called and said ‘we’d like to invite you to meet the team and do a formal introduction. Can you do it next week?’ and obviously I had to tell her I was pregnant.
“She could tell I was nervous about telling her…but she said she was sorry I had to explain myself, and we could just delay the performance.
“We delayed this by about six weeks, but not all investors are so understanding, which is why I was so nervous to explain.”
Unfortunately, Kelly said she was “definitely asked” in the first few rounds of fundraising if she planned to have children.
“Feedback from men’s investment clubs was that women don’t know how they feel and may not return to work after having a child or their motivation for running a business may change,” she said.
“At first we were just looking for investment and would have hired any partner, but now these are the red flags we look for.
“There is some definite progress to be made.”
In total, Kelly raised £5 million and still owns 40% of Perci Health.
Kelly, Chantal Cox, who led a funding round for Perci Health, and Morgan
All challenges
Away from the challenge of fundraising, Kelly also had to deal with life as a new mother, which brought its own challenges as a business owner.
She explained how having children early in the company’s life meant she was still “relatively fragile” and that there was no opportunity to take maternity leave knowing her job would be secure when she returned.
“There was a bit of a juggling act with that and needing to get back to work very quickly after the baby was born, and the other challenge is looking after the children,” she said.
“You don’t want to take too much money out of your business and are rewarded with capital rather than salary – but of course capital doesn’t pay for childcare.”
Kelly also found that there was an “underestimation” of her abilities by male investors, and this was something she noticed in the choice of language used to describe her.
“I believe that women entrepreneurs are undervalued and this is evidenced by the fact that less investment goes to us, but there is research that shows that women-owned businesses are more profitable,” she said.
“The language they use is interesting. For example, I’m often described as a conservative CEO within the portfolio because I’m focused on financial preservation…but would my male counterpart be seen as such or would he be seen as having optimal control?” “
Kelly’s Advice
Kelly’s top tip is to find a business partner, possibly even two, who can help your business grow.
“Building a business alone would be significantly more difficult,” she said.
“Co-founders just help ease the burden when one of you needs some time off, so find a good business partner.”
She also recommended dedicating “a lot of time” to building a “strong network,” which she said would help “protect you as your business grows.”
“There are many women entrepreneurs or women’s business networks that are great. Morgan and I are members of many of them,” she added.
“It’s amazing how much free advice and support we received from other women who just wanted to help.”
She said it was important to have “very thick skin and be very persistent.”
“Even in the best deals, you get those 100 no’s before you get that one yes,” she added.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
