Join us as our own Andreas Munk Holm and Anthony Danon from Cocoa talk to Elsa Hermal, angel investor and co-founder of Epicery, about impact investing, diverse teams, and economic resilience.
An exited impact entrepreneur turned founders mentor, Elsa empowers CEOs and C-levels to navigate both strategic and human challenges, leveraging her entrepreneurial expertise to guide them and their teams toward sustainable growth.
With a dedicated 100% impact investment portfolio, Elsa is also a proud backer of Satgana, the climate tech fund we recently announced our investment into, whose final close is just around the corner with a 4.2x TVPI.
We invite you to listen to this discussion below for some wonderful stories; besides the actionable advice, you can have a sneak peek at the below.
Scroll on ⏬ For the chapters & core learnings 🧠
Chapters:
00:00:00 Welcome to the Super Angel Podcast
00:01:08 Elsa's Journey into Angel Investing
00:03:38 Investment Philosophy: Impact Over Profit
00:04:28 Exploring Unconventional Investment Areas
00:05:14 Balancing Purpose and Profit in Investments
00:12:26 The Future of Mental Health
00:14:30 Deep Dive into Psychedelics
00:30:13 Elsa's Investment Strategy and Core Learnings
Q: What’s the most counterintuitive thing you’ve learned in venture?
An investment is not only an opportunity, but also a responsibility. It’s not just about finding the deals that make you rich.
By backing an investment, you’re actually supporting them to grow and make everyone on the table rich. So, that will have a big impact on our society. When I see investors that have backed businesses like Shein, I think they obviously haven’t understood that.
Q: Tips for angels wanting to do international investments.
Go international. Get out of your comfort zone.
You have to work hard to build a growing network. You have your network in your own country that is very comfortable. You need more allies. Find new partners, or new funds, and grow your network among new geographies and specific sectors.
Q: What advice would you give your 10-year-old self?
Start working on yourself. Go to therapy. Do more meditation, work on your health, on your physical and mental health, because it’s the most important work you’ll ever do.
Honor yourself.
Don’t try to play by the rules of others. Make your own game. Then very important, I think it’s improtant to remember the following thing.
Play and and do everything with joy. Surround yourself with happy people because joy is a real fuel.
👋 Upcoming in-person events we’re hosting
There’s nothing we like better than getting Europe’s best and brightest together around good food, drinks and conversations that go truly deep.
Fund Modelling Workshop & Mixer | 5th of June | 🌍 Berlin, Germany | Join waitlist.
European VC Awards | 4th of June | 🌍 Berlin, Germany | Get tickets.
📺 Virtual events we’re hosting
From time to time, a podcast is just not enough. Check out our roundtables and live events below.
Investing & scaling in Romania and beyond | 18/3, 12-1 PM | Register here.
Speakers: Bogdan Iordache, Founding Partner at Underline | Karolina Mrozkova, General Partner at Credo Ventures | Dan Mihăescu, Founding Partner GapMinder | Jakob Stein Investor at Creandum | Enis Hulli, Founding Partner at 500 Emerging Europe | Marius Istrate, ex-UI Path CPO & Chairman at TechAngels
GP/LP Roundtable: State of European VC Fundraising | 10/04, 2-3:30 PM | Register here.
Speakers: Ekaterina Almasque, Founding GP at OpenOcean, Joe Schorge, Founding GP at Isomer Capital, and Daniel Keiper-Knorr, Founding GP at Speedinvest.
Fireside chat with the Newcomer of the Year Winner | 13/6, 12-1:30 PM | Register here.
Hundreds of new VC funds come to market every year. But only ONE will win Newcomer of The Year. This is your chance to meet the winner firsthand.
🗓️ The VC Conferences You Can’t Miss
There are some events that just have to be on the calendar. Here’s our list, hit us up if you’re going, we’d love to meet!
Odense Investor Summit | 📆 13 - 15 March | 🌍 Odense, Denmark
EBAN Congress Tallinn 2024 | 📆 20-22 May | 🌍 Tallinn, Estonia
0100 Conference Europe | 📆 16 - 18 April | 🌍 Amsterdam, Netherlands
TechChill Riga 2024 | 📆 18 - 19 April | Riga, Latvia
SuperVenture | 📆 4 - 6 June | 🌍 Berlin, Germany
Nordic LP Forum & TechBBQ | 📆 September | 🌍 Copenhagen, Denmark
North Star & GITEX Global | 📆 14 - 18 Oct | 🌍 Dubai, UAE
GITEX Europe 2025 | 📆 23 - 25 May 2025 | 🌍 Berlin, Germany
Angel investing insights with Elsa Hermal, passionate angel investor and co-founder of epicery