About the AuthorPatricia Talbot( CEO and Co-Founder )

Patti cultivates homegrown changemakers prepared to step into their power and work with others to create the world they want to live in.  Get in touch to find out how you can grow the social changemaker in yourself and those you serve with Blue Roads Changemaker YOU. 

Today we welcome Marcia Dawood, Angel Investor and Chair of the Angel Capital Association.  I first met Marcia in a program we're both involved in with Heroic Public Speaking where we are learning with others to deliver speeches to “inspire and delight” our audiences.  I can tell you that I was both inspired and delighted when I heard Marcia share a part of her talk for the first time.  I've believed for a long time that the way we use our resources, including our money, says a lot about our priorities. That said, I haven't always been sure about how to make the best use of either money or time to create any real or lasting change.  Marcia has some important ideas about that.  

Our conversation first aired on my show “On Your Own Terms” on the Win Win Women network, but you can catch up at the link below, listen to the podcast, and read the summary here to learn about angel investing; what it is, how to get involved, and other ways you can make a big difference for start-up companies who are working on solutions to the issues you care about most.  

Homegrown Marcia

Marcia grew up outside of Reading, Pennsylvania in the eastern part of the state.   She went to the University of Pittsburgh as an undergraduate and wound up staying in that area for over 25 years.  After she married, she moved quite a bit to major cities including New York, Dallas, San Francisco, and now Charlotte.  Like most cities, each of these is filled with entrepreneurs eager to prove themselves and gain a foothold.

Having returned to school for her MBA after a long career in the corporate world, most of it with Kaplan in sales and operations, Marcia was ready for new challenges.  She found herself inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit she found in each of the cities she called home.   Marcia was particularly interested in female founders and female empowerment in business.  It was in this context that her interest in the concept of “angel investing” took root. 

What's an angel investor?   

It's basically putting money into private companies to help them grow. 

People tend to think investors need to have a lot of disposable income.  While that can be true, Marcia says that's changing.

Not that long ago, the SEC changed the rules so that anyone can invest in a private company now for as little as $50 through what's called crowdfunding.

One place readers can follow private companies looking for support is a website called “Republic“.  There you can watch what's happening and provide support with small crowdfunded investments in projects that interest you. 

Marcia's main message centers around aligning with your own values. 

It's shopping where you know that the people who are the owners are going to benefit.  It's shopping women-owned businesses only, or BIPOC-owned (Black/Indigenous/People of Color) businesses only… It's being conscious of where you're shopping… being conscious of where you're banking…

Whatever you do, Marcia recommends reflecting carefully on what matters to you. 

“Maybe it's something that's very close to you in your own neighborhood or in your own region, or maybe it's something big, like climate change or gender equality or racial equality.”

Solution-Focused Marcia

Marcia isn't sure that “solve” is the right word for it, but when it comes to investing in change…

I really think it comes down to what each individual person cares about and what they really want to put their time and their money into. 

One issue that means a lot to Marcia is research related to the significant and debilitating disease ALS.  Her mother died from this tragic disease.  When she discovered a company working on research to find more effective treatments and potential cures for related neuro-muscular diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, it seemed like a very meaningful place for her to invest.  

But she reminds us that investing in change doesn't always have to mean financial investment.   

If it aligns with what you care about… then you can help them…It doesn't always have to be about money. It can also be about mentorship or time. There're so many things that different people bring to the table as far as their expertise and their backgrounds.

One specific example Marcia offers is volunteering special skills like bookkeeping.  Because many businesses have difficulty setting up their books properly from the beginning with the idea of having them grow, a volunteer bookkeeper could be a priceless gift and investment for a start-up company. 

Marcia's PatchworkDiversity is an ever-present priority in Marcia's work.  The importance of diversity shows up in two important ways for angel investors  – diversity of representation and diversity of ideas.  

I had no idea until I started to do this, how little funding goes to women. Less than 5% of venture capital money goes to women!

Funding for businesses founded by People of Color has also been historically very limited.  This lack of diversification is not only wrong, it is a huge missed opportunity. 

It's been proven time and time again in all kinds of studies.  Revenues are higher. Expenses are lower when you have diversity…We also need diversity of thought – how people were educated, where they were raised, where they live…

Angel investing may be for you “if you like the idea of creating jobs, because that's what these companies are doing.  They are creating jobs, lots and lots of jobs!”





























Changemaker Marcia

The ripple effects of Marcia's work as an angel investor are profound.  Yours could be, too.  

If you think about all of the charitable contributions made in the U.S. in 2020 at $471 Billion…Now, that seems like a lot of money, but that's only about 1% of the value of the U.S. stock market.

While Marcia believes that charitable giving certainly has a place…

When you're talking about comparisons, for-profit companies are where people are going to see bigger changes.    

Ready for some FUN?  Marcia partnered with another HPS colleague, Lou Bortone, to help us understand the differences between Angel Investors and “Venture Capitalists”.  You won't want to miss this! 

It's easy to see how directly Marcia's work encourages us to support Global Goal #5 “Gender Equity”, #8 “Decent Work and Economic Growth” as well as #9 “Industry Innovation and Infrastructure.” By investing in companies that contribute to “solutions” to the other 15 goals, we are also putting our money and our time and energy where our mouths are.   

Get in touch and let us know what you are doing, how you are being, with whom you are connecting, and how you are reflecting your priorities out into the world as a CHANGEMAKER so you can change the world on your own terms.  Don't know what I'm talking about?  Check out the Changemaker Framework in the eBook Changemaker YOU. 

Ready to go deeper?  CHECK OUT our CHANGEMAKER YOU course to help you get started today! 

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