Communication Equity for Startup Success
Welcome to the Eighty-third edition of Unstoppable Founders!
👑 #Unstoppable Female Founder
From refrigerator invoices to a £125m successful business, my Unstoppable Female Founder this week is Louise Hill, Co-founder and CEO of gohenry.
You know that moment when you're going through your credit card bill and something makes you do a double-take? That's what happened to Louise Hill one Saturday morning in 2010 that set her on her founders journey. Her kids had been going wild on iTunes, and she was staring at charges she definitely didn't authorize. Her solution was brilliant and petty (I’m wondering if she’s a fellow Gemini?) : she started sticking invoices on the fridge for her kids. When her son came for his £4 weekly allowance, she'd hand him 80p and pointed to the iTunes receipts.
At school pickup, Louise began chatting with other school parents and discovered nearly every one was dealing with the same thing. One mother had a full-size car delivered to her house because her 9-year-old thought he was buying a toy car on eBay. Another discovered her daughter had blown £400 on My Little Pony scrunchies. Louise then realized kids were living in a digital world, but nobody was teaching them how money actually worked. With 25 years of e-commerce experience, she decided to build the solution herself. She knew digital, she knew retail, and she definitely knew this problem needed solving.
But when she started looking into creating debit cards for kids, everyone told her it was impossible. Banks, advisors, partners - they all said kids couldn't have cards. In 2012, she launched gohenry, the first fintech to offer cards for kids. Today, 1 in 5 British children aged 10-12 has a gohenry card. The platform has helped kids earn over £108 million and contribute £95.7 million to the digital economy. During the first lockdown, kids using gohenry increased their charitable giving by 59%. Now, Louise has become an advocate for financial education policy, pushing the UK government to actually enforce financial literacy in schools. She's giving evidence to parliamentary committees and using her business success as a platform to fix the system.
Some of Louise’s Notable Achievements
Created an entirely new category - gohenry launched in 2012 as the first prepaid card and financial education app for kids, pioneering a market that didn't exist
Set crowdfunding world records - She raised £4 million in 2016 (breaking Crowdcube records) and £6.2 million in 2018, with over £1 million coming from existing customers who became investors
Proved regulatory assumptions wrong - When everyone said kids couldn't have debit cards, Louise asked to see the actual regulations. There weren't any - just assumptions she successfully challenged
Built through the pandemic - While most businesses struggled, gohenry's revenue doubled in 2021 as the world went cashless, validating Louise's vision from a decade earlier
Achieved measurable impact on kids' behavior - University of St. Andrews research showed kids using GoHenry's gamified "Money Missions" saved 30% more after just one month
Scaled internationally before exit - Grew from just a UK startup to serving three continents, raising over £125 million total before merging with US company Acorns in 2022
Today, GoHenry serves nearly 6 million families across the UK, US, and Europe, with 1 in 5 British kids aged 10-12 carrying a gohenry card. Louise has evolved from frustrated parent to policy advocate, using her platform to push for mandatory financial education in schools and proving that the most powerful business ideas often come from the most ordinary parental moments.
📣 #TheRant
Communication Equity for Startup Success
Have you ever caught yourself saying "Sorry, but..." before expressing your thoughts or opinion? What about finishing your comments with, "Does this make sense?" I was guilty of both before I became aware of why I was doing it and the fact it was diminishing my respect and communication with others.
As female founders, not only are we diminishing our own voices, but the real issue is that these communication constraints are innovation killers. This leads to narrow communication norms that silence diverse voices across your organization and the entire startup ecosystem. The introverted CTO with breakthrough insights who never shares their ideas. The culturally diverse team members whose consensus-building approach could prevent costly pivots. The younger employees with fresh market perspectives, too afraid to speak up.
This is why open and effective communication is vital for early stage startups. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you need that direct, no-nonsense approach. But other times, that thoughtful, qualifying approach builds crucial stakeholder buy-in.
For Founders:
Recognize your natural communication strengths—they're assets, not obstacles
Develop flexibility without losing authenticity
Stop apologizing for thoughtful, strategic communication
For Building Teams:
Value different communication approaches in hiring and team meetings
Create formats that let introverts contribute (async brainstorms, small group discussions)
Recognize consensus-builders and collaborators as strategic assets
As founders and as leaders, it is crucial we set the example, especially for the next generation of young women. We’ve got to embrace our voices, include those with diverse perspectives and different communication styles and most of all, never shy away from or diminish ourselves with ‘Does that make sense?’
💰#HypeCorner
This is where we cover funding rounds raised by female founders and their teams across Europe. With less than 2% of VC funding going to female led startups, the HypeCorner is simply our way of congratulating and celebrating these founders!
🇫🇷 Alix Zeitlin Co-founder & CEO of Zenior
🇬🇧 Danae Shell Co-founder & CEO of Valla
🇩🇪 Flore de Durfort & Erika Degoute Co-founders of Atmen
🇬🇧 Emilė Radyte Co-founder & CEO of Samphire Neuroscience
🇬🇧 Caroline Grey Co-founder & CRO of Treefera
🇩🇪 Miriam Wohlfarth Co-founder & Co-CEO of Banxware
🇬🇧 Naomi Hulme Co-founder & CCO/MD of Skyral
Huge congratulations to these founders and their teams. Wishing you all continued success!
🎤 Events for founders
🇫🇷 {Paris} VivaTech - June 11-14th- is the world's rendezvous for startups and leaders to celebrate innovation. It's a gathering of the world's brightest minds, talents, and products.
🇳🇱 {Amsterdam} European Women in Technology is a must for your calendar, happening June 25th & 26th. 5,000+ women in tech, diversity advocates, allies and change makers for Leading the Digital Revolution!
🇬🇧 {London} Sifted Summit is back 8th & 9th of October, bringing together 3,000 founders, startup and scaleup operators and investors to celebrate the resilience of the ecosystem and how its leading players are preparing for the long-haul.
🇫🇷 {Paris} unlockVC (formerly WVCE) is hosting its annual Summit from the 13th - 15th of October. This year unlock vc are bringing 30 exceptional female founders to meet 400+ active female investors - Applications are now open until 1st August!
👑 UNSTOPPABLE FOUNDING MEMBERSHIPS Now available! Inside the Community Hub you’ll gain access to the resources, networks and capital you need to build and scale your business. From helping you secure capital to building traction, everything you need as a female founder, all in one place!
☀️ Have a wonderful weekend! ☀️
Jen
PS- Are you a female founder just getting started and not quite how to structure your go to market, build your brand frameworks or what to expect from the fundraising process? Get in touch!