Our wonderful Chair, Pam Garside has been a member of Cambridge Angels for 6 years and took on the chair role in 2021. In this brief interview, we asked Pam 5 questions to learn a bit more about her and her angel investing journey.
Q. Can you give a bit of a background about yourself?
A. I originally did a Zoology degree at Durham and then joined the NHS graduate training Scheme, and after working at St Thomas’s went to graduate school in the US. I became a management consultant in the health sector and this is where my whole career has focused; helping private sector companies understand the UK and US health systems and also to ‘sell’ into them. I fell into angel investing after a couple of companies started paying me in equity about 15 years ago when digital health was really taking off. I have taught at the Judge Business School for 25 years and am on the Cambridge Enterprise Seed Funds Investment Committee. I also co-chair the Cambridge Health Network (Senior people in Health in the UK), and sit on a variety of boards.
Q. What made you apply to join CA and what do you think makes it different?
A. This is an interesting one! I didn’t apply but was actively sought out by Simon Thorpe (former Cambridge Angels chair) back in 2016 who realised the membership was too male/pale/stale and needed to be reinvigorated to stay relevant. I took a bit of persuading as I am not an exited entrepreneur which most Angels are, but am now so pleased that I did. One of my goals as chair is to continue to reinvigorate and diversify our membership.
As far as the Cambridge Angels’ difference goes, I am very clear on this. Three quarters of members are exited entrepreneurs and so the depth of experience start up founders can call on is second to none. Also, because the group is small (60 max) and we hold multiple types of events, we tend to get to know and trust each other, share deal flow and be quite collegiate in respect of due diligence, which is great as otherwise angel investing can be quite a lonely business.
Q. Can you give a couple of examples of deals you’ve invested in that you’re particularly excited about at the moment
A. Of course. Unlikely AI is one of them, founded by another Cambridge Angel member William Tunstall-Pedoe (who built and launched Amazon’s Alexa) and has since raised a $18M series A. Unlikely AI is still in stealth and I don’t claim to understand the details, but it provides a very credible alternative to current LLMs. Here Cambridge Angels membership gave me access to a deal I would have otherwise not have had a chance to either look at or understand.
Another one is Kalium Health which is closer to my medtech experience as it is creating a simple test of kidney function via measurement of blood electrolyte levels, so patients don’t have to visit hospital as they do currently. It has great social worth and potentially very valuable to the health system.
Q. What have you learnt about being an Angel investor since you’ve started?
A. So much. Alongside the ‘regular’ things such as Term Sheets and deal structuring, talking to fellow Angels has reinforced that I should go with my gut about the founder’s ability being one of the most important predictors of success. I have also learnt from painful experience that choosing the right co-investors can be critical and to ensure that all investors are all on the same page on the plans for the company…
Q. What is the one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring heathtech founder?
A. Make sure you are solving a big problem, that your solution is scalable and that you really do understand the health market you are selling into!
