BACKED INTERVIEWS
In the backyard with…Saloni Bhojwani
Angel investor | Investor @ Founders Factory | BACKED Community
🧰 | My first ever job…
News team at CNBC (it was an internship to be fair). Most of my time was spent reading news alerts and making sure they were incorporated into the news anchors’ scripts, finding random video snippets in this massive physical video library that was absolutely freezing (actually freezing though) — They had to keep the temperature at like 10°C because of the equipment) and putting powder on guests who were going on the show. Riveting stuff.
🧠 | The last thing I geeked out about…
My entire life is geeking out. I suppose the last thing I Googled myself down a rabbit hole about was enabler technologies for consumer companies (supply chain, e-comm enablers etc.) Oh and the female data gap of course(!)
🔎 | I want to learn more about…
This is a tough one.
I’ve been looking at plastic alternatives and other solutions trying to reduce the massive plastic waste problem. Also food waste and its alternative applications. There’s some super interesting companies in the space but I’d love to read more about it so that I can form a thesis on where the market will go. If that’s your thing — get in touch!
💬 | One thing you can ask me about…
From a work perspective — getting access to amazing female founders!
And for female founders — getting access to high quality angel investors.
From a non-work perspective — books about North Korean defectors. And my various adventures in breaking rules / laws without getting caught. Oh and also, where to get the best cake in London 🍰. I’m somewhat of a connoisseur.
⚒️ | A problem that needs a better solution…
The global orphan crisis. There’s an ‘oversupply’ (if you will) of abandoned or orphaned children in the world, and a better mechanism for adoption is needed. My friend Matt wrote more about it here.
⚡ | A sector / technology / trend I’m excited about right now…
Localised and distributed manufacturing models or enablers.
There’s two prongs to this one. First, the pandemic, needless to say, put so much pressure on global supply chains, and companies that already set up localised manufacturing models are emerging as winners as a result. This strategy is also obviously better for the environment.
Second, technology-enabled supply chains that allow companies to digitally distribute manufacturing such that they don’t hold any stock. This is adjacent of course to personalisation / customisation in consumer goods, but is also a more lean / robust way to run a business. I’ve been looking at a lot of different solutions / software that enables this process and I’m very excited about the white space it presents!
🎉 | I’m hosting a dinner party. My three special guests are…
1) Trevor Noah (for the laughs obv)
2) Elon Musk’s brother (he probably knows all the real stuff)
3) John Maynard Keynes (the economist — for the debate that would likely ensue)
‘In the Backyard’ is an interview series introducing the talented, gritty and good people in the BACKED Community.
BACKED is the human-centric venture capital fund. We invest in exceptional founders, at Seed, in Europe. Put People First | Be An Apprentice | Push the Limits | Bring Good Energy. Since 2015.
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