I became an angel shortly after floating a company I founded and having children. As an angel investor and mom, I love working with great entrepreneurs to solve problems that matter. I also love making the sort of returns you will have read about in the ‘siding with angels’ report by the IBA. My angel portfolio has outperformed the stockmarket by a mile! - Sherry has made angel investments in more than 40 companies and holds investments in 2 venture capital firms.

I'd enjoyed the journey of building my own business; the constant stresses and joys, and the sense of creating something better. After I sold that business, angel investing made a natural next step. I can do as little or as much of it as I want, I can take an active role in my businesses or sit back and leave them to it. I meet young, nascent entrepreneurs with fresh ideas and that's great fun. It's a career that can also be combined with other activities - I'm also a Non-Executive Director and I spend a precious slice of each day with my three sons.

After a career spanning almost 30 years in financial services, specifically corporate and retail banking, for me, being an angel investor provided the ideal opportunity to use my financial knowledge as well as mix with like-minded business people, making selective investments in mostly early stage but often exciting prospects, which in itself can be quite rewarding, although ultimately we are all investing with a view to getting some good returns.

Angel Investing seemed, and has proved, a fantastically stimulating way of staying “in the mix”: using my skills and experience to add value, but without the commitment of a job whilst I raise my children.

I became an angel investor by chance. I was introduced to an impressive entrepreneur and I wanted to help her take her company forward. The experience showed me that, no matter what product or service a business is providing, all companies have the same issues to resolve as they work towards achieving greatness. Angel investing is an area in which more women are becoming involved especially after they leave the corporate workplace with its hierarchies and inflexible working conditions. Angel investing offers an excellent opportunity for those who enjoy the excitements of investing for the future, managing risk 'their own and other people’s' and being part of a business community as well as having the opportunity to use their immense skills and talents to work in an autonomous way.

Having been involved previously in floating a business on the Stock Exchange and wishing to make use of my business experience and skills, particularly my background in Intellectual Property, I turned to angel investing. I now have a developing portfolio of start-up and early stage investments introduced through xenos including Welsh companies Comparison Creator, Sub-Hub, Inngot, and Panic Button a film offering diversified platform opportunities. Angel investment provides a fantastic opportunity to help start new businesses and hopefully make money along with the business owners. The tax incentives have never been better either.

I achieved my ambition, I retired before I was 50; it lasted about 3 months. Having built a successful software company over the preceding 20 years I missed the excitement and involvement, I needed a challenge so I became a business angel.  A business angel does not just bring investment but also experience and it constantly surprises me just how much I did learn over the previous 20 years. Of course the bonus is that I am still learning.

As an Angel, I am able to take a “hands on”  involvement in the businesses I invest in working alongside the founders and passing on my business skills and experience, as well as looking for a good return from a diverse portfolio of companies. I wasn’t sure how best to find suitable investments and diversify my portfolio…having sold my specialist aviation company in the US…but luckily an old friend recommended me to Xenos the Wales Business Angel Network.

Being an angel investor  can be both fun and exciting to be involved with a business at the very early stages of its development, to see it take shape and fly…although beware it can also be like jumping from a high platform fully clothed, you never know if you are going to lose your shirt or not!