Lifted Ventures

A change in focus now looking at investing in women and how we can build a cohort of female investors to support purpose-led, innovative, commercially strong women-founded businesses. 🇬🇧 Currently in the UK, only 15% of angel investors are women. 💷 And of this 15%, 50% of these angel investors are in London. The panel, facilitated by Vicky Protano from Mills & Reeve, discussed: 📍 The buying power of women 📍 The role of men 📍 A mission to educate women on investing 📍 The importance of representation of women in investors groups to help with founder resonance and understanding 📍 International and political considerations looking at the US, Far East, and Middle East 📍 Growth of female-founded life science companies in regions of the UK, outside of London 📍 Embracing collaboration Thanks to Jessica Jackson from Praetura Ventures, Helen Oldham from Lifted Ventures, Candice Brett from MAXWELLIA, Nick Dodd - an angel investor for my meno, and Alison Maughan from Northern Gritstone for another challenging yet entertaining discussion. #FemHealthIntegrates #FemHealth #FemTech

Our #FemHealthIntegrates fireside chat has now commenced! 🔥 CSO of Bruntwood SciTech, Kath Mackay is joined by Jordan Dargue, co-founder of Lifted Ventures, and Elaine Galston, founder & CEO of Betti Ltd. These three powerful women are discussing how we can tackle decades long gender inequalities in healthcare. Thanks to Elaine Galston for sharing this particular quote that brilliantly captures the importance of today's event! "We really have the responsibility to shout loud and proud about FemHealth. We need to keep telling women that there are innovations in the healthcare sector specific to them, because I think a lot of women do feel let down by the healthcare sector." #FemTech #FemHealth

I am beyond honoured to be named Industry Leader Role Model at the Women In Pharma Awards 2025. This award is deeply personal to me—not just as a recognition of my own journey, but as a testament to the power of resilience, purpose, and the incredible team at Maxwellia who share my vision for making medicines more accessible. Breaking barriers in healthcare isn’t easy. Whether it’s reclassifying prescription medicines, challenging outdated systems, or driving change in women’s health, it takes courage, persistence, and a strong belief that we can do better. I hope this recognition inspires more women to push boundaries, take up space, and lead with confidence—because the industry needs us more than ever. 💡 To all the women in pharma, business, and beyond: Keep going. Keep challenging. Keep believing. #WomenInPharma #Leadership #BreakingBarriers #SelfCareRevolution #Innovation #WomenInBusiness

🚨 Keep calm (and carry on?!?) 🚨 The abolition of NHS England news hit everyone's inboxes, slack feeds, and social media yesterday 📱. Many were anticipating something along these lines given recent leadership resignations 🤔. It's a bold move which I applaud; whether it is the right move depends on the specific decisions that sit behind this and how skilfully the Government and DHSC manages the 2-year reform. Some key points: 👉 Objective: The goal is to achieve better use of taxpayer money for improved patient care 🏥. Cost savings from dismantling NHS England are expected to yield bigger budgets for Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), with approximately £500 million being freed up to support hospitals and GPs. 👉Control and Management: Previously, the Government provided money and priorities, leaving NHS England to figure out how to implement them 📈. Now, the Government will have more direct control. 👉Workforce Reduction: The cost savings will come from a 50% reduction of the combined workforce across NHS England and the DHSC, affecting around 9,000 jobs 🚫. 👉ICB Cost Reductions: ICBs have been instructed to reduce their running costs by 50% by Q3 2025/26, which could impact how they allocate resources and prioritise services 📉. 👉Long-term Plan: This announcement precedes the publication of the 10-year long-term plan, so we don't yet know the full picture 📅 (and more on funding will follow in the Summer). 👉Challenges Remain: Despite structural changes, underlying issues such as workforce support, unsustainable costs, and regulatory frameworks remain critical and must not be sidelined 🚨. The Government is taking a significant risk by abolishing NHS England, as the success of this reform will directly impact their re-election prospects —that’s quite an incentive for them to get this right! 💪 So, if you have a product or service for the NHS, what does this mean for you? ▶️ Continue engaging with the NHS; it remains a vital market 🚀. ▶️ Focus on Cash-Releasing Narrative 💸. ▶️ Be prepared for delays or changes in decision-making processes 🕰️. ▶️ Build multiple relationships, particularly within ICBs, as they will play a crucial role in future decision-making 🤝. ▶️ While scaled down, functions like regulation, procurement, and national commissioning may still remain in the centre 📈. Not much more to share until more detail emerges....keep tuned in folks! Anything else to add? 🤔 Ross O'Brien Pooja Sikka Liam Cahill Clive Flashman 💙 Ryan Palmer Lyndon Johnson Gavin Matthews Adam Spinks LLB Thomas Cooke BSc, MBA Henry Stoneley #NHSReform #HealthcareInnovation #NHSEngland #HealthcareLeadership #GovernmentReform #HealthcareFuture

𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗧𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧: 𝗔 𝗤&𝗔 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗝𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗔𝗡 𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗨𝗘 With less than a week to go until FemHealth Integrates 2025, we spoke with Jordan Dargue, co-founder of Lifted Ventures, which exists to increase the flow of early-stage capital to female founders and promote the significant business benefits of backing women. ❓ 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝗽? Women’s healthcare has long suffered neglect, leading to a lack of research and understanding of women's health issues. Historically, medical research has focused more on men and hasn’t always been designed with women’s needs in mind. More recently we have seen increased research on women's health, however to make lasting impact and to bridge this gap indefinitely in FemTech, we need to improve collaboration, increase diversity, and invest in innovative start-up technologies. We need to provide more funding opportunities for FemTech start-ups, grow the number of funds that prioritise women's health and encourage more women to become investors and support the evolution and growth of this sector. Funding fuels innovation and enables FemTech companies to start up, stay competitive, explore new features or products, and meet changing market demands. Investment into FemTech and women’s health tech innovation must continue to increase to evolve and drive change. ❓ 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀?  Despite increased awareness of the potential of FemTech, investment is still imbalanced. Beauhurst highlights that over 50% of FemTech companies are fully female-founded. At @Lifted Ventures, we highlight the importance of backing female founders promoting the portfolio and business benefits to backing women. Data indicates that female-led startups can deliver higher returns on investment compared to male-led companies, with some reports showing significantly better performance metrics like revenue growth and capital efficiency increasing the potential for better financial returns.   Educating women angel investors about investing in start-ups and early-stage businesses is critical. This will help to increase the number of investors, leading to more investment in female-led businesses and creating a more inclusive and dynamic investment environment. Insights highlight that women are twice as likely to back female founders, outlining the need for more women investors to participate in funding women’s health initiatives.  Jordan is speaking alongside Elaine Galston, Founder & CEO, Bettii Ltd and Kath Mackay, CSO, Bruntwood SciTech in the 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁: 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗲𝗺𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗞 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. #FemHealthIntegrates #FemTech

Today we’re highlighting one of the key themes for the launch event of FemHealth Integrates: 𝗧𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲. On 𝟭𝟴𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿, we're shining a spotlight on how we can address gender disparities and build a more inclusive and diverse future for healthcare. Two of our featured panel sessions are dedicated to this vital conversation: 🔑 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻: Investment in women’s health innovations is growing – but to sustain this momentum, we need more women in positions to drive investment. Join us as we discuss how to create a more inclusive VC landscape and build a strong cohort of female investors who can support purpose-driven, innovative, and commercially strong women-founded businesses. 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆: Vicky Protano, Mills & Reeve 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀: Jessica Jackson | Praetura Ventures Helen Oldham | Lifted Ventures Candice Brett | MAXWELLIA Nicholas Dodd | my meno 🔑 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲: Women are making huge strides in shaping healthcare policies, advancing medical research, and revolutionizing patient care. How can we create a more inclusive culture to empower more women leaders in healthcare and business? 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆: Kathryn Simpson, Kathryn Simpson Consulting Limited 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀: Jackie Macritchie | Cumulus Oncology Sahana Nayak | Samata Science Alex Hogarty | Novartis Eleni Menegatou | Roche This is your chance to contribute to creating a future where women thrive and lead in health innovation. Don't miss it! 💡 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 👉 https://lnkd.in/ezkxD_Y3