Leap Academy with Ilana Golan — Episode 135

Guest: Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen, Co-Founder of Female Invest
Title: Raising $24M After 107 Rejections: Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen’s Journey to Scaling Female Invest
Date: November 25, 2025

Episode Overview

In this inspiring and candid conversation, Ilana Golan sits down with Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen, co-founder of Female Invest, a global education and community platform dedicated to empowering women financially. Anna shares the raw, behind-the-scenes realities of founding and scaling Female Invest—a journey punctuated by over 100 investor rejections, bootstrapping through near-bankruptcy, gender bias in fundraising, and, ultimately, record-breaking success with $24M raised and an international movement that has reached millions. She opens up about the emotional cost, the power of conviction, and her mission to close the financial gender gap.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Anna-Sophie’s Financial Awakening

• Early Interest: Raised in a Danish environment where nobody talked about money, Anna’s curiosity and desire for financial freedom sparked her interest in investing as a teen (03:39).
  • Quote (03:39): “No one talks about money, no one talks about investing, but I was always quite interested in money. Even as a child, I would do all types of chores, make up little jobs to make money.”
• First Bank Encounter: At 19, after saving diligently, Anna’s attempt to get a loan for property was abruptly denied, leading her to self-educate and invest independently—including managing her parents’ portfolio (04:23).

Formation of Female Invest: From Wine Nights to Worldwide Movement

• Founding Moment: Anna met her co-founder Emma at business school, both deeply interested in investing—and wishing to connect with other women on the topic (05:57).
• Speaking Your Dreams Aloud: Ilana emphasizes the power and necessity of making your goals visible to others to attract support (06:38).
• Choosing Passion over Predictability: Anna turned down a lucrative, stable offer from McKinsey to pursue Female Invest full time. The decision was met with confusion, even skepticism, in a culture that didn’t yet celebrate entrepreneurship (07:27, 08:57).
  • Quote (08:57): “Most people didn’t understand it in the beginning… Even with my parents, when we talked about it, they kept saying that I had to get a real job at some point.”

Early Days: Scrappy, Scared, and Scrambling

• From Tiny Facebook Group to Unexpected Demand:
  • On launch day in 2017, over 400 women joined—far surpassing Anna’s expectation of “maybe 10-20” (12:29).
  • The demand quickly revealed a global community yearning for access, learning, and community, outgrowing classrooms and lecture halls and selling out events (13:12).
  • Quote (13:12): “We turned finance events into something cool. Champagne, house music—never how you would have imagined it, paired with education.”
• The Political Power of Money: Anna underscores that financial empowerment is inherently political—money shapes lives and societies, and structural barriers systematically disadvantage women (14:30).
  • Quote (14:30): “Money is power, money is independence. The people with money are the ones who design not just the world we all live in, but also our day-to-day lives.”

Scaling, Setbacks, and COVID

• Hitting a Ceiling with In-Person Events: Female Invest had 25,000+ in-person attendees across the Nordics but couldn’t keep up with demand physically (16:23).
• COVID-19 Crisis:
  • At their most vulnerable—right after going full time, committing to an office, and accruing real expenses—COVID wiped out their event revenue overnight (19:15).
  • On the verge of shutting down, a Forbes 30 Under 30 feature unexpectedly revived them, boosting morale and helping them pivot to a digital-first education platform (20:10).
  • Quote (19:15): “We actually agreed at one point to closing down the company… The day after… we woke up to the news that we were on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.”

Bootstrapping & Unreasonable Perseverance

• Living on $3: The team bootstrapped up to 10 employees despite bank account lows, making do with “bring-your-own-food” gatherings (21:20).
• Breakthrough Win: A $100K, no-equity prize from a global startup competition helped keep the company afloat (22:36).
• Personal Stakes and Purpose:
  • The mission rapidly outgrew their personal dreams, fueling a sense of responsibility to the broader community of women (22:58).
  • Quote (22:58): “This was not just about our dream. This is about a big issue that impacts every single woman… That mission is just so deep.”

The Y Combinator Experience

• Mixed Outcomes: After three attempts, they were accepted to YC—the world-renowned accelerator (24:52).
  • However, Anna found the program less impactful as Female Invest was already ahead of the average YC company and many lessons didn’t translate for female founders.
  • The ultimate benefit: a Demo Day pitch drew 300+ investors and finally opened doors to serious venture capital (26:55).
  • Quote (26:55): “After our 60 seconds, we had more than 300 investors who had swiped right and reached out… a major game changer.”

Bias, Rejection & Navigating VC Networks

• Entrenched Gender Bias:
  • Female founders face well-documented funding discrimination: different questions, harsher scrutiny, and exclusion from old-boy networks (27:57, 29:49).
  • Anna stresses this is not opinion but statistical fact. Personally, she felt the toll of persistent, often subtle microaggressions over time (30:32).
  • Quote (29:49): “When you’re told over and over again, hundreds of times, that you don’t fit in, that you don’t have potential… it’s very hard to not start believing it.”
• Notable Anecdotes:
  • Investor events held at strip clubs.
  • Being skipped (as the only women) during founder introductions at a dinner.

Crowdfunding: Community Power

• Record-Breaking Campaign: Female Invest raised $1M in four minutes from tens of thousands of would-be investors, surpassing even Europe’s leading fintech Revolut (32:51).
  • Quote (32:51): “We beat Revolut, which is a major bank in Europe, as the biggest crowdfunding campaign ever.”
• Despite Success, VC Hurdles Persist: Even with stellar numbers, proven demand, and community backing, Anna’s team stopped counting after 107 investor rejections—while male peers got funded with far less traction (34:20).

Emotional Toll and Post-Funding Reality

• After the Win: Unexpected Backlash:
  • Closing the $24M Series A was bittersweet; the accomplishment was met with public hate and accusations of mismanagement that male founders rarely endure (36:16).
  • Quote (36:16): “We got so much hate when we closed the funding round… portraying us as reckless women just spending money on shit and parties… That was very hard. I would say that almost broke me because it was so unfair.”
• Coping Mechanisms: Anna prioritizes physical health—exercise, sleep, and nutrition—to withstand the anxiety and public scrutiny (38:31).

Mission, Impact & Lessons

• Movement, Not Just a Business: Female Invest has become a movement, normalizing financial literacy for women at all stages of life and backgrounds (40:35).
  • The biggest mistake? Assuming you “won’t be good at it” or that “things will work out”—inaction is the real risk (41:38).
• Personal Stories of Impact: Anna describes transformations for women post-divorce who’ve reclaimed financial security and confidence (42:11).
• Collaboration Over Competition:
  • Both men and women must recognize their biases and work together; systemic change benefits everyone (43:11).
  • Quote (43:11): “This is not men versus women… We all win when we allow women to play on an even playing field.”
• Advice to Women and Men:
  • Women: “Stop listening to anyone, including yourself, telling you that you aren’t enough—just go for it.” (44:33)
  • Men: “Open doors for the women around you… When you are in a position of privilege, really opening doors, helping out, trying to be understanding… maybe just sit back and listen.”
• Biggest Lesson for Entrepreneurs:
  • Think bigger from day one. Even if you don’t reach your boldest goal, you’ll get much further if you start with audacious ambition (46:36).
  • Quote (46:36): “It never hurt anyone to shoot for the stars… Think about where you want your company to go and then start acting like it from the beginning.”

Notable Quotes & Moments by Timestamp

• On why money matters for women:

  "Money is power. Money is independence. When women have more money, it's better. Not just for women, but for all of us actually.”
  — Anna, (00:36), repeated at (14:30)

• On early doubt and learning:

  "Most of my learnings actually came from podcasts… When people think that it’s too hard to start because they don’t know anything, that’s literally how we started."
  — Anna, (10:17)

• On bootstrapping through near-bankruptcy:

  "We had so little money in our bank account that we had to wait for money to be paid out by Facebook to put more in. I have a screenshot of our bank account at one point where we had $3 in it."
  — Anna, (21:20)

• On public scrutiny post-funding:

  "After we closed the money… we got so much hate… portraying us as reckless women just spending money on shit and parties… That was very hard. I would say that almost broke me because it was so unfair.”
  — Anna, (36:16)

• On the need for big, bold thinking:

  "Be a little bit delusional. It never hurt anyone to shoot for the stars. If we had done that from the beginning… a lot of decisions would have been different."
  — Anna, (46:36)

Actionable Lessons & Takeaways

• Speak Your Ambitions Aloud: Sharing your dreams can attract support and unexpected allies (06:38).
• Perseverance vs. Perfection: Everyone faces doubt and uncertainty—even after success. The difference is showing up and refusing to quit (10:17, 35:51).
• Bias is Systemic, But Change Is Possible: Both men and women must acknowledge and actively work against unconscious bias to pave the way for true equity (29:49, 43:11).
• Start Before You’re Ready: You don’t need all the answers or credentials to begin; learn along the way (11:34).
• Bootstrap with Grit: Resourcefulness and relentless experimentation can carry you farther than you imagine—sometimes to the edge, but also to breakthrough opportunities (21:20, 22:36).
• Celebrate and Support Each Other: Building supportive circles—peer co-founders, mentors, or a wider movement—provides resilience in the toughest moments (22:58).

Impact & Final Thoughts

Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen’s journey is a blueprint of what grit, vision, and steadfast community-building can achieve—despite entrenched odds. Through Female Invest, she is not just closing gender gaps in finance, but also redrawing the map for what women can aspire to in business and life. The episode underscores that progress is forged by those who persist after dozens, or even hundreds, of setbacks—and that empowerment is contagious.

Important Timestamps

• [03:39] Anna’s early money mindset and first investing attempts
• [07:27] Choosing Female Invest over McKinsey; reactions from family and peers
• [12:29] Launching Female Invest’s Facebook group & explosive demand
• [14:30] Why financial empowerment is political for women
• [19:15] COVID wipes out revenue; near-company closure; Forbes 30 Under 30 saves morale
• [21:20] “$3 in the bank” and bootstrapping through hard times
• [24:52] Y Combinator experience—reality vs. expectations as female founders
• [29:49] The reality of gender bias in fundraising
• [32:51] Record-breaking crowdfunding campaign ($1M in 4 minutes)
• [34:20] 107 rejections from VCs, the emotional toll, and negotiating power after finally securing capital
• [36:16] Backlash and hate after raising funds
• [40:35] The movement’s global impact; shifting mindsets about women’s relationship with money
• [46:36] Wisdom for founders: Think and act big from the outset

How to Connect & Learn More

• Find Anna-Sophie and Female Invest:
  • Instagram (@annasofiehartvigsen, @femaleinvest)
  • Female Invest website and app: Free to start, open to all curious about financial empowerment

Closing Thought

“Get started because it’s a long journey. It’s not as quick as social media might want you to believe. So you better get started now.”
— Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen, (48:34)

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