Photographer: Stephanie Sian Smith

A Day in the Life of a Venture Capitalist – June Angelides, MBE

This week we’ve been talking to brilliant and inspirational women to celebrate International Women’s day. We spoke to June Angelides MBE, Venture Capitalist and Women’s Rights Advocate, who’s sharing with us what a day in her life looks like. 

6am: I’m woken up by my alarm which I have a love-hate relationship with, despite the numerous ringtones I’ve used to help wake me up feeling energised. I quickly turn it off so that no one else wakes up. I grab my laptop, creep down the stairs and make myself a cup of tea. I’m praying no one else wakes up so I can get some work done before homeschool begins. I check my diary and make sure I have left some time to think.

7am: I’ve worked through some of my emails (struggling to get my inbox to zero), so now it’s time to catch up on some news. My usual reading list includes Sifted, The New Yorker, Strictly VC, Femstreet and Andy Ayim’s Newsletter.

7.30am: I work out for an hour with my personal trainer. I actually made a new year’s resolution and to make sure I don’t bail I decided to invest in making fitness a priority. I love working with Marie. She’s made me love exercise – which I never thought was possible – and she embraces all the Zoom bombings. It’s either one of my kids moving furniture in front of the laptop or running to the computer shouting ‘stay hydrated!’

8.30am: I usually have my porridge with berries and nuts, or if I’m feeling fancy I’ll have smoked salmon, avocado and granary bread.

9am: This is the most stressful time because it’s when I would ordinarily get straight into work mode. These days it’s when home school begins and I have to do the impossible juggle and convince my three kids that I’ve suddenly turned into their teacher for the next six hours.

10am: My kids usually have their first break, so I time my first morning call for around this time. It’s also my first interaction of the day with a human not residing in my household, so very exciting. The best part of my job is meeting incredible founders, every interaction is an opportunity to learn.

11am: I spend a lot of time on Twitter (most VCs do), so I’m usually scrolling in between reading decks to find out what’s new, and it’s great for networking.

Noon: Lunch time! I normally have something quick like a salad or leftovers. The kids get a much better deal. Safe to say, I’m pretty relieved ‘Mum’s homeschool kitchen’ is shutting down – hopefully permanently. Lunch is usually at my computer and I read some more investment decks while I eat or I Zoom with a friend.

1pm: More calls with founders or with my team discussing things that we are working on. If I can get away with it, I try to limit my Zooms to three a day and do the rest as calls – pretty sure everyone can relate to being Zoomed out.

2pm: At 2pm it starts to get manic again because the kids have to have their work submitted by 3. Once that’s done I can focus again.

3pm: Escape! I love to go for walks around my local park while listening to a podcast or audio book.

4pm: I have another cup of tea and have more calls with founders. Very often this is when I get an email from one of the kids’ agents for a self tape.

5pm: I try to wrap up calls at 5 and switch gears to start getting ready for family time. If it’s my turn to make dinner I usually rope in one of the kids to hang out with me while I cook and we listen to music – usually Charlie Puth, their current fave is ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’.

6pm: Dinner time is the funniest time in our house. We genuinely love hanging out together and we always sit at the table together to eat and share stories. There’s always a game of ‘I Spy’ too.

7pm: Board games time! The kids and I developed a love for draughts, chess and Uno during lockdown and we get pretty competitive.

8pm: Bedtime for the kids. Again, my husband and I take it in turns to take the kids to bed and read them a story. It’s also when I start plotting how I will spend my evening: Netflix, call friends or a pamper. Netflix wins most of the time!

9pm: At this time I’m usually watching a movie or catching up on an episode of Red Table Talk.

10pm: I try to start winding down for bed around 10 with the aim of sleeping at 10.30. I like to listen to something on the Calm app. My mind gets so busy in the day; it’s always racing, full of ideas, planning a talk, fired up about an injustice I want to help right.

11pm: Finally asleep!

We asked June for her advice for how individuals can champion positive change in their industry:

“I’ve always believed in doing the work. For me it means using the platform I have to show that flexible working works and I can bring my whole self in all I do. It means having those uncomfortable conversations in order to effect change. It means practicing what I preach and helping underrepresented founders have access to capital. It means passing the baton down and bringing in more people that look like me into the venture capital industry and more women and into tech. It means always remembering why you want things to change. Write it down and help that guide you as you make decisions in your career.”