🎙️ Investor Circle S2, EP01: Marwa Ebrahim — From Founder to Fund Backer

 When startup founders say "you can't know what it's like unless you’ve done it", Marwa Ebrahim is living proof. In the first episode of Season 2 of Investor Circle, Stewart sat down with Marwa, investment analyst at Haatch, who brought both her operational grit as a founder and her strategic clarity as an investor to the table.

Haatch is no ordinary fund. Backed by a team of exited entrepreneurs, it invests in B2B SaaS startups at SEIS and EIS stage and helps founders scale from zero to £1M ARR and beyond. Unlike many early-stage investors, they don’t require existing revenue to come on board. Instead, they look for deep customer pain, experienced teams, and clearly defined buyer personas. It’s support capital—with a founder’s mindset.

But what really makes Marwa’s story special is the road she travelled to get here. Once a founder herself, she faced the heartbreak of a Kickstarter launch derailed by the pandemic and the long grind of solo entrepreneurship. After raising with SFC Capital and learning what early-stage really means, she transitioned into her current role to help other founders avoid the same pitfalls.

In this refreshingly candid interview, Marwa shares the frameworks she uses to assess startups:

• Is it a deep pain or a 10x gain?

• Do the team have founder-market fit?

• Is there evidence—not just pitch—of traction?

She also sheds light on why solo founders have the highest failure rate, and how Canopy’s framework of the visionary, the order-filler, and the technologist maps closely to Haatch’s view of effective startup teams.

For any first-time founder in London, Lisbon, Boston, Bangalore, or Singapore navigating the fundraising maze, this episode is packed with clarity. It’s a masterclass in what early-stage investors really mean by “too early”, and a reminder that being authentic, prepared, and clear about the pain you solve is your best fundraising tool.

🛠️ Key takeaway for founders: Evidence beats optimism. Investors like Marwa are looking for proof—contracts, MVPs, POCs—that your startup can execute.

💬 “Build the right community—advisors, co-founders, mentors—because this journey is hard. But if you’re resilient and open to learning, the right investors will be drawn to your commitment.” — Marwa Ebrahim

➡️ Want to meet investors like Marwa and practice your pitch? Join our next Demo Night: www.lu.ma/canopy
🔗 Learn more about Haatch: https://haatch.com
🎧 Listen now on YouTube or your favourite podcast platform.