Nell Daly gets Revenge on doubters with venture firm

By MARK SHAPLAND

Updated: 21:50 GMT, 1 March 2025

Revenge is a dish best served cold, so the saying goes – but in the case of Nell Daly it comes steaming hot.

The 49-year-old American set up Revenge Capital, a venture firm, in April last year after being told by an ex-boyfriend that as a therapist and single mother of three she was destined to live from ‘pay cheque to pay cheque’.

‘He didn’t last very long,’ she says.

Her answer to her ex was to set up a fund backing female entrepreneurs, which has been launched in the UK.

On a mission: Nell Daly set up Revenge Capital after being told that she was destined to live from ‘pay cheque to pay cheque’

She believes revenge is a powerful emotion that can spur women to achieve success, saying: ‘Many entrepreneurs who are successful are out for revenge. They have an edge, an anger to prove somebody wrong.’

Revenge Capital has raised £50 million. It is backed by Mayfair Associates, run by financier Andrew Antonio. The aim is to offer funding to those who have traditionally struggled to access start-up capital, namely women and ethnic minorities.

‘There is not enough liquidity for female founders in the UK,’ says Daly. Women receive only 1.8 per cent of start-up capital in the UK, according to business magazine Forbes. Daly argues: ‘Let’s flip it – imagine if men only received 1.8 per cent of funding and women got the rest.’

Daly is commanding and charismatic or as she puts it: ‘I don’t do boring.’

Data from US venture firm First Round Capital shows that backing women can be profitable, with firms that have a female founder giving a 63 per cent higher return on investment than those run by men.

So far the company’s investments include a buzzy margarita brand called Pimentae and a hip homeware online marketplace named Glassette, founded by the TV presenter Laura Jackson.

DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS

AJ Bell

AJ Bell

Easy investing and ready-made portfolios

Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown

Free fund dealing and investment ideas

interactive investor

interactive investor

Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month

Saxo

Saxo

Get £200 back in trading fees

Trading 212

Trading 212

Free dealing and no account fee

Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.

Compare the best investing account for you

:
Nell Daly gets Revenge on doubters with venture firm

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk