Meet Catherine Songphatanayothin, an investor and the latest Integra Partners #WinWithWomen venture partner program participant. 

As part of the program, Catherine is now charged with identifying and analysing angel investment opportunities in her native Thailand. Once a founder herself, she intends to use her expertise to better support female founders in women-centric businesses. 

A creative at heart

Catherine’s professional journey began in the finance industry but her passion for writing led her to a new direction in 2015. That year, she wrote a children’s book that won second prize in a children’s book competition in Singapore, and then went on to publish her debut non-fiction work in Thailand. The book became a top-ten bestseller in the psychology category and went into its third print within the first year. 

By 2017, Catherine had founded her first company in the consumer tech space and was awarded a grant from the National Innovation Agency (NIA) under the Ministry of Science and Technology, underscoring her innovative spirit and dedication to impactful work.

Now, she intends to use her experience and interests to pursue angel investing.

Improving access to capital for Thai entrepreneurs

“In Thailand, women are a significant part of the workforce, even in traditionally male-dominated industries like finance. However, accessing capital remains a challenge for female entrepreneurs, particularly if their businesses target predominantly female customers, such as FemTech products. This is often because some investors may not find these products intuitively relevant.”

Catherine intends to shift this.

Having navigated the fundraising process and worked with investors first hand, she appreciates the critical role early stage investors can play in the trajectory of a startup. 

“I see angel investing as a way to expand the skills I acquired as an entrepreneur and apply them in a different field. These skills include moving past psychological comfort, identifying unique opportunities with a higher probability of generating expected outcomes, and mitigating the risks associated with those opportunities. Angel investing also provides me with the chance to meet inspiring individuals and support other entrepreneurs.”

Beyond cheque-writing

Investors may take a longer view, thinking about exits, but founders are often bogged down with fighting daily fires in their business. “I want to help founders improve their key metrics and the assumptions necessary to achieve milestones that propel them to the next stage of growth. 

“I understand that there’s no perfect investment with no risk,” she admits, noting that in the past her investments came on the back of endorsements from her trusted advisors. “If they said it was a good bet, I invested,” she adds. But as part of her mission of engaging in meaningful work that fosters personal and professional growth, she is keen to make more of those calls herself. 

In terms of her investment strategy, she says, “I want to deepen my own  understanding of selecting pre-revenue companies for investments – evaluating risk, asking the right questions, and then using information to actually make an investment decision - not just if, but also how much.” 

“By working with Integra and the #WinwithWomen venture partner program, I’m confident I’ll get better at predicting and mitigating risk, not finding the so-called “perfect” investment with no risk.”