Episode #98
From Credit Card Debt to Securing Two Dragon's Den Investors
Zoë Chapman's Incredible Entrepreneurial Journey
Join Jen as she interviews Female Fusion member and London-based entrepreneur Zoë Chapman, the inventor of The Whizzer. She talks about how she built her business, inventing a product, finding factories to work with and what it's really like to pitch your product and business on the BBC's Dragon's Den. Watch this space, because Zoë's invention is about to take the world by storm!
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Episode Takeaways
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How Zoë came up with the idea for The Whizzer while potty training her son on the go
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The challenges of getting startup funding and manufacturing as a high-risk female founder
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Lessons learned from numerous pitching experiences, including her successful Dragon's Den pitch
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Balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood, and overcoming self-doubt
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Strategies for breaking into new markets and getting The Whizzer onto store shelves
Moonshots & Breakthroughs
Through our interviews with inspiring entrepreneurs, we highlight bold and ambitious ideas that have the potential to revolutionise the future. These ideas might seem impossible now, but if not us, then who? Together, we can shape a more equitable and fair world for everyone.
During the podcast interview, Jen and Zoë reflected on the challenges many female entrepreneurs face when starting up, particularly in areas such as access to finance, limited resources, and support. Zoë highlighted that one of the toughest challenges for her was securing funding and obtaining a bank loan, as many financial institutions and government bodies only lend to entrepreneurs with a good credit history. Unfortunately, without a good credit history, you are often forced to borrow as much money as possible on credit cards, which come with very high interest rates. This is not a specific problem facing one country; it is a global challenge for many female founders.
Imagine if...
- there were easier ways for female founders with a solid business or business plan to get access to credit or financing for their businesses, even if they didn't have a strong credit history, such as Zoë?
- banks committed to providing short-term business loans to female-founded businesses, regardless of their credit history, recognising that women have lower default rates and higher overall repayment rates?
About Zoë Chapman:
By the age of 24, Zoë had already worked her way up in the London Stock Exchange, despite a hidden story of homelessness, years of domestic abuse, and multiple suicide attempts due to her mental health. As the daughter of a musician turned small business owner, she only had the experience of struggling to make a career out of your passion. Yet, after inventing the world’s smallest toilet while potty training her son and providing end-of-life care for her father, years later, in the midst of a global pandemic and unfunded, she decided to give entrepreneurship a go and bring her invention to market.
Find out more about The Whizzer & Kiddiwhizz: www.Kiddiwhizz.com
Connect with Zoë on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kiddiwhizz/
Connect with Zoë on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-a-chapman
Connect with Zoë on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiddiwhizz
Be part of the Women On The Rise podcast
We absolutely love connecting with exceptional female entrepreneurs from around the world. If you feel that you'd be a great fit for the podcast, please apply. All of our interviews are conducted in-person and in a studio; we do not conduct podcast interviews online. If you are able to be in Dubai, London, Auckland, or Sydney, we welcome your application.
Thank you to Poddster Dubai for filming and editing this episode. We're grateful for their ongoing support of Female Fusion and our members.
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