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Pam Garside has a unique perspective on the world of angel investing. With a long and distinguished career in healthcare, she has become a prominent angel investor, particularly in the health tech sector. She's also the first female chair of Cambridge Angels, a well-known group of angel investors in the UK. In a recent conversation, Pam shared her journey, insights on due diligence, and her passion for helping founders succeed.
You can listen to the full episode below, or read on for a summary of the conversation.
Pam’s journey began with a zoology degree, followed by a demanding graduate training scheme in NHS management. Though she only stayed with the NHS for a short time, her early career gave her invaluable managerial experience and a deep network within the UK's healthcare system. She later spent a decade in the US, working on international projects and teaching at universities, including Imperial and Cambridge.
Her entry into angel investing was almost accidental. Her first investment was in an Australian company that gave her equity in lieu of fees, which turned out to be a successful venture. This creative start led to more investments and positioned her at the forefront of the booming digital health and tech-enabled investment sector over the last 17 years.
Pam's involvement with Cambridge Angels began nine years ago when the group, which at the time had 58 male members and no women, actively sought her out to improve diversity. Although most members are successful entrepreneurs who have exited their own companies, Pam notes that she is not one of them, which initially made her feel like an imposter. Since she joined, the group has made an effort to become more diverse, though they're still working to increase the number of women and younger members.
The group maintains a cap on its size, which Pam believes is beneficial. It fosters a sense of collegiality and allows members to get to know each other well, leveraging their collective expertise in different sectors like biotech, quantum, and AI.
When it comes to due diligence, particularly at the pre-seed and seed stages, Pam acknowledges there's often very little data to go on. The Cambridge Angels' screening process is rigorous; last year, they reviewed 1,425 applications. Their process also involves informal and formal pitch events, where members with relevant expertise can ask questions and discuss the deals. Pam often relies on her extensive network of corporate partners, VCs, and fellow angels to triangulate views on potential investments.
For health tech, her specialty, Pam looks beyond the numbers. She’s particularly cautious about companies that naively plan to sell to the NHS and then the American health system with a simple slide. A green flag for Pam is a team that demonstrates a deep understanding of the complexities of the NHS procurement process and has a plan for navigating it. She also checks if the team includes women, as the healthcare sector is predominantly female-led and female-decision-driven.
Pam puts a great deal of trust in the founders she backs. She looks for people who are highly driven, creative, and willing to listen to advice. Her first investment in the UK, Accurx, was a perfect example of this. The founder, who was only 25 at the time, gate-crashed a networking event, and Pam was so impressed she invested, despite the initial product idea not being fully fleshed out. Accurx went on to be incredibly successful because the founder had a great product and was dedicated to customer service.
Of course, not every investment is a success. Pam points to a recent company, Chiron Medical, as a particularly tough loss. The company had amazing AI technology for mammograms and strong science, but it struggled to get a trial in England and ultimately missed a key funding round due to a difficult market. From this and other experiences, Pam has learned valuable lessons, often related to the team. She's found that issues with founders not getting along or not being good at hiring and firing can be a key reason for failure.
Pam is optimistic about the future of health tech, despite the challenges. She believes that startups have a crucial role to play in improving the NHS, particularly in areas like reducing wait times and improving patient care. She's excited about innovations that shift care from the hospital to the home and improvements in fertility technology. She sees the NHS app and better data interoperability as key to unlocking the full potential of these technologies.
Pam continues to invest because she’s "addicted to it" and motivated by the constant stream of fantastic ideas from young people. For those considering angel investing, her advice is to start with what you know, stick to a sector like health if you’re a healthcare professional, find a network of friends to triangulate views, and just do it once to see what it's like.
