After starting a career in investment management, Davinia Tomlinson (Executive MBA, 2017), soon realised that the number of women actually investing in their future was considerably low. Noticing a gap in the market for a financial advice service for women, Davinia recently launched rainchq.
Here you can read about Davinia’s time at the Business School and how rainchq is supporting women with making financial decisions for themselves and their families.
Can you tell me about your time at the Business School?
I originally embarked on the Executive MBA because I’d become frustrated with corporate life and felt that I wasn’t really fulfilling my potential. I was desperate to run my own business but lacked the confidence, the resources and the the understanding of how businesses worked.
This is why I chose to study at the Business School. I knew it would provide me with access to the university’s outstanding academic and professional networks both in the UK and overseas, while also encouraging me to build relationships that would stand the test of time. I’m pleased to say that my experiences are among some of my most rewarding and memorable.
The modular programme was particularly attractive because it enabled me to juggle work, study and motherhood simultaneously and gave me an insight into how far I could stretch myself in meeting multiple different commitments. I couldn’t have selected a better launchpad for my transition into entrepreneurship.
What happened after you graduated?
By graduation, I was pregnant with my second child so I went on maternity leave a few weeks later. During this time, my thinking around a concept – that would eventually become rainchq – had started to crystallise.
I began the process of fleshing out the idea in more detail and testing it with colleagues, friends and family. Over a year later and having pivoted the business model twice before launching, rainchq opened for business to help women take control of their financial futures.
How did rainchq come about?
The idea for rainchq came to me shortly after I started my career in the investment management industry over a decade ago. I was shocked by the low numbers of women investing and couldn’t understand why. With data showing that women typically save up to 3 times less than men do for later life and a gender pension gap in the UK of 40%, there was a real opportunity to make a difference to how women plan for the future.
My vision is to help millions of UK women take control of their financial future and ultimately, prevent pensioner poverty through a 3 pillar service. We offer:
- financial education – designed to demystify the world of investing and unravel the jargon the industry is renowned for
- access to qualified and regulated financial advice, delivered via video conferences to maximise accessibility to women across the country
- events focused on all aspects of holistic wellbeing, from financial through to physical
What have been the biggest challenges?
As a bootstrapped business, financed through savings as well as support from family, one of the biggest challenges of course is funding.
Aside from this, there was also a small minority group of people who questioned the validity of a financial services business focused exclusively on women. Some of the feedback I received during the research process, primarily from women, was that I was at risk of alienating or isolating them even further. My response to this is: for many of the population, the current approach to financial services, at least in the UK, excludes many women through poorly targeted communications, inaccessible services and a more masculine and aggressive approach overall.
rainchq is designed to tackle some of these issues by creating a service designed to meet the, arguably, distinctive financial needs of 50% of the population, who have historically been ignored.
What has been the most rewarding experience?
The best part of this journey for me was the research process. During this time, I met dozens of women in focus groups, conducted scores of one-to-one interviews and received survey feedback, which helped me to validate the business idea and gave me greater confidence that there might be a gap in the market for a service like this.
Do you have any advice for anyone looking to follow in your footsteps?
Surround yourself with a positive, supportive group of like-minded people who can help keep you upbeat during the inevitable slumps but who can also offer constructive feedback on things you can improve. I would also encourage anyone in a similar position to ensure that they have a good financial safety net before they leave paid employment so they don’t have to worry about paying the bills in the first year. And finally – however long you think it will take to get the business off the ground, double it! Patience is a much needed virtue in this process.
Now for some quick fire questions:
Where is your favourite place in London?
Greenwich Park
What is your favourite holiday destination (that you’ve travelled to)?
Thailand
Which website do you check every day?
Financial Times
What is your dream travel destination?
Anywhere in the Caribbean
Do you prefer cheese or chocolate?
Chocolate!
To find out more, visit rainchq.com and follow the team on all social media platforms @rainchq