Q&A With Charlie Graham Brown
Written by
Charlie Graham Brown
CFO, Seedstars World
Geneva, Switzerland
Charlie Graham Brown is the CFO of Seedstars World. He studied at the University of Leeds, UK with a year at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA and holds a Master of Engineering First Class Honors degree. He transitioned into finance following an MBA at the Collège des Ingénieurs, Paris and became a CFA charter holder. Charlie has six years of experience in innovative financial institutions. Working as an investment officer for four years at BlueOrchard Finance, he analyzed and invested in microfinance institutions across Africa, MENA and Asia. When he’s not working on Seedstars World, Charlie can usually be found in the mountains or doing a triathlon!
What advice do you give the applicants to Seedstars World?
This isn’t your typical startup competition so don’t treat it as such! We’re looking to add one Lebanese startup to our global network. Remember we invest in the top startups so we’re really interested in the traction. Get your timing right for the pitch. We’re Swiss so you know our timing will be strict!
What type of ideas would you like to see?
We like ideas that have the potential to be global (or at least regional). That’s where we can add the most value with our expansive network. As for the sector we are open. We like the diversity and if you look at the regional winners to date you will see a bit a broad coverage.
Has there been a trend towards certain industries/innovations? Are there any pitfalls entrepreneurs should be aware of?
Each region and country has had its own specialty. SaaS has been popular around the globe with services adapted to new segments or local markets. High social impact businesses have been common on our stages as we tend to cover regions with a large BOP population, which provides an interesting market where both financial and social returns can be found. FinTech startups in Africa was a clear theme and of course web/mobile startups have been well represented.
