Zoe is a Vice-President at Dawn Capital, where she covers early-stage B2B SaaS and fintech opportunities across Europe, with a focus on the UK and Nordic markets.

I studied physics at Cambridge, and I think I've been an investor in that frame of mind ever since. What drew me to physics was finding the commonalities between things that look unrelated — the fundamental building blocks that connect one system to the next. I speak to several companies a day across very different sectors, and when you break each one down far enough, they're often the same conversation underneath. That's the part I love: orienting myself to learn, and finding the structure beneath the noise. AI, infrastructure and fintech are where I spend most of my time, backing companies like Flatpay, Runware and Doubleword.

I started out on the trading floor at Goldman, building algorithms and the tools to work with them, teaching myself machine learning after hours because I couldn't stop wanting to know where technology was heading. Venture sits at the centre of the three things I care about most — understanding technology, learning from people, and the work of actually backing someone. I wanted to be an investor who creates value, not one who watches from a distance.

The longer I do this, the more I'm convinced it really is all about people. The founders I look for have an obsession and resilience that a bad month can't talk them out of, and the creativity to keep finding a way through. When you invest, you're backing what someone is building with their whole life — so the best relationships are personal. You're there to be their cheerleader.

That conviction is why I build, too. Every step of my own path, someone took the time to open a door that looked nonlinear, and I try to pay that forward. I founded AI Engine to bring technical builders together — across UCL campuses, the House of Lords terrace, our own office — and the most rewarding moment is still seeing the spark in someone's eyes when they realise how big the world is and that they can be part of it.

Outside work, my time goes to travelling around the world, connecting with different cultures and building personal tech projects around the house.

Zoe joined Dawn from Goldman Sachs, where she spent three years on the quant trading side before moving into product development and management where she found her passion for technology investment. She holds a first-class Physics degree from the University of Cambridge.