Diana is a venture capitalist at Draper Esprit in London. She has been working in Finance for the past 6 years. She welcomed us into her warm Notting Hill apartment. During our visit, we talked about women in finance, sustainability and her favourite pieces of jewelry.

Tell us a bit more about yourself

My name is Diana, I’m from Sweden originally, but I’ve been living in London for the past 10 years. I currently work in Finance at a Venture Capital fund called Draper Esprit. My job is to invest in early-stage startups. We mostly invest in companies that use new technologies which is super exciting. Before that, I worked in diplomacy but I rapidly realised that it wasn’t for me.

What does jewelry means to you?

There are two types in my mind. One is the mood elevator. It allows me to feel in a particular way or express my mood that day. A simple trick to make any outfit look and feel more special. Whatever you’re trying to convey, the jewelry will emphasise that. The other type is a staple piece, which inevitably becomes part of you. These are the pieces you sleep eat and live in. They don’t get weathered down by time or outfit and make you more you every day. It’s almost like the adult version of the comfort blanket. Without it you really feel naked and exposed. Of course there’s also a lot of emotional “carryon” that often comes with jewellery. I don’t want to say baggage because it’s not negative but as a lot of jewelry will be gifted to you or passed on from previous generations I think we inevitably have a very strong emotional band to it. wearing it will make us feel closer to that person, or will remind us of how much someone loves and values us.

What is your first jewelry memory?

Probably the necklace I received from my father when I was about 9 years old. It’s an egg by Faberge who was a very famous Russian Jeweler. He got one for me and one for my mother, two very different ones.

What are the stories behind your jewelry?

My bracelet has a very cute story. One of my favourite movies’ is ‘Hook’ by Steven Spielberg. In the movie towards the end Wendy, who is in love with Peter Pan, says to him ‘so... your adventures are over’ and Peter says ‘Oh, no. To live… to live would be an awfully big adventure.” My boyfriend had that quote engraved on the bracelet.

In addition, I received a diamond initial necklace for my 30th birthday from my closest friends. I basically never take it off, I love it so much.

 

Do you change jewelry often?

For work, I will always wear my simple earrings and my initial necklace. I like jewelry that you can wear, shower with and sleep in so you don’t have to worry too much.

In the weekend or at parties, I will usually wear a pair of statement earrings or necklace.

As a working woman would you buy yourself your own jeweley?

A lot of the jewelry pieces I own are presents from people I love but I would definitely buy myself jewelry (not for a crazy amount of money though!). Actually, most of my rings I bought them myself.

Are you a white, rose or yellow gold person?

Probably yellow or white. But having all my jewellery in front of me now, it seems that I am more a yellow gold kind of person.

We’re all becoming more conscious of the impact our actions have on our world. How aware are you regarding sustainability?  

I am super sensitive to that subject. I pay attention to all the products I use and avoid plastic as much as I can. For example, I now buy shampoo bars (mine is from Wild Sage & Co) because it is 100% natural and there is no excess packaging.

One of my biggest heroes today is the 15 years old Swedish girl Greta Thunberg who is a political activist working to stop global warming and climate change. In the VC industry, I think investors are starting to realise that they can invest in positive impact businesses because they can make profits which I am very excited about.

Tell us about a woman that inspires you and why?

To be honest I don’t think I aspire to be like any one woman. I admire different traits in different people and take inspiration from that. I see very specific qualities in each of my friends and I love reflecting over what someone’s most admirable sides are. I’m inspired by my mothers never ending empathy, by my therapists emotional stability, by my friend Amanda’s constant strive always be improving herself, by my friend Trixie’s ability to always be herself, by my friend Vanessa’s ability to be just pure sunshine. every woman in my life inspires me in one way or another, through Everything from the way they dress to the way their mind operates. I’m yet to find someone who has it all, but hopefully, for the sanity of us all, that doesn’t exist :)