Annie Belanger spent her career inside Wall Street, hedge funds, and Blackstone. Now she teaches women what she wishes she'd known sooner — and in this episode, Tasia walks through the real playbook for angel investing, due diligence, and private markets.

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Annie's first angel investment came at 38, after decades inside institutional finance — and she still made the classic mistake of investing too much in a single early-stage company. She uses that story to break down the single most important rule of angel investing: what she and Tasia call "pizza money." Only invest what you can afford to lose entirely. She walks through why married-cofounder teams carry unique risk, what the cap table tells you about a founder's long-term skin in the game, and why transparency under questioning separates serious founders from the ones who will go quiet when things get hard.

Tasia shares her own portfolio structure — 10 percent of investible assets in private investing, split between direct angel deals and fund-LP positions — and the two of them dig into why funds (with their audited financials and professional due diligence) offer a different risk profile than single-company bets. Annie introduces SPVs (special purpose vehicles) as the on-ramp for smaller investors, and discusses how platforms like Play Money allow women to enter private deals at $500 to $2,000 minimums while still getting K-1 tax documents and real deal flow.

The middle of the episode turns to the questions every woman should ask a financial advisor: Are you a fiduciary one hundred percent of the time? How are you compensated? Is your investment platform agnostic, or are you steering me into your firm's own products? Annie explains why "agnostic" matters — it means your advisor can select the best manager in every asset class rather than defaulting to in-house funds where the fee structure benefits the firm.

Tasia and Annie close on the emotional reality behind all of this. The World Economic Forum figure Annie cites — women married to men the same age outlive them by an average of eight years — is the quiet reason these conversations matter. Annie's frame: become a co-pilot, not a passenger. Tasia's frame: you don't have to ask permission. Both are saying the same thing in different words. These are your assets. Learning is never too late. Abundance for women is abundance for all.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Intro

1:17 - Why Annie started teaching women about investing

2:10 - Annie's first angel investment at 38

8:35 - What "pizza money" really means

11:01 - Red flags in private deals: cofounders, cap tables, transparency

14:42 - SPVs and getting into private markets at lower minimums

17:05 - What investor updates should look like (Womaness case study)

20:50 - Inside The Abundance Collective

34:27 - How to talk to your partner about money

39:12 - The questions every woman should ask a financial advisor

46:50 - The 8-year life expectancy gap and why learning is never too late

DISCLAIMER

The content shared on this channel is for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Always consult with a qualified financial professional before making investment decisions. The host is not a licensed financial advisor. All investments carry risk, including the potential loss of principal.

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