From Numbers Expert to Holistic Investor: Juliana Marques’s Journey with Pipeline Angels

We are pleased to spotlight the journey of Juliana Marques, a valued member of our community whose story of transformation embodies the spirit of impactful, values-aligned investing.

The Search for Purposeful Impact

As a tax attorney, CPA, and strategic planner for Airbnb, Juliana Marques has always possessed a deep understanding of complex systems. Growing up with entrepreneurial parents who were always "scrappy trying to find the next new business," she knew from a young age the grit it takes to be a founder. Still, when it came to her own financial journey, the world of angel investing felt distant and inaccessible.

Juliana was searching for a way to use her resources with purpose, feeling that traditional options like the stock market were "quite soulless." We are so glad she found her way to Pipeline Angels, attracted by our combination of a practical educational framework and a passionate community dedicated to funding underrepresented founders.

A Transformation Beyond the Numbers

Her time in the program initiated a profound professional and personal transformation. Initially, Juliana approached the due diligence process with the disciplined, numbers-first focus of a CPA, a significant asset to any investment analysis. However, her key "aha" moments came from the cohort itself.

By listening to the diverse perspectives of investors from different backgrounds and industries, she learned to become a more holistic evaluator. She began to see the critical importance of a founder's vision, their self-awareness, and their plan to overcome weaknesses, qualities that are not always found on a balance sheet but are crucial for success.

A Deeper Change and A Path Forward

This journey created more than a new skill; it led to what Juliana describes as a "deeper change inside." It inspired her to think differently about her family business and how she could give back to her community more meaningfully.

As an excellent ambassador for our program, Juliana’s advice for anyone wondering how to begin their journey into angel investing is simple and powerful: “ I say start, find a way to start. A lot of times, we are thinking about the best way to do something instead of thinking about the start.