How discovering alternative
funding changed everything
with Jane Murray
Founder of Peacebeam
“The one thing that changed my thoughts about funding was learning that there is room for all of us. You don't have to fall into a 'traditional startup' category to raise money”.
- Jane Murray, founder of Peacebeam
Jane Murray had left her life as a venture capitalist behind to pursue a 'heart-based' company creating audio products for mindfulness, 'kindfulness', and wellbeing.
Knowing only the VC funding route, Jane moved slowly and organically with the business, resistant to heading down that path.
Upon hearing others talking about alternative models, ideas and various kinds of capital, Jane found herself in the Alternative Funding School.
Jane says, "I learned that you don't have to fall into a 'traditional startup' category to raise money. There are possibilities open for all kinds of startups, and that was revelatory".
Jane's full story is below.
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Esme Verity:
Tell us about you and your business.
Jane Murray:
My name is Jane Murray, and I am the founder and CEO of a company called Peacebeam. And we make guided meditations and audio products for mindfulness, kindfulness, and wellbeing.
Esme Verity:
What are the biggest challenges you've overcome regarding funding so far?
Jane Murray:
The biggest challenge that we have faced is a kind of internal discomfort with the traditional models of fundraising and investing in companies. I'm a lawyer and a VC by background, so I was familiar with being on the other side of the investing table and with the more extractive model of VC investing.
We felt loathed to look at fundraising, which meant that our growth was slow and much more organic. There is some virtue to that, but I think it was my experience as an investor that slowed the search for funding.
Esme Verity:
What made you want to want to join the funding school?
Jane Murray:
I'd heard others talking about alternative models, ideas and different kinds of capital, and I was curious about that. Coming from a VC background, I had a relatively narrow understanding of what was possible regarding alternative funding.
I was very interested in multiple forms of capital as a concept. Still, I hadn't seen anything translated into something practical and pragmatic.
“The whole experience and how Esme ran the course was so that you could slowly build on everything you were learning from one week to the next.
Suddenly, I had a 360 understanding of the funding landscape”.
Esme Verity:
What did you change about your funding plan or ideas around funding after joining the funding schools?
Jane Murray:
It was a revelation to understand that there are many possibilities around funding. We started to look at 'Kindepay', which has taken on a life of its own.
So, we've been working with Kindepay around grant funding, particularly crypto grant funding, which was a direct result of attending the Alternative Funding School.
Esme Verity:
Can you think of one thing you learned that changed your thoughts about funding?
Jane Murray:
I don't think I could narrow it down to one thing.
The whole experience and how Esme ran the course was so that you could slowly build on everything you were learning from one week to the next. Suddenly I had a 360 understanding of the funding landscape.
We weren't looking to scale rapidly, so I saw the possible implications of bringing more traditional investments into a fundamentally heart-based company.
I also began to understand that there is room for all of us. You don't have to fall into a 'traditional startup' category to raise money. There are possibilities open for all kinds of startups.
For me, that was revelatory.
Want to be part of our next cohort?
If you want to be guided every step of the way, then our Alternative Funding School is for you. We provide practical, hands-on support for founders raising mission-aligned funding. You'll be working alongside other founders on the same path and hear from our funding experts live, who'll show you which alternative path they took and how they succeeded.
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