Isabella Ghassemi-Smith

inDrive

My job is simple: build infrastructure for female founders in emerging markets.
To the female founders reading this, apply to the Aurora Tech Awards ☺️ You won't regret it

🔗
https://www.auroratechaward.com/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=aurora_opencall_isabella_ghassemi_smith_111124

Head of the Aurora Tech Award

Aurora Tech Award

"The Day I..."

Each episode is one woman, one story, answering one question:
"What was a moment you backed yourself ?"

Our goal is to give you someone to relate to who's gone through what you're feeling, so you think, "if she can do it, I can do it."

Podcast Host

Wayra UK

Brought into the business to: recreate its brand identity and G2M strategy to position it as a leader in unlocking business opportunities between corporates and startups.
>> In two years, we have a new brand infrastructure, a new team and operations. This has led to a cohesive brand, with clear positioning in the corporate innovation space and a healthy funnel of B2B startups and corporate leads.

Head of Marketing, Communication & Brand  

Edison Accelerator

Programme Head of Marketing 

SeedLegals

Worked with our scaleups to set up EMI Option Schemes as they grew their teams, upselling from the flagship fundraising product. 
Created a webinar and article series driving awareness on Option Schemes which generated inbound deal flow as well as good conversion from our existing founder base. Restructured and audited the CRM fixing the 'leaky buckets' of founder leads we were already sitting on.

Sales Manager

Was brought in post-Series A raise to drive the positioning and growth of SeedLegals as the go-to place for founders raising their first round and investors looking to simplify their legals.
Launched the new website, created a brand strategy focused on delivering value on founders' most pressing fundraising needs including: a webinar series, events on common early stage pain-points, a blog series and a video podcast called the Entrepreneur Edition for founders to share their stories and help others. Generate £200,000 in inbound revenue in year 1 and grew the newsletter database from 9k to 16k. Built out brand partnerships with accelerators to give us access to their communities.

Head of Ecosystem 

Kickstart Global

Mentor for Growth & Commercial Strategy

Stepforce

Stepforce is a platform that connects skilled refugees with socially minded employers. 

We aim to empower refugees through employment by connecting these high potential individuals with jobs tailored to their experience, skill set and aspirations. Our aim is to challenge the perception of refugees being a burden and view them as an opportunity.  

Currently there are more than 120,000 refugees (UNHCR) in the UK. 82% of refugees are unemployed, but 38% of this group have a university education. This offers a massive pool of untapped talent that can bridge the gap between the influx of skilled refugees arriving in the UK and vacancies in the British workforce. 

Our diverse team comes from various backgrounds including social enterprises, law, global health and business, equipping us with the expertise to tackle the challenges of taking skilled refugees into the labour market.

Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer

Kickstart London

In-house Founder 

IFI GLOBAL LTD

Analyst

Head of Marketing @ Wayra UK (Telefónica’s CVC) | Host of "The Day I..." podcast 💙

My "why" is building infrastructure for women. 🌟

Whether through the Aurora Tech Award, supplying investment and industry access to female founders in emerging markets, or "The Day I..." podcast, sharing stories of women backing themselves, my mission is to empower women to create their own tables. 💪

If the table isn’t built for you, don’t complain—build another. That's what you need to know about me and how I think.

👉🏼 Interested in joining Aurora as a founder, partner, investor, or mentor? DM me! 💌 
👉🏼 Have a story to share on "The Day I..."? I’d love to hear from you! 🎤

Head of Marketing, Communications & Brand  

New year, same table… 🫱🏼‍🫲🏻💙
(and yes, Bella continues to be a meme)

2026 prediction: Aurora Tech Award will still be doubling down on what we do best, backing the boldest female tech founders building in emerging markets.

Can’t tell if the bloopers are better than the original video…

🚀 Building Aurora - the stage and fund for the boldest female founders in emerging markets.

taplio

Isabella Ghassemi-Smith's Linkedin Analytics