Why I Saddled Up for Spaghetti Western

Spaghetti Western

Filmmakers Digital Diary 4

25 September 2025

Hello Eden Residents – it’s Lynne here with you for this week’s digital diary. On the surface, Spaghetti Western is a new film - but it’s so much more than that. What it is actually about is women taking charge, telling the stories we want to hear, and breaking a barrier that, astonishingly, has never yet been broken - making a film that is fully funded by women.

It feels poetic, that the very term “business angel” originated on Broadway, where wealthy individuals supported new plays that might otherwise never have seen the stage. In other words, angel investing was born in the theatre. So, to be supporting a film like Spaghetti Western feels like bringing angel investing back to its roots - back to the stage, back to storytelling, but this time with women leading the charge.

I’ve been a business angel for almost 30 years. For nearly as long, I’ve been a fierce advocate for women in business. That journey began back in the Wild West days of my career in technology and finance - industries dominated by men. I couldn’t quite understand why I was running into so many roadblocks, until someone asked: “Could it be because you’re a woman?” At first, I dismissed it. But when I dug deeper, the evidence was staggering - and it set me on a lifelong journey to support women founders.

Over the years, I’ve seen three myths about women founders pop up again and again. Consider these the tumbleweeds rolling across the dusty plain - distractions that obscure the real picture.

1. That women are risk-averse

2. That women lack ambition

3. That women lack confidence

   
   

Let’s shoot these myths down.

Any founder willing to stake their livelihood on a new venture is taking a risk. Women founders aren’t risk-averse - they’re risk-aware. They think long-term, grow steadily and build businesses with resilience – and that risk-aware approach is their super-power! (And why we should back them!)

Ambition? Women founders have it in spades. What they lack is access to capital. Women start their ventures with 53% less funding than men and less than 2% of UK equity funding goes to all-women-led ventures. That’s not a lack of ambition - that’s market failure, with decisions being made by men, for men.

And confidence? It wears many hats. Sometimes it’s loud and brash, but other times it’s quiet and steady. Women can often fall into the latter category, showing a calm self-assurance rather than overconfidence. Quiet confidence is no less powerful than a loud one - but too often it’s overlooked.

All of this brings me to Spaghetti Western. I’ve known Jessica for a few years, and when she and Diana came to me with their vision for a new film, I was struck by both the ambition and the urgency of it. Getting a film funded is never easy, especially when it’s a story told by women, for women. But when Jessica told me that no film in history has ever been fully funded by women, I was floored. And in that moment, I knew I wanted to help change that.

Now, I’m a technology and life sciences investor by trade. So why step into film, something I know nothing about? Because angel investing isn’t really about sectors. It’s about people. It’s about backing pioneers who are determined to blaze new trails. Jessica and Diana are exactly that.

This project is about rewriting the funding script - ensuring women’s voices are heard and women’s stories are told. Stories not filtered through the lens of what investors think we want to hear, but the ones we actually want to hear. And, aside from the potential returns, there’s so much learning and joy in this opportunity! On a personal note, it’s always been on my bucket list to be an extra in a film – with Spaghetti Western, I get to help fund a dream and perhaps live out one of my own! I’ve already chosen my dress for the Oscars - a gal’s gotta dream big – it’s part of the adventure!

Spaghetti Western is bigger than a film. It’s a movement and a call to action. Will the trail be rough? Sure. But is it worth the ride? Absolutely. The poet Rupi Kaur captures our spirit perfectly:

I stand

On the sacrifices

Of a million women before me

Thinking

What can I do

To make this mountain taller

So the women after me

Can see further

That’s what this is all about: making the mountain taller and helping others see further. So, saddle up and join us on the journey to blaze new trails together.

Wagons Ho!