World Book Day: An Interview with Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen, co-founder of Female Invest

ANNA-SOPHIE HARTVIGSEN

Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen, is the co-founder of female-focused ed-tech platform, Female Invest. Female Invest’s goal is to close the gender gap in the finance industry and increase the number of women making investments.

Anna-Sophie’s book, Ready, Set, Invest – a guide for beginners (The Danish title is Klar, Parat, Investér), is an introduction to investing, which teaches the reader everything they need to know about investing in a language that is fun and easy to understand. It is one of the only books on the market written by women, for women on this topic.

With the book set to be released in English, and a spot at the top of the Danish academic bestsellers list for the second year in a row, we spoke with Anna-Sophie about Ready, Set, Invest.

What motivated you to write your book?

I was 19 years old when I became interested in investing. I didn’t have any friends or family members who shared my interest, and I, therefore, had to find information on my own. Even though investing is a popular topic, finding easily understandable material was surprisingly hard. Also, I became aware of the painfully clear bias in investment literature, where female authors are a rare sight.

When I started university, I met Emma Bitz who shared my frustration. We, therefore, decided to write the book we had been missing ourselves.

Learning to invest doesn’t have to be boring or difficult, and that’s what we wanted to show.

Can you tell us a little more about your journey from insecure to a self-confident investor?

Growing up, I rarely saw women in high positions of power. Similarly, female sources of information for financial matters were a rare sight. This lack of role models made me question my interest in investing and my ability to even get started. Was this something I could ever learn? Do I belong in this area?

When I finally got started, I quickly fell in love with the topic. However, it was a lonely love affair, as none of my friends shared my hobby.

This all changed when I started business school three years later, where I finally met like-minded girls.

Having a community of women who looked like me, shared my interests, and were willing to discuss investing was a game-changer and made me feel very empowered.

I wanted other girls to feel the same, and that’s ultimately why Female Invest was founded and why we wrote the book.

Do you think there is a gender gap in finance?

Historically, finance and investing have not been areas that women were expected to engage in. With our book, we hope to change this perception and encourage more women to take their financial future into their own hands.

Truly engaging women in the world of finance and investing will not happen until women are equally represented in the positions of power shaping the very industry.

Women are falling financially behind in every single country in the world. This is also seen in the finance industry, which is still heavily dominated by men – particularly at the top. This homogeneity is clearly reflected in every aspect of the financial industry, from the culture to the product offerings.

The frustrating thing about the gender gap in finance is that many of the underlying causes are rooted in systemic issues. However, the one area women can impact themselves (today) is how they manage their money.

Therefore, the gender investment gap is about much more than growing wealth over time: It’s about having the freedom to make independent choices and the ability to live life on your own terms.

Why do you feel your book has been so successful?

When we started writing the book, no one really believed in the concept. We were constantly told that if women wanted to learn about investing, they already would have engaged more. Based on our own experience, we chose not to listen and write the book anyway.

Once it was published, it quickly proved everyone wrong. Right away, it hit the bestselling lists at Denmark’s largest book stores. That is two years ago, and the book is still a bestseller. 

We are currently working on an English version of the book, called Ready, Set, Invest – a guide for beginners, which we expect to launch in late 2021.


Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur on a mission to close the financial gender gap. She is listed on the Forbes 30 under 30 list and has co-founded Female Invest, Europe’s largest financial educator targeting women.

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