Irina Pafomova

Co-Founder & Partner, Engelworks

Irina is Partner and Co-Founder of Engelworks, a London based growth advisory firm that helps owners and leaders of corporations and scaleup companies take advantage of market & technology change and drive growth, scale and shareholder value.

Irina is an experienced entrepreneur, investor, business operator and advisor with a focus on innovation and digital transformation in Finance, Health & Wellbeing and Sustainability Tech.

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Irina has had a 12-year investment banking career advising multinationals and local enterprises across a range of sectors including Technology, Media & Telecoms, Consumer & Retail, Financial Institutions, Energy, Utilities & Natural Resources in Europe, Asia & Latin America. She has worked with company owners & C-suite management on the development of their investor stories and the creation and execution of the appropriate capital structures, and has helped get their businesses ready for financial transactions across the spectrum between debt and equity.

Why do you support the work of The Entrepreneurs Network?

Since its inception, The Entrepreneurs Network has worked tirelessly to make the UK a more attractive place for entrepreneurs to start and build their businesses. Philip and his team have been helping raise awareness of the biggest stumbling blocks faced by entrepreneurs, and contributing to the development of business-friendly government policies. Being an entrepreneur and an investor in early-stage companies myself, I can appreciate the effort by The Entrepreneurs Network and am trying to contribute to it in any way possible.

What should entrepreneurs read?

For many years, I have started my mornings with a coffee and a fresh issue of The Financial Times. It’s amazing how much headstart it could give you if you are well-informed. There is a lot of value in getting your facts straight, and complementing it with insightful commentary.

Why is the UK an attractive place to grow a business?

I came to the UK in 2000, and therefore am an immigrant founder. I have really appreciated the support that I have had here over the years from the government, investors and peers. The UK has always been a fertile ground for entrepreneurship, and I do hope it will continue to do so. However, for its long-term prosperity and economic growth, it is vital that it offers growth-friendly policies that are competitive on the global stage.