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Dancer to Deal-Maker: Elise King’s Journey To Venture Capital
- Elise King is now a managing director for American Heart Association Ventures, and co-invests with fellow All Raisers on deals that serve diverse communities.
- Elise King started her career in dance. Shortly after joining a dream dance company Jennifer Muller/The Works, she found herself dabbling in venture.
- Elise noted there are similarities between dance and venture capital: "When you’re a dancer, you literally walk into this big white space, an empty room, and you have to create something out of nothing right?"
- Ironically, Human also finds conviction in founders who “do the hard thing,” just like Martin Smith emphasized when Elise was a StartingBloc fellow.
- Elise and her colleagues at Human also looked for founders who are committed to customer engagement and who are adaptable in their business approach.
- Elise developed preferences for what kind of founders to invest in at Human Ventures, including founders who are good storytellers, possess a deep understanding of their business fundamentals and who demonstrate transparency with their board and investors.
- Elise's new role as managing director for American Heart Association Ventures includes investing in companies that focus on improving women’s cardiovascular health, brain health, and cardiac care-related conditions.
- Elise shares All Raise's mission of empowering underrepresented founders, which led her to co-invest with fellow All Raisers in Parento and Salvo Health.
- Elise wanted to be the best investor she could be, which is why she left the dance company to focus on her work in venture capital.
- At Human Ventures, Elise focused on pre-seed and seed-stage businesses and sought to invest in founders who are adaptable and transparent with their board and investors.
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