We are thrilled to introduce the newest member of our investment team, Elisa La Cava, who has joined Madrona as Senior Associate. We are fortunate to meet many, many impressive associate candidates, but Elisa really stood out with her mix of start-up, strategy consulting, and venture capital experiences. Elisa is going to be spending her time sourcing innovative companies, evaluating new investment opportunities, working with entrepreneurs across the portfolio, and broadly getting involved in the Pacific NW start-up ecosystem.
Elisa joins us after having completed her MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg school in June. While in business school, she had an impactful internship at MATH Venture Partners conducting due diligence, portfolio analysis, and attending partner meetings each week. She also had a deep dive in M&A with an internship in the very active AT&T Corporate Development group. Prior to b-school, Elisa worked at Deloitte Consulting in Seattle where she worked with technology and life sciences companies. She was also involved in developing Deloitte’s first Diversity and Inclusion go-to-market strategy, as well as leading an international pro-bono consulting program for non-profits in Latin America.
Elisa has also been part of an early stage start-up and lived the various issues facing founders from the inside as an early employee at Seattle biofuel manufacturer General Biodiesel.
Elisa grew up in Woodinville and is happy to return to the PNW. We are excited for her to bring her large local network and passion for the region to bear engaging with founders across the region.
Elisa commented: “During business school, I had my first experience working in venture capital and instantly loved it because I could help innovative companies reach their full potential. From the moment I started meeting the team at Madrona, I knew that this was the place I wanted to do this longer-term. Madrona has a world-class team and the resources to help startups not only gain instant traction in today’s market, but also position themselves to adapt and scale as markets change. I am also passionate about the growth of the community here in Seattle, specifically, because it is my hometown. I am beyond excited to be back in Seattle and at Madrona, and am ready to dive in and help support the next wave of world-changing founders and startups.”
I’m sure you will see Elisa at a local startup event sometime soon. Hopefully you will have a chance to meet her and experience her drive and enthusiasm firsthand. I do caution challenging her to a tennis match, however, as she played four years and was captain of Claremont McKenna’s tennis team. While leading the tennis team, she also managed to dual major in Economics and Spanish.
Welcome Elisa!
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