Elizabeth McCluskey

Powerlist Category: Investors

Elizabeth serves as a mentor for her portfolio of 20+ companies, often led by first-time founders, helping them navigate credit unions and other financial institutions. Elizabeth and her team have introduced Discovery Fund companies to over 125 credit unions, resulting in many new customer relationships and successful partnerships. She has also built relationships with early-stage fund managers to support her portfolio companies’ fundraising, facilitating over 100 introductions to other venture funds in the past 18 months. The Fund continues to serve as a launching point for many diverse leaders, with about 40% of the fund’s inaugural cohort since graduating to the Ventures portfolio, a key measure of success for the Discovery Fund. Elizabeth also serves as a thought leader in the fintech space, and has been featured in numerous publications, podcasts and conferences.

Elizabeth has deployed ~$12M to founders from underrepresented backgrounds, with ~60% allocated to founders of color and ~40% to women founders. In an industry where less than 10% of funding goes to these groups, Elizabeth actively works to close these equity gaps, creating a more inclusive financial ecosystem. She is an active member of several groups that support the advancement of women in venture capital and entrepreneurship, including All Raise, Women in VC, and Females in Finance. She is an angel investor in women-led companies and a member of several angel groups, such as Modern Angels and Citrine Angels. Elizabeth serves as a mentor for cohorts within Village Capital, including ADAPT and Finance Forward. Additionally, she is a founding board member of Chicago Blend, an organization focused on improving diversity in the VC ecosystem in Chicago.