ABOUT ELISA MILLER-OUT:
Elisa Miller-Out is the Managing Partner at Chloe Capital, a venture capital firm and accelerator driving inclusive innovation at scale. Over the past 25+ years, she has built an impressive career as a serial tech entrepreneur, founding and leading seven companies, and as a seasoned investor, backing more than 65 companies and completing twelve M&A transactions, including a $100 million exit.
Beyond investing, Elisa is a dedicated ecosystem builder and mentor. She serves as an Innovation Advisor at NYSERDA, guiding an $800 million portfolio focused on climate and workforce innovation, and contributes her expertise as an Entrepreneur in Residence and mentor with organizations such as Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement and Launch NY. She also instructs for the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps and is a guest lecturer at Cornell and Columbia Universities.
Elisa sits on multiple boards, including Dimensional Energy, Impact Makers, and Switch, and chairs the board at Singlebrook, a custom software services firm she co-founded and led as CEO for over a decade, overseeing a successful division acquisition in 2016. Her insights and achievements have been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Forbes, and other leading publications, and she frequently speaks on technology and entrepreneurship across the country.
A graduate of Columbia University, Elisa is also a proud mother of two, balancing her high-impact career with family life.
Q&A WITH ELISA MILLER-OUT:
What is your most valuable possession and why?
I prefer experiences to possessions, but if I had to choose it would be my family, photos of my children, and my wedding ring, because of my amazing partnership with my husband.
What are your top 3 life lessons and how have they changed your life for the better (in other words, how have you implemented them to better your life)?
- When tackling something big and challenging, start with one small step.
- Hire slowly, fire quickly.
- Just do it.
I’m a doer and finding a way to spring into action is what helps me to gain control of the situation.
What is the one mistake you regret in life, and why? How would changing it have helped?
I generally don’t live with regrets, because I mostly value and learn from my mistakes. However, it’s inevitable that some of our portfolio companies fail. In one case we had a company that grew to over 100 employees and a value of over $100 million dollars before falling prey to venture debt and eventually shutting down. However, I don’t regret the investment, because the founder came back to mentor our other portfolio companies about how to avoid the same mistakes with debt, so it was a learning experience that helped up-level the whole portfolio. She also ended up moving on to a successful AI career and even invested in our fund, completing the founder to funder journey which is a big focus here at Chloe Capital!
When you face a challenge, what’s your method to move past it?
I develop a vision of where I want to go and what I want to achieve by overcoming the obstacle and brainstorm possible paths to getting there. I then select a pathway that seems like the best fit and I break it into small manageable action items that I can start tackling immediately. I’m a doer and finding a way to spring into action is what helps me to gain control of the situation.
How do you create a work-life balance?
I prioritize five pillars of health overall including exercise, nutrition, sleep, stress management and community. I accomplish this by waking up early to exercise and get sunlight; working with a health coach and app on my nutrition; prioritizing good sleep hygiene; utilizing breath work and yoga for stress and making sure to carve out time for my family and friends. I also like to plan family vacations where I disconnect from social media and devices as much as possible. I also work A LOT, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint, so consistency and balance is key for preventing burnout.
What “women” hangups have you been a victim to, that you feel sets women up to fail in their professional career?
I think imposter syndrome strikes all of us at some point and stepping into our confidence and recognizing our value is really important. I see a lot of us struggle to ask for what we’re worth and say no or set healthy boundaries when needed.
Are you affected by the Confidence Gap, where studies show that women require confidence as well as competence to succeed in the workplace environment, whereas their male counterparts don’t?
I’ve built my confidence over time through trying hard things and learning from my attempts whether I fail or succeed. Most of the time, success is just a string of failures where you iterate and try to get better each time. Of course sometimes progress is not linear and you take steps backward or repeat certain mistakes and then you just do your best to get back on track and keep moving forward. I find that if I work hard and am willing to overcome some failures and pivot when needed, I can accomplish most things I set out to do. It just usually takes a lot longer than I want it to and I’m a bit impatient at times!
What does equality mean to you and is it important?
For me, it’s about achieving equality in the venture capital ecosystem in which women are still only receiving about 1 – 2% of the funding. We make up half the population and should be getting half the funding – it’s that simple. At Chloe Capital, we’re tackling some of the world’s biggest problems in areas such as energy, health and workforce. The best way to solve those problems is by having more diverse voices at the table so that we can develop innovations that help all of us to thrive.
When tackling something big and challenging, start with one small step.
In your experience, what types of male allyship do you feel women need to foster at home and at work, to encourage an equitable ecosystem?
We welcome the role of man-bassadors and allies at Chloe Capital. Moving capital towards women’s empowerment and encouraging others to do so is a massive way to help! Most women leaders are overmentored and underresourced so funding is the biggest gap that needs to be addressed.
What advice would you give to women to help them step into their power?
I find the Harvard Business Review study and TED talk by Dana Kanze to be helpful here.
What’s insightful about the study is that even if you encounter bias as a woman when fundraising, you can help counter it by replying in a more promotion oriented way rather than a prevention or defensive approach. It’s a great tactical takeaway that can apply to lots of situations!
Can you share one resource (book, course, mastermind/masterclass, etc.) that you feel all women need to have?
Our impact investing course is a great way to learn more about the basics of angel and venture capital to improve financial literacy and understand how to align your capital with your values: https://chloecapital.com/course/impact-investing/.
What mantra do you live by and how has it impacted your life?
I don’t have one mantra, but I see myself as a conduit, convener and ecosystem builder.
Which therapies/modalities have helped shape your healing and empowerment journey?
Yoga, Crossfit and Community!
It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so consistency and balance is key for preventing burnout.
LEARN MORE ABOUT CHLOE CAPITAL'S IMPACT INVESTING COURSE:
Course lectures include how to add an impact lens to:
- Measure Impact;
- Perform Due Diligence;
- and Manage a Portfolio
To contact or learn more about Elisa Miller-Out: Website, Chloe Capital, Impact Investing Course, Donate, LinkedIn
