Ellen Chisa
Partner·boldstart ventures
Bio
Professional summary
Ellen Chisa is a partner at boldstart ventures. Her official profile says she joined the firm in January 2021 after working with the team as a founder at Dark. At boldstart, she invests in and supports founders building pre-product, developer-focused enterprise companies. Her background includes early-stage product roles at Lola, Kickstarter, and Microsoft, where she worked on cross-platform Office Mobile. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. The profile states she lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.
Investment focus
Stage, sector, and overall fit
Stage
Sector
Thesis
Notable companies
Selected portfolio companies the partner has backed
How to approach
Framing and angles for outreach
Pitch framing
Relevant for founders building early developer tools or enterprise software products before product-market proof is complete.
Partneralization hooks
- 1Reference her founder experience at Dark if pitching developer infrastructure.
- 2Emphasize the creative-work-enabling aspect of developer or productivity tools.
Recent signals
What the partner has said or done recently
Personal site states she invests in enterprise software companies at inception.
Background
Career, education, and skills
Career history
- boldstart venturesPartnerPresent
- DarkCo-founder / CEO
- LolaProduct Manager
- MicrosoftProduct Manager
Education
- Franklin W. Olin College of EngineeringDegree
Skills
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