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Over the summer, Michelle Elston celebrated a huge professional milestone: 10 years in operations for Tenaya Capital, where she is now Vice President of Administration.
In this role, Michelle helps keep the firm running at full steam—managing projects, running operations, and upholding the Tenaya brand through external office communications and messaging. She is in charge of sourcing, hiring, onboarding, and training new talent. She takes particular joy in managing events, including the annual limited partners meeting, as well as board and CEO events, where she manages staff and also designs and delivers presentations.
Michelle had never been exposed to private equity or venture capital when she moved to the Bay Area, and start-up culture was brand new to her. On her second day in San Francisco, she interviewed for a temp-to-permanent position she spotted in a nondescript ad on Craigslist. Three days later she was hired at a private equity firm in the city’s financial district. She excelled immediately.
“This was a whole new world for me,” Michelle says. “It opened my eyes to the importance of connecting the right financing partners with founders to build successful companies.”
As a new receptionist, Michelle knew she was often the first interaction someone might have with the firm and internalized the importance of a strong first impression. Dedicated and driven, she moved from receptionist to an executive assistant role within ninety days.
After building a strong and consistent reputation for efficiency over the course of four years, a recruiter reached out to Michelle and convinced her to take a meeting with Tenaya Capital. Tenaya has built its culture on the belief that the best things in life happen with the people you like, trust and respect. The company has five equal founding partners and Michelle had to interview with them all.
The interviews went well and the partners provided Michelle an offer on the spot. She was struck by how kind and straightforward everyone in the office was and appreciated the quick, dynamic and exciting pace. She accepted the offer and made the move from private equity to venture capital. “Venture capital is quite different than private equity; it was another world I had to learn,” she says. Tenaya was only two years old when Michelle joined. “It felt like we were all discovering our roles together.”
From the outset, Michelle knew that she had an important part to play in helping the team and the funds succeed. She quickly raised her profile in the firm by eagerly embracing a growing list of responsibilities and was keen to take tasks off the partners’ plates, giving them more time to focus on their growing portfolio of investments. She enthusiastically threw herself into everything from managing the company’s relationship with its third-party service providers to heading up the remodel of the office kitchen. Her organizational skills and her tendency to be on the lookout for better, more efficient methods to get things done led her to assume responsibility for the operations of the entire office, becoming Vice President of Administration in 2017.
“We all know people who talk about getting things done. Michelle just dives in and gets them done while others are still chatting about it. She is constantly ready to embrace new challenges and responsibilities.”
Tom Banahan, Partner, Tenaya
Empathy and intuition drive her interactions with her co-workers, and she recognizes the strengths these qualities offer. “I try to anticipate the partners’ needs, identifying and addressing issues before they bring them up,” she says.
Not one shy to away from a challenge, Michelle is willing to deep dive into unfamiliar territory to gain a full understanding of complicated topics. She’s comfortable challenging the partners when she has a difference of opinion, and she knows that her perspective is valued. “The partners made me feel like part of the team from day one, including me on many critical decisions the fund makes,” she says.
“Michelle is not afraid to make a decision and lead from the front. Michelle consumes information, analyzes the alternatives, makes a decision and drives it to a successful outcome.”
Tom Banahan, Partner, Tenaya
Working at Tenaya has allowed Michelle to fulfill her innate curiosity and desire to learn. In addition to talent management and events, she’s developed expertise in investor relations, IT support, and facilities management. What’s more, her interactions with the founders of a variety of companies allow her to identify and learn more about the subjects, people, and industries she’s interested in.
Though early on Michelle may not have imagined she would end up in venture capital, she used her skillset to thrive and become an integral part of Tenaya. Her ability to master new skills combined with her strong emotional intelligence in navigating professional relationships has made her a uniquely forceful presence.
“When I started in this industry, I didn’t know that I would fit in so well,” she says. “But I’ve found a role that’s a really good fit for the way I think and the way I operate.”
When not at work, Michelle can be found tending her indoor jungle, hiking throughout the San Francisco Bay area, practicing yoga, or spending time with family, friends, her dog, Tesla, and her partner, Ben. She is a lover of nature and knows how to recharge so she can bring her best self to her work.
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Let’s Talk Ops (LTO) is a community of first-class operators powering some of the most successful venture capital firms in the world from behind the scenes. We provide connective tissue, mentorship, and tactical support to help members execute at top form across the many verticals they manage inside their funds. LTO also provides high-powered professional development to assist members with career navigation and to ensure the best talent stays. In that vein, we’ve launched our LTO Member Spotlights, aimed to elevate the visibility of VC operator contributions to the venture ecosystem at large.
