Biography

Elizabeth Ü is a professional multi-tool and serial single-tasker who is passionate about helping people achieve their entrepreneurial goals. She possesses a unique combination of the experience it takes to ask the right questions, the vision it takes to see the big picture, the skills needed to get down into the weeds (she will put anything into a spreadsheet if you will let her!), a fearlessness when it comes to speaking the truth, and enough humility to do it all with curiosity, kindness, and humor. Elizabeth is the author of Raising Dough: The Complete Guide to Financing a Socially Responsible Food Business, a book designed to help entrepreneurs navigate the complex and ever-evolving world of financing options, from traditional debt and venture capital, to community-supported models, non-voting preferred stock, and the many forms of crowdfunding. In 2010 Elizabeth founded the nonprofit Finance for Food, and served as its Executive Director until early 2013. During that time she designed and delivered over 35 keynote addresses, panel presentations, conference tracks, and interactive workshops on the topic(s) of raising money for OR investing in for socially responsible food businesses, including a talk at the inaugural TEDxManhattan, and wrote Raising Dough. Before founding Finance for Food, Elizabeth served on the staff of RSF Social Finance. As part of the management team there, she contributed to the long-term strategic planning process that formally identified Food & Agriculture as one of this pioneering nonprofit’s main focus areas for its investing, lending, and giving services. She was also lead product development manager for the design and launch of the organization’s newest loan fund, and authored a report on sustainable agriculture investing for the Rockefeller Impact Investing Network (now the Global Impact Investing Network). Previously, as Network Development Manager at the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), Elizabeth helped local networks of independently-owned businesses share tools and resources related to local food systems and community capital. Prior to that, she spent two years as project manager of Slow Money, developing a model and business plan for an investment fund that would address the needs of early stage food and agricultural ventures at the forefront of the sustainable agriculture movement; she also helped facilitate several early Slow Money network convenings. At the time, Slow Money was a WK Kellogg Foundation-supported project of Investors’ Circle, a network of angel investors, professional venture capitalists, foundations and family offices who are using private capital to promote the transition to a sustainable economy. While at Investors’ Circle, Elizabeth also coordinated the food-related educational programming for three national conferences. A Food & Community Fellow, Elizabeth holds a BS in Geography from McGill University and an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School, where she was a member of the Pioneer Cohort and served two years on the board of trustees. Other past professional roles have included statistician, wildlife technician, and hydrologist; she also founded and operated a publishing company until its sale in 2002. She spent a season farming on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, in 1996, and in 2007 she interned at Gospel Flat Farm in Bolinas, CA. She currently lives in San Francisco.