Michelle Dawson on Joining PLUS Capital as Head of Business & Legal Affairs

As an associate working on mergers & acquisitions and other complex corporate transactions at a top-tier international law firm, I wasn’t planning on making a career change anytime soon. Having previously worked in finance and investor relations at JPMorgan Chase, I felt privileged to once again be learning from and working alongside some of the smartest people I’ve known at Skadden Arps, and I still cannot think of a better place to have begun my legal career.

But when Adam Lilling and Amanda Groves reached out to me regarding an opportunity to join them in the world of venture capital, I quickly found myself visualizing a different path.

PLUS is a venture capital and advisory firm that advises and invests alongside over 65 world-class artists and athletes in the sectors they believe will help favorably shape the world of tomorrow. In the current venture capital landscape, where valuations remain at all-time highs driven in part by competitive funding markets, PLUS has a leg up by being able to serve as a true value-added partner to founders on a dollar-for-dollar basis. More than leveraging clients’ social media accounts, the PLUS team strives to build long-lasting strategic partnerships and earnest collaborations between game-changing companies and the influential individuals in PLUS’ network who are eager to support them.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharper focus the need for innovative technologies and services to empower consumers and support small business owners in times of increasing complexity and paradigmatic changes in the way we live our lives. Many of these trends were already taking shape prior to the pandemic — remote engagement and learning, direct-to-consumer marketing, the need for healthier and more sustainable living — creating an opportunity for mission-driven founders inspired to build products that address the challenges of today and tomorrow. PLUS’ principal investment verticals (consumer-facing sustainability, health and wellness, future of work, future of education, and conscious consumer) reflect the team’s belief that companies stressing social responsibility will find the most success in our future. PLUS portfolio companies are leading the path forward in these sectors, with visionary leadership teams supported by the strategic investors that PLUS brings to the table.

I could not be more thrilled to be joining the PLUS team and participating in the mission of harnessing influence to support innovation that affects meaningful change. Best yet, we’re just getting started. I am so excited for what’s to come. Stay tuned!