Elisa Schreiber
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You don’t sell AI. You sell inevitability. Today, brands win by leaning into emotion, virality, and vibes. You don't dominate by explaining what your product does. It's about making people feel and believe you're already won.
Elisa is Chief Marketing Officer at Felicis, where she supports portfolio companies with marketing strategy and leads all brand activities for the firm.
Before Felicis, Elisa spent 11+ years as the Marketing Partner at Greylock. While there, she led the firm’s marketing strategy for hundreds of portfolio company launches, dozens of M&A events, and some of the biggest IPOs in tech including Roblox, Coinbase, Airbnb, and Rubrik. Prior to joining Greylock, Elisa was on the executive team at Hulu where she led global brand & communications and launched the Hulu subscription service, which became the fastest growing video subscription service – online or offline – in U.S. history.
Elisa was the first TEDx organizer, and helped launch the global TEDx program. She currently serves as a board director at Noodles & Company and was an advisor to All Raise, a non-profit dedicated to accelerating the success of female investors and founders. Elisa earned an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business and a B.A. Communications & Media Studies and B.A. Visual Arts from U.C. San Diego.
You don’t sell AI. You sell inevitability. Today, brands win by leaning into emotion, virality, and vibes. You don't dominate by explaining what your product does. It's about making people feel and believe you're already won.
What motivates you professionally?
I've always been drawn to inflection points. The moments just before a new wave begins. I’ve been super early to these vibe shifts and leaned in hard. I started Edelman’s digital media practice just as piracy was beginning to rattle the music industry, helped launch and scale MySpace as social networks were emerging, and joined Hulu at the dawn of premium streaming video. I founded the first TEDx and helped launch the program globally, and joined Greylock when their track record outpaced their brand recognition. I’m drawn to the tension of these moments and the friction they create, and the energy required to accelerate through them.
Is “going direct” a trend, or a real shift?
Founders aren’t just technologists anymore - they’re culture-makers. A strong online presence is their most strategic soft power tool. The best founders understand that building influence isn’t about putting out one finely tuned statement at a time. It’s about showing up frequently, honestly, and with ~impeccable vibes~.
“Going direct” has become a bit of a catchphrase, but at its core, it means taking ownership of the narrative about you and your company before it forms around you. We are in an attention economy, and people have low attention spans. Platforms like TikTok, X, and Substack are no longer distant media planets, orbiting the star of “traditional” media. They are the white-hot core of culture. This shift has redefined what credibility and influence look like. The founder who shows up online with a distinct personality and perspective creates a gravitational pull around their company and their mission. And when done right, their presence becomes a force multiplier, priming traditional press, attracting talent, deepening customer trust, and establishing cultural relevance before they ever send out a pitch deck.
What’s the new playbook for brand building?
White papers and polished, corporate videos are being replaced by what I call "Terminally Online" marketing: digitally native media that speaks the emotional language of the internet. For example, take the videos designed for virality. In a world where perception drives adoption, this kind of content is doing more for user growth, recruiting, and investor interest than a dozen thought leadership blog posts ever could.