New venture fund Ecotone raises $3M | Local News

Emma Schwartz, managing partner of Ecotone Investment Fund, said they plan to raise another $1 million over the next several months. She highlighted the fund’s diversity. About 30% of the investors are women and 38% are minorities.

“It’s about opening our minds to whom the potential investors are, educating them and bringing them in, and being very inclusive,” Schwartz said. “We’re excited to be able to do that with this fund.”

Ecotone’s investment committee members include Jody Casey, Ed Escudero, Ben Marcus and Holly Trubowitsch in El Paso, as well as Matt Curl and Matt Doka, El Paso ex-pats living in Silicon Valley.

Schwartz, who stepped down as president of the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation in April to help lead the venture capital fund, said Ecotone is one of the largest venture capital funds in the region.

“We hope that this results in strong investments for well-deserving female founders,” Schwartz said.

The committee will begin investing in startups of interest soon, Curl said.

“We hope that the El Paso region will come together to support the companies that we fund with the strong nearshore capabilities that it has to offer while building productive relationships between Silicon Valley and El Paso companies,” he said.