Liz Pocock

CEO

Startup Tucson & TENWEST Impact Festival

By Sovay Hansen

Beginning her career practicing law, Liz Pocock has had a nontraditional professional trajectory.

After completing law school at the University of Arizona and then working on international economic development initiatives for nearly five years, Pocock found herself wanting to focus her legal and business expertise on supporting local commerce in Tucson.

Now, rather than working on reform efforts in places as distant as Ghana, Pocock leverages her knowledge of accessing capital for small businesses here as CEO of Startup Tucson and the TENWEST Impact Festival since 2018.

Startup Tucson is quite small – Pocock is one of a team of only three core employees. The trio works together to support 300 members and around 80 volunteer mentors. The small staff ensures that Pocock is involved in all aspects of the organization. She fondly explains the many hats she wears this way:

“For example, one day, I get to meet with an entrepreneur to help coach her through ideas about her business,” Pocock said. “And then the next day I get to work on writing a big grant to get funding for an agriculture initiative that would translate into more jobs.” 

For her, this is the beauty of working for Startup Tucson − it allows her to have one-on-one time with the individuals who the organization supports, while also getting to build the region’s economy on a larger scale. 

When asked about her unique approach to leadership, Pocock explains that she has to inhabit two opposing mindsets to be an effective mentor to entrepreneurs.

“You’re taught as an attorney to be risk averse, but you also need the opposite approach with startups,” she said. “So, I am an interesting coach in this space, because I can help them see what the risks might be, while also helping them see what they need to do to move their idea forward.”

Gina Catalano, Pocock’s longtime mentor who has also worked with her at Startup Tucson in various roles, said that Pocock “embodies community building in everything she does.” She is a “passionate leader, innovative thinker, and collaborator.” 

But perhaps what sets Pocock’s leadership style apart is an approach she learned from Catalano herself.

Pocock makes a point of empowering hopeful business owners to trust themselves. She learned the value of this when she’d ask to talk through a complex issue or decision with Catalano, who would ask Pocock lots of questions, only to then say, “See? You knew the answer all along.”