INVESTMENT
FUNDING
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Access to capital can open decisive doors
Elevate Ventures is among the largest venture capital firms in Indiana and a top provider of funding to entrepreneurs launching and building businesses in the state. Because funding isn’t always easy to come by in Indiana, we make every effort to make capital more accessible to high-growth startups and entrepreneurs. One way we do that is through the management of funds that provide venture capital-type investments and other funds to Indiana-based companies during their early stages of growth. Another way is through introductions to other venture capital firms and angel investors.
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Who is a good fit?
When entrepreneurs are in a strong position to seek funding, the Elevate Ventures team helps them identify the best funding type for which to apply and makes sure they put their best foot forward in their application. As entrepreneurs move closer to acceptance, we assist them through our multilayered approval process so that they progress confidently.
Businesses that fit the Elevate Ventures model have a few things in common:
- They are a startup based in or interested in relocating to Indiana.
- They are generally involved in Agriculture, Life Sciences, Information Technology, Advanced Manufacturing or Medical Devices.
- They are in the Ideation, Early or Growth stage of development.
Determine where you are in the development of your business and begin to see how Elevate Ventures might help by exploring our primary funding types.
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Ideation Stage
Companies in the Ideation Stage are still formulating their product or idea. Typically, they are pre-revenue, conducting research and design to prove the product and may be involved in pre-clinical trials.
NEW IN 2018: Elevate Ventures’ Community Ideation Fund enables ideation-stage high-potential companies to move closer to a specific, measurable technology or product development milestones through an investment between $5,000 and $20,000. Eligible applicants include Indiana-based companies with headquarters in communities under a partnership with Elevate Ventures, and with no more than $50,000 in trailing revenue over the past 12-month period.
Want to learn more about the Community Ideation Fund? Click the infographic to the right for more details.
NEW IN 2019: Every year, Elevate Nexus will award pre-seed and seed awards to startups launching the next high-growth businesses in Indiana. Regional pitch competitions will occur twice a year providing funding in the form of convertible notes. Regional pitch winners will be welcomed to an annual statewide competition where investments are even larger. Learn more about Elevate Nexus.
Giving black and gold a whole new meaning, the Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund is an established partnership between Elevate Ventures, Purdue Foundry and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation that awards companies funds at two levels: Black Award value up to $20,000 per award; Gold Award value up to $80,000 per award.
It can take just one hurdle coming down to propel a business forward. To help entrepreneurs overcome hurdles to attain a particular measurable outcome or milestone, Elevate Ventures developed High Potential Startup Grants. This pre-seed program encourages entrepreneurism in specific communities by awarding between $5,000 and $25,000 to high-potential startups in regions where communities have invested in entrepreneurism.
The Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer, or SBIR/STTR, programs are the largest source of early-stage technology financing in the United States. In Indiana, Elevate Ventures matches $.50 toward every federal dollar awarded, for up to $50,000 in Indiana match per federal award. Any given company, including subsidiaries, has a lifetime maximum of $150,000 in total Indiana match. SBIR/STTR programs are highly competitive and encourage small businesses to explore their technological potential. Funding is available from 11 participating agencies throughout the United States and focus on various technological areas. Click here to learn more about SBIR/STTR Grant Matching.
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Early Stage
Companies with well-articulated market opportunities with some level of customer validation and a strong founding team fall into the Early Stage of development. Most often, the founders are interested in completing product development and identifying its initial product-market fit, but are not yet ready for typical first institutional investment from professional venture capital firms. Companies that qualify for the Indiana Angel Network Fund must fulfill a co-investment requirement. Elevate Ventures actively supports early stage companies to help them secure necessary funding from angel groups or other sources
NEW IN 2021: The Leighton Elevate Angel Development (LEAD) Fund is a $1M evergreen co-investment fund formed by the Judd Leighton Foundation and managed by Elevate Ventures. The LEAD Fund invests anywhere from $50K-$200K on a co-investment basis with other investors into high-potential, high-growth early-stage startups. Companies should have ties to Elkhart, Marshall, or St. Joseph counties, but opportunities from across Indiana may be considered. The primary objective of this fund is to provide entrepreneurs within the Startup South Bend-Elkhart region access to capital.
Click the infographic below to learn more or visit ElevateVentures.com/LEAD to apply.
NEW IN 2020: The Smart and Advanced Manufacturing Focus Fund (SAM Fund) seeks to invest in high-potential manufacturers or manufacturing entrepreneurs with new ideas and disruptive innovations. Smart manufacturing includes any technologies that improve safety, quality, productivity or reduce cost, including technologies such as 3D printing, data analytics, and augmented reality/virtual reality. Advanced manufacturing uses cutting-edge technology and processes to gain a large competitive advantage in the market. As a sector-specific fund, SAM co-invests with individual or institutional investors, and in the case of corporate spin-offs, the sponsoring corporate entity. Click here to learn more about the SAM Fund.
The Indiana Angel Network Fund supports seed and early investment in Indiana-based companies alongside qualified angel investors. Such companies typically either are pre-revenue or actively pursuing product-market fit through initial go-to-market activities. For life sciences companies, investment targets are usually seeking financing to complete preclinical activities to either prepare for clinical studies or submit for regulatory approval. Co-investments with Elevate Ventures tend to come from angel investors, organized angel groups, family offices or seed funds. The explicit goal of these co-investments is to maximize private sector participation and entice follow-on private investment. To support this aim, Elevate Ventures encourages the formation and growth of a network of angel investor groups across the state by linking partnering organizations, entities, and groups to both new resources and better access to existing resources.
The Indiana Seed Fund provides seed- and early-stage companies the capital needed to help them move closer to a revenue-generating future. Believing there is power in numbers, Elevate Ventures collaborates with multiple fund managers throughout the Midwest to support these young companies. Our fund-of-funds programs advance the formation of new fund managers and angel groups across the state, and to expand the availability of pooled capital for Indiana companies to fill funding gaps.
Click the infographic below for more details on our Seed & Early Stage Investment funds.
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Growth Stage
Growth Stage companies are primarily businesses with products or solutions already selling in the marketplace with meaningful customer traction. They have shown some mastery of operational infrastructure, expertise and planning needed to pursue an initial scale-up and are looking for that first growth capital from institutional investors. Companies that qualify for the 21 Fund must fulfill a co-investment requirement. Elevate Ventures actively supports its portfolio companies to help them secure necessary funding from venture capital groups and other sources.
The 21 Fund is a dedicated investment fund with a maximum investment size of $4 million per company. This fund focuses on Series A-stage investment targets, and reserves capital for follow-on investments in subsequent rounds. 21 Fund portfolio companies have a market size of over $500 million and demonstrate clear, sustainable competitive advantages such as technical superiority. For life sciences companies, 21 Fund typically targets clinical-stage or post-FDA approval companies. For other verticals, meaningful revenue and/or initial indication of a scalable business model is demonstrated. Other criteria include the existence of a disruptive business model and a coachable, committed management team with strong execution capabilities.
Are you a good candidate for one of Elevate Ventures’ investments or funding opportunities? Start the application process now (you do not need to know which type of funding you are seeking in order to apply).
To see what Elevate Ventures has invested in and the types of funds they received, visit Portfolio Companies.
Elevate Ventures’ role in soliciting, filtering, reviewing, selecting and managing deals with applicants for investments/grants varies among the funding types. Please contact us to learn more.