Elevate Ventures Inc

2023 was a year of tremendous growth at Elevate Ventures. As the state's venture development partner with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), Elevate has deployed $15.7 million of an estimated $70 million in SSBCI funding. $5.3 million of the deployed capital has gone to business enterprises owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, often referred to as SEDI. In August 2023, Elevate hosted its final Nexus Pitch Competition. For over four years, the Nexus program served Indiana startups by hosting regional and statewide pitch competitions where winners took home direct investments ranging from $20,000-$100,000 awarding $6.46 million to 138 Indiana companies. To provide investments to as many eligible companies as possible, focusing attention on $20,000 investment opportunities, Elevate launched the Pre-Seed Fund to de-risk startups to the point that they are attractive to other investors and for follow-on seed-stage Elevate Ventures investment. The Pre-Seed Fund will also award $20,000-$100,000 in direct investments, but these awards can be sought and given any time of the year. This type of activity contributed to Pitchbook's Q4 2023 Global League Tables reporting that Elevate was the #1 Most Active VC in the Great Lakes region. Elevate has held the top spot regionally for seven straight years. Leading in National & Global Deal Activity. As the premier resource for data on the global capital markets, PitchBook also ranked Elevate as the 8th most active VC in the U.S. and 15th most active VC globally. More deal flow and deals completed lead to more innovation and growth in Indiana. With a focus on teaching entrepreneurship, since 2019, 1,000+ growth-minded individuals have participated in Elevate Origins training in a live environment. To make our entrepreneur and pitch curriculum accessible to more people, in September 2023, Elevate Ventures launched Origins in a digital, self-guided format. Built by founders and investors, Elevate Origins provides a curriculum that leads participants through the ideation process, provides tools to vet business models and develops the material required to draft a pitch deck and successfully pitch to investors. The content has been drafted to support first-time entrepreneurs as well as those looking for at-your-own-pace refresher content. Elevate Origins pitch decks have been used to raise Pre-Seed and Seed capital as well as added value to entrepreneurship curriculum in classrooms. In 2023, Elevate expanded its Origins program to a virtual learning platform. In all, Elevate offered online Origins training to more than 100 participants associated with higher-education institutions across Indiana and globally through a partnership with InnoPower, which focuses on advancing Black entrepreneurship. The partnership with InnoPower, led by CEO Emil Ekiyor, demonstrates how expanding Elevate's reach and identifying new innovators in the U.S. and as far away as Africa can attract more attention to our state. Also, through a partnership with Powderkeg, Elevate launched the Get IN. podcast and released 49 episodes. The show focuses on the unfolding stories and extraordinary innovations happening right now in software, hardtech, agtech, sportstech, medtech - all the techs. Lastly, from Aug. 29-31, 2023, Elevate Ventures' vision to launch the world's largest global cross-sector innovation conference came to fruition when RALLY opened its doors to 3,100+ people in Indianapolis. Entrepreneurs, C-suite executives, public policymakers, university leaders, investors and thought leaders from around the world converged to connect and understand the trends in technology and business that will empower them to shape the future. Based on post-event survey results, RALLY led to 21,539 creative collisions. RALLY's 279 speakers included Peyton Manning, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Crystal Washington, Victoria Arlen and Guy Raz. Six Innovation Studios of the Future attracted registrants to 50+ panels and content sessions, with the Entrepreneurship and Software studios drawing the most attendance. RALLY was made possible with support from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and our platinum-level sponsors AgriNovus Indiana, Purdue Innovates, Applied Research Institute (ARI), Indiana University and Sports Tech HQ. A special thank you to RALLY's inaugural partners including High Alpha, Indy Women in Tech, Indiana Technology & Innovation Association, Midwest House and 16 Tech Innovation District.