Elevate Capital
| Company type | Privately Held |
|---|---|
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Beaverton, Oregon |
Key people | Nitin Rai, Founder and Managing Director; Robin Jones, Venture Partner; Mike Choi, Executive Partner; Raghu Raghavan, Executive Partner |
| Website | www |
Elevate Capital (Elevate Capital LLC) is a privately owned venture capital firm based in Portland, Oregon, that focuses on early-stage investments in startup companies and particularly those companies led by women, minorities, and veterans. The firm manages the Elevate Capital Fund that invests in early-stage companies and the Elevate Inclusion Fund that invests in startups run by women and minority entrepreneurs.[1][2]
History[edit]
Elevate Capital was founded in January 2016 by Managing Director Nitin Rai. Also in January 2016, the Portland Development Council (now Prosper Portland) selected Elevate Capital as the management firm for its publicly financed investment fund whose stated goal was to improve diversity among Oregon startups.[3] In August 2016, Elevate Capital made its first six investments in startups including Blendoor, Goumikids, Hubb, I.T. Aire, RFPIO, and Versi.[4]
In April 2017, Elevate Capital invested $500,000 in Medical Magnesium as part of the Rice Business Plan Competition held at Rice University.[5] In July 2018, one of Elevate Capital's investments, RFPIO, secured a $25 million funding round from private equity firm K1 Investment Management. This resulted in an early exit for Elevate Capital and produced significant returns.[6][7][8] On October 12, 2018, Elevate Capital hosted the Elevate Inclusion Summit at Portland Center Stage at the Armory to connect women founders and minority entrepreneurs with investors.[9]
Investments[edit]
Elevate Capital strives to maintain a 50-50 male to female founders split across its investment portfolio, and its investments are in companies that have at least one co-founder from a minority group.[citation needed]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Spencer, Malia (January 26, 2018). "Global entrepreneurs group taps Oregonian as board chair". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
- ^ Buri McDonald, Sherri (June 14, 2016). "New venture fund wants to increase money flow to Eugene area startups". The Register Guard. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
- ^ Rogoway, Mike (January 14, 2016). "Portland picks management team". The Oregonian/OregonLive. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
- ^ Spencer, Malia (August 31, 2016). "Elevate Capital makes its first investments in 6 Portland-area startups". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
- ^ Staff (April 14, 2017). "Innovative Bone Healing Technology Wins Over $700,000 from TiE at the Rice Business Plan Competition". Indo American News. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
- ^ Rogoway, Mike (July 24, 2018). "Beaverton startup RFPIO raises $25 million, plans to double or triple its staff". The Oregonian/OregonLive. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
- ^ Kang, Jaewon (July 24, 2018). "Rfpio Secures $25 Million From K1 Investment". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
- ^ Del Savio, Anna (October 14, 2018). "Elevate Inclusive Fund Scores a Big Win With a Portland Software Startup -- The exit by RFPIO is a success story for an ambitious investment program". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
- ^ Spencer, Malia (September 27, 2018). "Built Up, Start Up Weekend Latinx, inclusive investment conference on deck". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2018-10-25.