Ten years ago, Elevate Capital set out to change who gets funded and who builds wealth. What began as a bold bet on overlooked founders is now proof that diversity and inclusion are the engines of extraordinary financial returns and lasting generational impact. ​On June 4, investors and portfolio companies gathered in Portland, Oregon, for the 10th Annual Investor Meeting and Reception. We … ✅ Celebrated generational wealth and economic resilience built by our portfolio companies ✅ Looked ahead to new technology ✅ Outlined our strategic pivot toward Agentic AI with Fund III A decade of impact, a new vision for the future. Read our investor meeting recap here. 🔗elevate.vc/elevate-capital-2… #InclusiveVentureCapital #FutureOfAI #AgenticAI #Entrepreneurship #CommunityBuilding #StartupGrowth #DiverseFounders #VentureCapital #ImpactInvesting #InclusionArbitrage #SSBCI

The October 2026 Elevate Capital Newsletter is here, and it's packed with entrepreneurial advice, inspiring founder stories and more. 🔗 Read the full October newsletter here: mailchi.mp/24eac1c93b73/elev… What's Inside: ✅ Why early deals fail and how founders can avoid costly legal and storytelling pitfalls. ✅ How Rapta's "AI Supercoach" is reinventing high-precision manufacturing by cutting error costs by over 90% and onboarding workers 10x faster. ✅ Celebrate our portfolio finalists at the Bend Venture Conference and Oregon Entrepreneurship Awards. ✅ Oregon Bioscience Incubator Startup Expo key takeaways you can use. ✅ Get inspired with portfolio company news and latest wins. #SeedToSeriesA #BendVentureConference #Biotech #OregonLifeSciences #OregonEntrepreneursNetwork #Entrepreneurship #BreastCancerAwareness #PetWellness

National Pet Wellness Month reminds us that love for our pets can spark something bigger. For @HealersPet PetCare, it all started in 2011 when founder and CEO Terri Entler's German Shepherd, Jake, came home from a hike with burned paw pads. After days of struggling with makeshift bandages, Terri knew there had to be a better way. An engineer by trade, she couldn't find the right solution, so she pulled out her sewing machine and made healing dog boots herself. "Jake wasn't just my dog. He was my first customer, my product tester, my business partner," says Terri.  One act of love for Jake became the foundation of everything Healers PetCare stands for: durable dog booties and pet wellness products to keep your dog happy and healthy. ➡️ Learn more about Healers PetCare: healerspetcare.com #NationalPetAwarenessMonth #HealersPetCare #PetCare

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and behind every statistic is a woman facing one of the hardest journeys of her life. If you're preparing for surgery, healing in recovery, or years past your diagnosis, you don't have to walk this road alone. HandfulRx was built by survivors, for survivors. This resource from @handfulbra supports women across the U.S. living with breast cancer, offering guidance on breast forms and compression, help navigating insurance reimbursement and sharing real survivor stories. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, buy any full-priced bra from Handful and get 50% off any Battle Cry Pink bras. ➡️ Shop Handful: handful.com/pages/survivor-s… ➡️ Learn more about HandfulRx: handfulrx.com #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth #PinkOctober #BreastCancerSupport

How can manufacturing plants cut error costs by over 90% and onboard workers 10x faster? In our latest portfolio spotlight, Elevate Capital met with two of the three Rapta co-founders, Aaron Brown (CEO) and Matthew Thornton (CMO), to discuss how their "AI Supercoach" is reinventing high-precision manufacturing. Key highlights from the conversation: ✅ Bridge skill gaps: Rapta acts as an AI Supercoach to onboard workers 10x faster. ✅ Cut errors instantly: Catches defects live at the work cell to slash error costs by 90%+. ✅ Deploy in hours: Installs on-premises or air-gapped without changing facility footprints. ✅ Ensure full traceability: Automatically captures step-by-step photographic evidence and work orders. ✅ Accelerate future roadmaps: Generates quality control models directly from 3D CAD files to reduce setup time. 🔗 Read their story here: elevate.vc/inside-rapta-usin… #ManufacturingIntelligencePlatform #AITech #AerospaceManufacturing #QualityControl #MedicalDeviceManufacturing

Why do deals die between Seed and Series A? Nitin Rai, Founder and Managing Partner of Elevate Capital, sat down with Daniel Novela of Novela Law to compare what each sees before a Series A. @NitinrRai looks for the point where the founder's story stops holding up. Daniel looks at the early legal decisions that become expensive once the company has value. ➡️ Read or watch the full conversation: novelalaw.com/where-deals-di…

The Oregon Bioscience Incubator (OBI) Startup Spotlight Expo on September 17 sold out, demonstrating the region’s strong interest in biotech and life sciences innovation. Moderator Cara Turano (Entrepreneurs Network) led a conversation with biotech investors and industry leaders Shula Jaron (ONAMI), Shashi Jain (Portland Seed Fund), and Ben Nahir (Elevate Capital). The panel explored emerging funding trends, the evolving challenges founders face and the promising opportunities ahead in biotech and life sciences. So, how can startups set themselves apart for investors? Ben offered this advice: ➥ Build an exceptional team that combines scientific rigor with strong business acumen. Success is more than technical expertise; you need to assemble a complementary, well-rounded group. ➥ Clearly identify your buyer, how they'll pay for your product, and why they’ll make that purchase. ➥ Thoughtfully consider long-term financial projections, even those far in the future. This demonstrates a level of business maturity that many healthtech founders overlook. #Biotech #LifeSciences @OTRADIBio

What advice would you share with aspiring entrepreneurs to guide them on their journey? Julie Melnick, Founder and CEO of SkySquad, says: ➥ "Listen to your inner voice. If you have an idea you can’t stop thinking about, go for it! It won’t be easy, but the journey will teach you so much about yourself." ➥ "Trust your gut and start taking action; you’ll learn as you go." ➥ "You don’t have to know everything about your industry. You just have to believe in your idea. Test it with a small group, gather feedback and keep iterating. You’ve got this!" ➡️ Read Julie's story here: elevate.vc/skysquad-extra-ha… #SkySquad #AirportAssistant #StartupAdvice #travelwithkids #FounderStory #WomenInBusiness

Building a startup is a constant juggling act, and doing it alone is the hardest path. Greg Davis, Founder and CEO of Overwatch Imaging, shares his perspective on mentorship's true power. "Building a company, a technology, a product and a market concurrently is really hard. Having access to mentors, advisors and invested stakeholders who have been there before and have skin in the game is incredibly valuable." ➡️ Read Greg's story here as he shares his determination and commitment to building a company that focuses on mission-critical operations for wildfire, maritime and defense/government-led missions on six continents: elevate.vc/overwatch-imaging… #OverwatchImaging #SensorAutonomy #AeroSpace #WildfireTechnology #DeepTech #ArtificialIntelligence #MissionCritical #AutomatedIntelligence

If you feel like you’re hitting a ceiling as an entrepreneur, the problem might not be your strategy. You might be trying to solve complex, high-stakes problems alone. The most successful founders we work with treat mentorship and networking as a core strategic asset, providing clarity to pivot and confidence to make tough calls. In this article, we break down how to pull back the curtain on the “invisible barriers” and how to build a circle of advisors and mentors to help you scale your business with purpose. ➡️ Read the strategy here: elevate.vc/mentorship-growth… #StartupStrategy #FounderMindset #MentorshipMatters #Leadership #EntrepreneurialNetworking #EntrepreneurAdvisoryCircle

What happens when an entrepreneur refuses to accept the impossible? Ania Rodriguez, Founder and CEO of JourneyTrack, has spent decades turning ambitious visions into momentum: building, leading and proving what’s possible. But building an enterprise SaaS company takes more than a great idea and determination. It takes people in your corner who believe in what you’re building, and who aren’t afraid to challenge you along the way. Ania’s favorite word, “Brave,” takes on a new meaning this year. She says: ”Brave is not having all the answers. Brave is trusting your vision to take the next step anyway. Brave is saying what needs to be said, challenging what already exists and creating what the future requires.” As we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, Ania’s story is a reminder of the talent, ambition and innovation that Latina entrepreneurs bring to the business community and of the importance of ensuring they have access to the capital, networks and support needed to build enduring companies. ➡️ Learn more about JourneyTrack: journeytrack.io/ #HispanicHeritageMonth #LatinaEntrepreneurs #WomenEntrepreneurs #Entrepreneurship #WomenInBusiness #JourneyTrack

The September Elevate Capital newsletter just dropped, and it’s packed. What’s Inside? ✅ Elevate Capital evolves its mentorship approach to address the specific, difficult gap between the daily grind of running a business and the high-level strategy required to scale a company. ✅ Founder Spotlight: Ania Rodriguez with JourneyTrack on leading with bravery. ✅ A historic first for TiE Oregon! ✅ New healthcare podcast hosted by @NitinrRai. ✅ Portfolio companies are turning heads and expanding. ✅ Must-attend entrepreneur events! 🔗 Catch it all here: mailchi.mp/fadcabf6b661/elev…

This Labor Day, we celebrate more than a long weekend. We celebrate all entrepreneurs: the visionaries and the risk-takers. Your courage to believe in yourselves inspires us all to pursue our dreams and create a better future. At Elevate Capital, we are privileged to invest in entrepreneurs who transform relentless hard work into innovation, resilience and new opportunities. To every founder grinding through early mornings and late nights: Your work, your vision and your stories matter. To our investors and partners: Together, we are building an economy and generational wealth that benefits everyone. #HappyLaborDay

Scaling a business often feels like a series of educated guesses. Recently, Elevate Capital evolved its mentorship approach to address the specific, difficult gap between the daily grind of running a business and the high-level strategy required to scale a company. Our latest blog outlines why mentorship and networking, especially through programs like Elevate Edge, are the single most effective growth strategy for founders and early-stage scaling. While mentorship programs like Elevate Edge provide the framework for growth, founders’ experiences best illustrate the results. A few of our portfolio founders share how this hands-on partnership has shaped their fundraising, strategy and decision-making. ➡️ Read the full blog here: elevate.vc/mentorship-growth… #ElevateEdge #FounderGrowth #EntrepreneurialMentorship #StartupScaling #MentorshipMatters #EntrepreneurMindset

Investors make decisions quickly and often under intense time pressure. If your pitch doesn’t immediately convey credibility, you’re already at a disadvantage before you’ve had the chance to say anything meaningful. Here are a few insights from Elevate Capital portfolio founders on how to make a lasting impression. 💡“It’s never an investor’s job to understand your business. Your job as a founder is to paint the narrative so they can see the bigger picture. You have to get exceptionally good at telling your story. Once you bridge that gap, you’re not just convincing investors, but also early employees and customers.” –Obi Omile, Co-founder and CEO, theCut 💡“You must keep your pitch decks current. The goal isn’t to tell someone everything. Instead, give investors an exciting nugget about what you’re up to that makes them want to lean in and know even more. Simple is memorable and repeatable when you want to spread your mission and message.” –Marcelino Alvarez, Co-founder and CEO, Photon Marine 💡“Build with courage, not comparison. Your superpower lies in your unique lived experience and how it informs the problems you choose to solve. The world doesn’t need more of the same; it needs more of the bold, different, and deeply personal.” –Tanya Van Court, Founder and CEO, Goalsetter ➡️ From pitch structure and data storytelling to anticipating tough questions, read our guide to walking into an investor meeting with confidence: elevate.vc/how-prepare-inves…

Patricia Buehler, MD, Co-founder and CEO of Osheru, is not your typical medical device founder. With 25+ years of experience in ophthalmology and a specialization in eyelid surgery, Dr. Buehler has performed thousands of procedures and trained surgeons across the United States and abroad. That depth of clinical experience gave Dr. Buehler something most medical device developers don’t have: a frontline view of exactly where the standard of care fell short. “My entrepreneurial journey has taught me that surgery and entrepreneurship have a lot in common. Both require you to stay calm under pressure and solve problems creatively. You need to care about people and their experiences. Medicine trains you to have answers. Entrepreneurship teaches you to keep moving even when you don’t have all the answers." –Patricia Buehler, MD ➡️ Read Dr. Buehler's story here: elevate.vc/ziplyft-by-osheru… #oculoplastics #EyelidSurgery #OphthalmologyMedicalDevices

Most founders focus on how they built their company. Authentic stories help you attract customers, inspire your team, and earn investor trust. ➥ Your story is not a polished version for the press, but your real journey.  ➥ When customers hear the "why" behind your company, they do more than understand the product; they connect with your mission. ➥ When investors hear about the "struggle" that led you to start your company, they stop seeing you as just another founder and begin to relate to your journey. A powerful story helps turn strangers into believers. 🔗 Ready to uncover your authentic story? Read our guide here: elevate.vc/authentic-storyte… #FounderStory #EntrepreneurStorytelling #Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #AuthenticStorytelling