Elevate Ventures Takes Over State Program

Elevate Ventures contributed to the round of funding.

The state’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program is undergoing a realignment. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. says the program, which encourages R&D, technological innovation and commercialization, will now be fully administered by Indianapolis-based Elevate Ventures.

The IEDC and Elevate Ventures have co-managed the program since 2014. Elevate Ventures says it will have the Indiana Procurement Technical Assistance Center realign the program in an effort to increase efficiency in the grant application and evaluation process.

"Today, nearly 500,000 small businesses operate across the state, and many of these companies have received one-on-one grant counseling from the Indiana PTAC," said IEDC President Elaine Bedel. "This move allows the state to continue supporting Hoosier entrepreneurs by streamlining SBIR/STTR’s grant administration while also increasing small businesses’ access to investment capital at an earlier stage in their development."

Elevate Ventures says it will administer both advisory and funding services for innovators and businesses by providing topic identification assistance, proposal reviews, letters of support for companies seeking funding, reviewing and approving state funding matches up to $50,000, and post-funding assistance.

"Elevate Ventures is committed to providing assistance and investment capital to Indiana entrepreneurs as well as building communities focused on entrepreneurs and innovation," said Chris LaMothe, chief executive officer of Elevate Ventures. "This consolidation simplifies the assistance, application and funding distribution to ensure Indiana entrepreneurs have a gateway into a venture capital firm early on, and a partnership with a funding source that can come alongside them from ideation to exit.”

Indiana’s SBIT/STTR program has awarded more than $4.5 million in matching funds to 67 companies between 2014 and 2017. Companies eligible for the program are for-profit small businesses headquartered in Indiana with fewer than 500 employees.