August 2020

The number of deals increased 74%, to 92 deals, over the 53 deals in the first six months of 2019. Strong pre-seed deal count (<$500,000 rounds) was largely driven by the number of investments made through the Elevate Ventures Nexus Pitch Competition. Seed through later-stage deal counts ($500,000-$10 million+ rounds) remain on par with 1H 2019 activities.

Indiana investment overcame not only the pandemic and recession but also venture capital market uncertainties experienced nationwide in Q2 2020. Only Illinois showed a greater increase among Great Lakes states.

The 1H 2020 Indiana Venture Report provides a mid-year assessment of venture investment activity in Indiana. While the majority of venture capital activity in the state focuses on technology, the report includes all sectors. New to the report this year is a national and regional analysis on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on venture investment.

Other findings from the report include:

• The majority of VC investors saw deal flow on par with 2019 and anticipate similar results for the remainder of 2020.
• Despite strong deal count, deal size and investment in Indiana lagged behind other states.
• The first half of 2020 has already surpassed mid-year activity in many prior years.
• If current momentum continues, Indiana could exceed 2019 activity in 2020.
• Deals valued under $500,000 made up nearly 60% of all activity.

Elevate Ventures CEO Chris LaMothe sees the activity as an indication of growth, innovation and new jobs.

“While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected venture ecosystems locally and nationally, we’re pleased to see such a strong start to 2020,” said LaMothe. “However, in order to keep up this momentum, we all need to work together to prioritize entrepreneurship and high-growth businesses across the state, which provide a critical pillar to building successful communities.”

The primary source of investment information used in the 1H 2020 Indiana Venture Report was PitchBook Data Inc. in conjunction with Elevate Ventures’ proprietary deal information and deal data submitted by our co-investment partners. Data was also collected from BioCrossroads, gener8tor, TechPoint, the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Tax Foundation, Crunchbase Inc., the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, Collision from Home, Industry Ventures and Sandalphon Capital.

Click to read the full Elevate Ventures 1H 2020 Indiana Venture Report.

Marilyn Moran-Townsend

“Our economy is dependent on a very vibrant entrepreneurial community,” he said in an announcement around the time of the change.

“We need to do everything we can to cultivate that activity and continue to build off of our entrepreneurial culture. We have a lot of support organizations in the region that are helping and Elevate needs to be fuel for all the activities.”

A few weeks after Mirro became its chair, Dan Meek joined Elevate Ventures as northeast Indiana’s entrepreneur-in-residence.

“Dan has experience on all sides of entrepreneurship, not only in coaching startups but also being part of a startup himself,” Mirro said. “A lot of his experience has been in commercialization and medical device startups so it’s natural for him to be here helping entrepreneurs that are in that space.”

In addition to running his consulting practice, Seneca Business Ventures, Meek had served as bioscience commercialization director and venture development vice president for Rev1 Ventures.

At Rev1 he was involved in creating investment funds at OhioHealth and Nationwide Children’s Hospital and he led investments in companies spun out from those institutions and from Ohio State University.

While he has specific medical device industry experience, Mirro said Meek’s background has prepared him to help entrepreneurs across many industries.

In addition to medical devices and life sciences, Elevate Northeast Indiana planned to develop entrepreneurship with resources and mentoring in the region’s key industrial clusters of data science, advanced manufacturing and insurance, he said.

Elevate Nexus pitch competition at University of Notre Dame’s Innovation Park

The 16 were chosen from 58 finalists that competed Feb. 25-27 in the second regional Elevate Nexus Pitch Competitions, which were held at Innovation Park at the University of Notre Dame, Flagship Enterprise Center at Anderson University and Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington.

The competition was established to invest in early-stage Indiana startups with an emphasis on those taking advantage of support resources from higher education institutions in the state. Each company had 10 minutes to pitch to a judging panel in northern, central or southern Indiana.

Regional winners and affiliated higher-education institutions, if applicable, include:

Northern Indiana

• Pre-Seed ($20,000 investment)
  • Allervent; Upland; Taylor University
  • Rabbit Tractors; Cedar Lake; Purdue University
  • Lumen Bio; South Bend; University of Notre Dame

• Seed ($80,000 investment)
  • Blaire Biomedical; Angola; Trine University
  • CODEinCLASS; South Bend; University of Notre Dame

Central Indiana

• Pre-Seed ($20,000 investment)
  • Gen3Bio; West Lafayette; Purdue University
  • Multiscale Integrated Technology Solutions; Indianapolis; Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
  • Probari; Indianapolis; Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
  • TBB Quality Solutions d/b/a Documentor; Indianapolis

• Seed ($80,000 investment)
  • BestQuote; Zionsville; Purdue University
  • Spirrow Therapeutics; West Lafayette; Purdue University

Southern Indiana

• Pre-Seed ($20,000 investment)
  • Endless Eyewear; Evansville; Purdue University
  • My Gaming Career d/b/a Gamerized; Jasper; Ivy Tech Community College
  • Nature Greens; Indianapolis; University of Southern Indiana

• Seed ($80,000 investment)
  • The Learning Alliance; Bloomington; Indiana University-Bloomington
  • Sintact Medical Systems; Bloomington; Purdue University

In addition to receiving funding, each company is considered an Elevate Ventures’ portfolio business and gains access to Elevate’s network of advisors and resources.

Each company also earns the opportunity to pitch during the statewide competition where an additional $320,000 will be awarded. The statewide competition will be held virtually on May 19.

NIIC Provides Virtual Resource for Businesses

ALEX BROWN | Inside INdiana Business

April 14, 2020

The chief executive officer of the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center in Fort Wayne says innovation is often times born out of crisis. The NIIC recently launched a virtual resource center designed to support the entrepreneurial community in Indiana during the COVID-19 pandemic. Karl LaPan says there will be a new normal for businesses, particularly small businesses and entrepreneurs, once the crisis passes.

Click here to watch how the NIIC is providing virtual resources for businesses

“We are encouraged by the results of the 2019 Indiana Venture Report, including a record-breaking year for the state,” said Chris LaMothe, CEO of Elevate Ventures. “Indiana proves to be a significant player among regional and national venture capital activity, and we anticipate more success as we continue to support innovation and drive economic growth.”

The 2019 Indiana Venture Report revealed:

• For Indiana, 2019 was a record-breaking year for both venture deal count and dollars invested
• For the first time since 2009, Indiana surpassed 100 in the number of venture deals and over half a billion dollars invested in a given year
• Indiana accounted for 0.42% of national venture capital invested in 2019, compared to 0.22% in 2018
• Significant increase in 2019’s venture capital investment was driven by more and larger rounds invested in Indiana companies
• Indiana recorded 11 venture deals over $10 million in 2019, compared to 5 deals over $10 million in 2018
• While B2B tech and Central Indiana continue to dominate Indiana’s venture activities, there are emerging sectors and communities where venture community stakeholders are actively pooling resources and/or forming partnerships to support the launch and development of startups

The primary source of investment information used in the 2019 Indiana Venture Report was PitchBook Data Inc. in conjunction with Elevate Ventures’ proprietary deal information and secondary data collected from Elevate Ventures’ key co-investment partners. Data from BioCrossroads, Gener8tor, TechPoint, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Tax Foundation, Crunchbase Inc., and the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center are also incorporated. The Venture Club of Indiana served as a key partner in our data collection activities.

Click to read the full Elevate Ventures 2019 Indiana Venture Report.

Dr. Michael Mirro, board chair of Elevate Northeast Indiana

The board will work strategically to deploy resources and mentoring to key clusters in the region, including advanced manufacturing, medical device, life sciences, insurance, and data science to name a few.

“Our economy is dependent on a very vibrant entrepreneurial community,” Mirro said. “We need to do everything we can to cultivate that activity and continue to build off of our entrepreneurial culture. We have a lot of support organizations in the region that are helping and Elevate needs to be fuel for all the activities.”

Dan Meek, who joined Elevate Ventures on Nov. 4 as the regional Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR), will be a great fit to foster innovation and provide the much-needed fuel in northeast Indiana.

“Dan has experience on all sides of entrepreneurship, not only in coaching startups but also being part of a startup himself,” Mirro said. “A lot of his experience has been in commercialization and medical device startups so it’s natural for him to be here helping entrepreneurs that are in that space.”

Mirro said that while Meek has specific experience in the medical device industry, his extensive background gives him the capability to help entrepreneurs across many industries.

Entrepreneurs and others from the 11-county region who are interested in meeting Meek can join Elevate Ventures at a nearby Meet & Greet:

Huntington-Kosciusko-Wabash-Whitley counties: Monday, Dec. 2, 4-6 p.m.; Jo Young Switzer Center, 604 East College Ave., North Manchester. Click to register.

DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben counties: Wednesday, Dec. 4, 4-6 p.m.; Kendallville Event Center, 615 Professional Way, Kendallville. Click to register.

Adams, Allen, Wells counties: Thursday, Dec. 12, 4-6 p.m.; Indiana Wesleyan University—Fort Wayne Education and Conference Center, 8211 West Jefferson Blvd., Fort Wayne. Click to register.

Photo credit: gBETA

Meek most recently worked as president for his consulting practice, Seneca Business Ventures, a firm focused on providing strategic value to customers seeking to grow their business. Prior to that Meek was vice president of venture development and director of bioscience commercialization at Rev1 Ventures. At Rev1 Ventures, he led investments in companies spun out from institutions including OhioHealth, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University. Meek was also involved in creating investment funds at OhioHealth and Nationwide Children’s.

“I am honored to join Elevate Ventures and excited by the northeast Indiana entrepreneurial community,” said Meek. “With the strong and committed resources in the region, Elevate Ventures and Elevate Northeast Indiana are positioned to achieve great outcomes in company formation, investment and growth. I look forward to moving to the region soon.”

Elevate Ventures and Elevate Northeast Indiana began their partnership in April 2017. The partnership encourages entrepreneurs, and nurtures emerging and existing businesses into high-performing companies. The region is composed of 11 counties.

Matt Anderson, founder of Anderson Manufacturing. Photo credit: Ivy Tech Comm, College Fort Wayne