REGIONAL & KEY PA R T N E R S H I P S
Startup South Bend-Elkhart
$
936
K
was invested in highpotential companies in the South Bend-Elkhart region in 2018.
TREK10’S MONUMENTAL 2018 Elevate Ventures portfolio company Trek10 saw big gains in 2018, nearly doubling the size of its team and achieving top line growth of over 40 percent. These are milestones Trek10 CEO Shane Fimbel believes shouldn’t be considered rarities. “There’s no reason why we can’t build the next major cloud computing company in South Bend — and Indiana in general. We have the right pieces coming together that could fuel the next globally relevant company,” he says. Elevate was an early supporter of
Trek10, Elevate funded Trek10 in 2014 and again when it participated in a convertible debt round. Elevate Entrepreneur-in-Residence Gavin Ferlic assisted the company on its most recent fundraise. Trek10 was one of 71 high potential startup ventures in the region Ferlic advised in 2018. “Elevate has been a huge supporter of Trek10 at the board level with leadership from Elevate Advisor Barbara Kew. She has been fantastic for us and enables us to extend and expand Trek10’s capabilities for enterprise customers,” Fimbel says.
Beyond funding, entrepreneurs really need connections like the kind Elevate can facilitate. Sometimes that’s all it takes to put a startup in touch with a future customer or client to get launched and get off the ground. — John Miller, Startup South Bend-Elkhart Board Member, experienced entrepreneur and accredited investor
SLIPSTREAM CLOSES $250K FUNDING ROUND In October 2018, Slipstream, a startup that is developing energy solutions to increase vehicle fleet performance, secured seed funding from Elevate Ventures and angel investors from Magnet Investors, a South Bend angel network. “Elevate has been crucial in financing our early-stage company. Their reliable support has been essential to building out our product features, and the fact that they are an Indiana-based fund who work with Indiana startups made it the perfect fit,” says Kevin O’Keeffe, Slipstream CEO. 10
E L E VAT E V E N T U R ES 2 0 1 8 ANNUAL REPO RT
BOARD LAUNCHES COMMUNITY ACCELERATOR The development and successful execution of a community accelerator program was a major accomplishment of Startup South Bend-Elkhart in 2018. Board members Iris Hammel, John Miller and Gavin Ferlic; along with Catlin Bulger (SBE Partnership), Patrick Jones (EnFocus) and John Henry (IDEA Center); led the charge. The Startup South Bend-Elkhart board modeled its community program after Notre Dame’s approach to nurturing entrepreneurs. The goal was to ready people in the region to pitch the Accelerator Subcommittee for entry into the IDEA Center’s 4-Cylinder Accelerator Program. In the first year, 22 community startups participated in the program, with 10 having pitched to the Accelerator Subcommittee. Veteran entrepreneur John Miller spearheaded Startup South Bend-Elkhart’s mentorship program. In just a few months, more than 20 mentors representing various skill sets and experiences had agreed to participate. From July to November, more than 20 companies received support from mentors.