Elevate Ventures Annual Report 2023

WHERE FOUNDERS ANNUAL REPORT 2023

COMMUNITY | CAPITAL | ACCELERATION Elevate Ventures opens pathways that are necessary for innovation-driven founders to flourish. Find out how.

CONTENTS

2

4

6

8

10

14

16

18

2023 HIGHLIGHTS

ELEVATE'S IMPACT

2023 YEAR IN REVIEW

COMMUNITY IMPACT

CAPITAL IMPACT

ACCELERATION IMPACT

ON TO 2024

E LE VAT E V E N T U R E S 2 0 2 3 ANNUAL RE PO RT

WE ARE NOT MERELY PASSIVE SPECTATORS OF THE FUTURE; WE ARE THE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS SHAPING IT. 2023 was a year of tremendous growth here at Elevate Ventures. It is an honor to lead this organization with a clear, unwavering purpose: to empower innovation-driven enterprises throughout the State of Indiana. Our vision is for Indiana to become the Innovation Capital of the WorldTM through an unparalleled statewide intentionally connected innovation ecosystem.

On the following pages, you'll find evidence of the symbiotic relationship among Community, Capital and Acceleration that forms the foundation of our vision. We recognize the pivotal role of these elements in fostering an environment where founders not only survive but truly flourish.

1. Building Collaborative Communities: We are hyperfocused on supporting and growing our statewide innovation-driven entrepreneurial ecosystem. Speed, collaboration and density are critically important to building intentional connectivity that propels success.

2. Investing in High-Potential Companies: We invest in high-potential, innovative, cross-sector companies with a $500 million total addressable market (TAM). We offer these companies the critical pre-seed, seed and Series A capital needed to bring innovative ideas to life and drive high-paying jobs throughout Indiana. Elevate Ventures is committed to being an investor of choice for entrepreneurs statewide.

3. Providing World-Class Programming: Our commitment extends beyond investment. Elevate provides portfolio companies with mission-critical post-investment value-add services including partner network discounts, investment syndication, talent recruitment, financial hygiene, GTM best practices and more to help them grow.

Today, we are experiencing the slowest rate of change we will ever see. Advances in technology have made it possible for us to innovate with tremendous speed and efficiency. In Indiana, our story is being written by a statewide collection of visionaries, policymakers, educators, disruptors and investors who enable the transformative power of innovation and entrepreneurship.

We extend our deepest gratitude to our partners at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and all of our statewide stakeholders. Your commitment drives the success stories contained in these pages. With your continued partnership, together, we will place Indiana prominently on the national and global stage, become known as the Innovation Capital of the World™ and be the undisputed best place to live, work and play.

Sincerely,

Christopher “Toph” Day Chief Executive Officer

E LE VAT E VE N T U R E S .C OM

3

2023 HIGHLIGHTS Indiana Primed for Entrepreneurship Boom Indiana’s leadership in innovation and entrepreneurship continues to develop. Indiana was named the #1 state to start a business in 2023 by Forbes, and the state’s venture market surpassed $1 billion for the second consecutive year in 2022, ranking No. 2 for deal activity in the Great Lakes and Midwestern regions.

4

$15.7M SSBCI Dollars Deployed in Indiana

Nexus Competitions Award Final Investments

As the state’s venture development partner with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), Elevate has deployed $15.7 million of an estimated $70 million in SSBCI funding. $5.3 million of the deployed capital has gone to business enterprises owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, often referred to as SEDI.

Since 2019, Elevate Nexus Pitch Competitions have awarded $6.46 million to 138 Indiana companies.

E LE VAT E V E N T U R E S 2 0 2 3 ANNUAL RE PO RT

RALLY Debuted From August 29-31, Elevate Ventures and the IEDC hosted the inaugural RALLY conference in Indianapolis.

More than 3,100 people attended RALLY, representing 15 countries, 39 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces.

(More on page 12.)

#1 for 7 Years Running Pitchbook’s Q4 2023 Global League Tables reported that Elevate was the #1 Most Active VC in the Great Lakes region.

Elevate has held the top spot regionally for seven straight years.

Our Vision: For Indiana to become the Innovation Capital of the WorldTM

Leading in National & Global Deal Activity As the premier resource for data on the global capital markets, PitchBook also ranked Elevate as the 8th most active VC in the U.S. and 15th most active VC globally. More deal flow and deals completed lead to more innovation and growth in Indiana.

Produced 49 Get IN. Episodes

$3M PreSeed Fund Established

Through a partnership with Powderkeg, Elevate launched the Get IN. podcast and released 49 episodes. The show focuses on the unfolding stories and extraordinary innovations happening right now in software, hardtech, agtech, sportstech, medtech — all the techs.

The $3 million Pre-Seed Fund replaces the Elevate Nexus program, doubling our potential impact for early companies. The new fund will provide direct investments ranging from $20,000-$100,000.

Its purpose is to de-risk startups to the point that they are attractive to other investors and primed for follow-on seed-stage Elevate Ventures investment.

(More on page 15.)

Introducing Elevate Origins Online Platform Since 2019, 1,000+ growthminded individuals have participated in Elevate Origins training in a live environment. To make our entrepreneur and pitch curriculum accessible to more people, in September 2023, we launched Origins in a digital, self-guided format. (More on page 17.)

E LE VAT E VE N T U R E S .C OM

5

ELEVATE'S IMPACT Elevate relies on key metrics to evaluate our organization’s efficiency and performance against industry standards.

We continuously strive for excellence in our operations and processes so we can better serve entrepreneurs across the state and our portfolio companies. Data around business support and development bring to light many of the ways focusing on Community, Capital and Acceleration drives impact.

2023 Investment Highlights

$21.7M Committed Capital

$165.9M

Capital from Other Sources 7.6 : 1 Leverage Ratio

2,975

112

74%

Investors in Elevate's Network

Investments

of Companies Receive Follow-On Funding

That's 1 Deal Every 2.33 Business Days!

(Of those Elevate invests in)

*Note: Data from Elevate Ventures is as of 12/31/2023. Other data self-reported by portfolio companies is as of 9/30/2023.

6

E LE VAT E V E N T U R E S 2 0 2 3 ANNUAL RE PO RT

Economic Impact Summary

52,113

Total Jobs Created 8,355 Direct Jobs 43,758 Indirect Jobs

$868 Investment Per Job

JOBS CREATED BY REGION Central

33,563

East Central

13

Heartland

26

North Central

6,218

North East

1,978

North East Central

1,100

North West

456

South

831

South Central

2,594

South East

259

South West

905

West

186

West Central

3,983

$171.6M

Total Amount Funded,

by Region, Since 2011

NORTHWEST $2M

NORTH CENTRAL $11.7M

WEST CENTRAL $16.6M

HEARTLAND $420K NORTHEAST CENTRAL $1.4M CENTRAL $115.6M

$21.5M

$92,000

Annual Payroll Tax Revenue

2023 Portfolio Company Employees' Average Wage

$15.2M

$55,500 Indiana Average Wage

Annual Sales Tax Revenue

$57,600 U.S. Average Wage

WEST $1.2M

NORTHEAST $9.2M

SOUTH CENTRAL $5.1M

EAST CENTRAL $180K

SOUTHEAST $2.7M

SOUTH $2.2M SOUTHWEST $3.3M

E LE VAT E VE N T U R E S .C OM

7

ELEVATE'S 2023 CAPITAL ALLOCATION 8

21 FUND

INDIANA ANGEL NETWORK FUND

MANUFACTURING EXPANSION FUND (SAM FUND)

$3.4M

$15M

$500K

7 Transactions

44 Transactions

1 Transaction

ELEVATE UNIVERSITY FUND (ELEVATE NEXUS)

COMMUNITY IDEATION FUND

LEAD FUND

$960K

$260K

$160K

19 Transactions

E LE VAT E V E N T U R E S 2 0 2 3 ANNUAL RE PO RT

13 Transactions

3 Transactions

SBIR/STTR PHASE I

SBIR/STTR PHASE II

PRE-SEED FUND

$412K

$505K

$480K

9 Transactions

7 Transactions

9 Transactions

In 2023, Elevate invested $21.7M through a total of 112 transactions.

E LE VAT E VE N T U R E S .C OM

9

COMMUNITY

CAPITAL

Vital View Technologies

$5.5M

RAY FRASER Co-Founder & CEO

Investment announced Dec. 7, 2023. An additional $900,000 put Vital View over its subscription cap, demonstrating high demand. Pier 70 Ventures and the Notre Dame Pit Road Fund led the seed extension round, with participation from RedRock Equity Group and Elevate Ventures.

South Bend, IN Founded in 2021

PITCH: Medical IoT company developing sensor-based, connected solutions. Vital View’s congestive heart failure monitoring platform features a proprietary contactless, noninvasive at-home medical monitor that tracks total body fluid change over time to inform patient care plans and prevent hospitalizations.

In August 2023, Ray Fraser was in the right place at the right time. At RALLY, the two-day innovation experience launched by Elevate Ventures in 2023, Elevate’s VP of Hardtech Nicholas Kuhn introduced Fraser to a representative from a family office in Mishawaka. Less than three months later, this introduction to RedRock Equity Group translated into a strategic investment in a $5.5 million oversubscribed fundraising round that Vital View announced in December 2023.

“If it weren’t for RALLY, I’m not sure if I’d be here with a happy face right now. That experience came up huge for us,” Fraser says. Though they were located just miles from one another, Vital View and RedRock had never crossed paths. The Elevate community brought them together.

At RALLY, Fraser pitched Vital View before a crowd of hundreds before personally showing their future investors a prototype and getting to know one another. In September, Vital View formally pitched RedRock, leading to a thorough due diligence process headed by Vital View’s CoFounder and COO Cassandra Adams. Right before Thanksgiving, Vital View got the big news: RedRock was in.

“Because they already had a relationship with Nick, we were able to develop the relationship the right way. We got to meet them in person and get to know each other. Once it was time for a formal pitch and due diligence, things moved quickly,” Fraser says. This kind of efficiency is fueled by trust and allows startups to move faster and smarter.

Vital View first became part of the Elevate community in 2020, when Kuhn advised the team on its original business roadmap. Elevate then invested in Vital View’s first seed round in 2021. Recently, Kristin Eilenberg, Elevate’s VP of Life Sciences and Healthcare, has guided the startup ahead of its FDA submission.

“One thing I love about our relationship is Elevate’s willingness to provide the time and feedback we need to move things forward," Fraser says.

That is the power of community.

10

E LE VAT E V E N T U R E S 2 0 2 3 ANNUAL RE PO RT

ACCELERATION

All About Access For founders to advance, they must have opportunities like the ones Elevate actively creates. Vital View is poised to reach its 2024 milestones — finalizing the first-gen product, completing pivotal clinical studies and submitting to the FDA in 2025 — in part because they have found strong subject matter experts and accessed enough capital to allow their roadmap to run on all cylinders.

One thing I love about our relationship is Elevate’s willingness to provide the time and feedback we need to move things forward.

— RAY FRASER, VITAL VIEW TECHNOLOGIES

COMMUNITY

Podcasting to Build Community

Making Connections at 36 Statewide Events

Stories connect people. Throughout 2023, deal-makers, innovators, CEOs and disruptors joined co-hosts Elevate and Powderkeg to share candid, inspiring stories for the Get IN. podcast. Guests included Angie’s List Co-Founder Angie Hicks, Authenticx Founder/CEO Amy Brown, Folia Founder/CEO Ravi Bhatt, and Sixty8 Capital Co-Founder/General Partner Kelli Jones.

In 2023, Elevate connected and engaged stakeholders in every corner of Indiana. We did this in part by hosting events, including pitch competitions, workshops and a multiday, multicity roadshow tour where disparate stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and educators collaborated to accelerate innovation.

4,141 Indiana Companies Have Leveraged Elevate Resources Since 2011.

Meeting Founders on Their Journey How and when founders get introduced and plugged into Elevate isn’t the same for everyone. Our team meets these innovators where they are and supports them as they move toward reaching their next milestone.

1

On-Ramps for All — Access to resources and people is critical.

Elevate ME aims to reduce barriers for historically underserved entrepreneurs in Indiana and leverage collaboration among minority groups — specifically, Black, Brown and female founders.

Through Origins, growth-minded individuals, founders and earlystage startups can access online entrepreneurship training courses from almost anywhere.

2

Community Engagement — If people are unsure exactly where they fit at Elevate, they can talk to our dedicated Director of Engagement and EQ Practitioner, Andie Hines-Lagemann. She ensures all stakeholders have a front door to learn about Elevate.

3

Vertical-Specific Engagement — Founders coming to Elevate at this stage typically get connected to subject matter experts inside our organization, or to our Operating Partners, who have expertise in a specific industry.

4

Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A Investments — Once companies become part of the Elevate portfolio, our relationship with them is ongoing, proactive and focused on post-investment success.

E LE VAT E VE N T U R E S .C OM

11

COMMUNITY

Introducing RALLY From Aug. 29-31, 2023, Elevate Ventures’ vision to launch the world’s largest global cross-sector innovation conference came to fruition when RALLY opened its doors to 3,100+ people in Indianapolis.

Entrepreneurs, C-suite executives, public policymakers, university leaders, investors and thought leaders from around the world converged to connect and understand the trends in technology and business that will empower them to shape the future. Based on post-event survey results, RALLY led to 21,539 creative collisions.

RALLY’s 279 speakers included Peyton Manning, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Crystal Washington, Victoria Arlen and Guy Raz. Six Innovation Studios of the Future attracted registrants to 50+ panels and content sessions, with the Entrepreneurship and Software studios drawing the most attendance.

RALLY was made possible with support from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and our platinumlevel sponsors AgriNovus Indiana, Purdue Innovates, Applied Research Institute (ARI), Indiana University and Sports Tech HQ. A special thank you to RALLY’s inaugural partners including High Alpha, Indy Women in Tech, Indiana Technology & Innovation Association, Midwest House and 16 Tech Innovation District.

12

E LE VAT E V E N T U R E S 2 0 2 3 ANNUAL RE PO RT

Register for RALLY 2024 August 27-28 Indianapolis, IN

COMMUNITY

3,100+ People Attended 86% OF ATTENDEES SAID THEY WOULD ATTEND RALLY AGAIN.

5 IN-Prize Winners REPRESENTING RALLY’S INNOVATION STUDIOS OF THE FUTURE. Ag & Food - PawCo Foods (San Francisco, CA) Hardtech - Xponent Power (Fremont, CA) Healthcare - myBiometry (Lowell, MA) Software - GoodMaps (Louisville, KY) Sportstech - EDGE Sound Research (Riverside, CA)

443 COMPANIES FROM 44 COUNTRIES APPLIED FOR THE $5M RALLY IN-PRIZE COMPETITION.

Startups AT RALLY REPORTED MAKING AN AVERAGE OF 10 CONNECTIONS WITH VCs THAT LED TO 3 MEETINGS FOR POTENTIAL FUNDING.

450+ CURATED 1:1 MEETINGS BETWEEN INVESTORS AND COMPANIES.

Future IN Headquarters To accept IN-Prize investment dollars, winners are required to establish a significant presence in Indiana for at least 1 year.

After their RALLY experience, several IN-Prize winners have already begun to establish operations in Indiana. Through RALLY, we are attracting more talent and innovation to our state and creating an even greater ecosystem for founders to flourish.

E LE VAT E VE N T U R E S .C OM

13

C A P I TA L

COMMUNITY

Laxis

Investor Intros

ERIC XIAO Founder & CEO

Through Elevate pitch competitions, Xiao has gotten well connected to the investor community in Indiana, which he describes as tight-knit and friendly. “I’m confident I know almost every investor in Indiana.”

Newburgh, IN Founded in 2020

PITCH: AI company that has developed an innovative AI assistant tailored to empower revenue teams, helping them enhance productivity and drive accelerated growth. The platform offers a wide array of features to support the efforts of revenuegenerating teams.

It is easy to understand capital as a means to procure something with a price tag, but to a founder, the value of capital is more nuanced. This became clearer to Eric Xiao after he moved with his wife from Silicon Valley to southern Indiana in early 2020.

“Access to capital in Indiana is more limited, so startups have to become capital efficient,” Xiao says. “Investors here are more cautious about deploying capital. They want to see more traction before investing.”

ACCELERATION

People First “People are the most important asset of any company, especially high-tech companies,” Xiao says. “Building a great team is essential for our success at Laxis. We need to hire the top-tier talent with the right culture fit in order to be successful.”

In capital-dense areas of the country, like Silicon Valley, investors are often more willing to take a bigger risk in very early-stage startups with the promise of huge returns. Xiao’s journey as a founder in Indiana has been different. In his experience, investors here are more cautious about investing in pre-seed and seed rounds.

In 2022, Laxis received a $80,000 pre-seed investment as a winner of the Elevate Nexus pitch competition in southern Indiana. The capital, Xiao says, gave the company valuable social proof. A year later, Laxis won $100,000 in seed money during the Elevate Nexus statewide pitch competition.

Capital opened doors for Xiao to build credibility and make connections each step of the way. In October 2023, Laxis ​​ announced that it had raised $1.5 million in seed funding from Elevate Ventures, Flywheel Fund, Allos Ventures, Ground Game Ventures and VisionTech Partners — all based in Indiana — as well as Lofty Ventures in Chicago.

This particular influx of funds means Xiao can make hires to expand his nine-person team, building on some of the less tangible benefits of capital they have already experienced.

Winning the Nexus statewide competition provided us exposure to the Indiana startup ecosystem and also the resources to take Laxis to the next level. We are now well-equipped to accelerate our growth and create impact in our community!"

— ERIC XIAO, LAXIS

14

E LE VAT E V E N T U R E S 2 0 2 3 ANNUAL RE PO RT

C A P I TA L

Capital Activity Since 2011 Capital is a core component of Elevate’s mission to make Indiana the Innovation Capital of the World™. As our organization looks forward to fuel future founders and our global community of innovators, we are building on a strong foundation.

558 Indiana Startups Funded $171.6M Total Deployed in Market

Elevate’s New Pre-Seed Vehicle In August 2023, Elevate hosted its final Nexus Pitch Competition. For over four years, the Nexus program served Indiana startups by hosting regional and statewide pitch competitions where winners took home direct investments ranging from $20,000-$100,000.

To provide investments to as many eligible companies as possible, focusing attention on $20,000 investment opportunities, Elevate launched the Pre-Seed Fund to de-risk startups to the point that they are attractive to other investors and for follow-on seed-stage Elevate Ventures investment. The Pre-Seed Fund will also award $20,000-$100,000 in direct investments, but these awards can be sought and given any time of the year.

Pre-Seed

Seed

Series A

People, Ideation, and MVP

Founder-Led Sales

Product Market Fit

$0-$100K ARR

$100K-$1M ARR

3M ARR

$0-$500K Raising

$500K-$3M Raising

$3M-$10M Raising

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

$2.3B+ Capital from Other Sources

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

PRE-SEED FUND

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

ANGEL FUND | SSBCI | 21 FUND

12.81x Leverage Ratio

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

E LE VAT E VE N T U R E S .C OM

15

ACCELERATION

CAPITAL

Plan Forward

$2M

JANE LEVY & MEGAN LOHMAN Co-Founders & Co-CEOs

In a partnership guided by Titi Obasanya, VP of Software at Elevate, whom Levy calls “one of my alltime favorite people,” Plan Forward’s Seed B round of funding will allow the company to get to market even faster. “Capital greases the wheels,” Levy says.

Indianapolis, IN Founded in 2018

PITCH: Dental membership healthtech solution that partners with practices to create, implement, grow and maintain membership plans for uninsured patients. Plan Forward offers a guided approach with proven results for dental health providers.

COMMUNITY Without the right support, the startup journey can seem like a catch-22. A founder needs a team to build a product. To hire a team, they need capital, but when potential funders get involved, they want to know that the founder has a strong team and customers before they invest.

Despite the challenges, in 2023, Plan Forward announced that it had raised just under $2 million in Seed B financing led by Elevate Ventures, doubling its initial funding goal.

“One reason we were able to upsize the round was that in May 2023, we launched a complete rewrite of the product and saw tremendous customer growth,” Jane Levy says.

The fresh new product hit its stride to resolve the customer’s pain point in the market, and between May 2023 and January 2024, Plan Forward’s monthly recurring revenue grew by more than 25%. Sales to group dental practices increased, and the value of its average contract increased by 3.5x.

The company has also excelled because it hired the right people. Levy, who officially joined as Co-CEO in 2021, says the Plan Forward team of six full-time and three part-time employees are true collaborators.

Their journey demonstrates how acceleration isn’t built by just one person’s brilliant idea, just the people behind the venture, or just how well the company is funded. Acceleration requires them all.

16

E LE VAT E V E N T U R E S 2 0 2 3 ANNUAL RE PO RT

Dental Circles “There are a number of people on our team who have been in dental in some way, shape or form. That’s been vital from a marketing and branding perspective,” Levy says. Focusing on this community to set up strategic partners has opened doors to valuable interviews, podcast appearances and knowledge sharing.

The feeling you get when someone puts up their hand and says, ‘I believe in your team and what you're doing’ ... that was Elevate for us, and they're still saying that.

- MEGAN LOHMAN, PLAN FORWARD

Megan Lohman (far left) and Jane Levy.

ACCELERATION

Origins: Built by VCs for Educators and Future Entrepreneurs Built by founders and investors, Elevate Origins provides a curriculum that leads participants through the ideation process, provides tools to vet business models and develops the material required to draft a pitch deck and successfully pitch to investors. The content has been drafted to support first-time entrepreneurs as well as those looking for at-your-own-pace refresher content. Elevate Origins pitch decks have been used to raise Pre-Seed and Seed capital as well as added value to entrepreneurship curriculum in classrooms.

In 2023, Elevate expanded its Origins program to a virtual learning platform. In all, Elevate offered online Origins training to more than 100 participants associated with higher-education institutions across Indiana and globally through a partnership with InnoPower, which focuses on advancing Black entrepreneurship.

The partnership with InnoPower, led by CEO Emil Ekiyor, demonstrates how expanding Elevate’s reach and identifying new innovators in the U.S. and as far away as Africa can attract more attention to our state.

Access Origins Platform

Elevate Origins starts at ground zero on the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and how to package their innovationdriven startup into a concept they can pitch to an investor.

- LANDON YOUNG, VICE PRESIDENT, PRE-SEED

E LE VAT E VE N T U R E S .C OM

17

ACCELERATION

CAPITAL

Beyond $500K

Overfuel RYAN PFENNINGER & ALEX GRIFFIS Co-Founders Indianapolis, IN Founded in 2022

PITCH: Automotive industry's first no-code website platform with unmatched speed, natively integrated digital retailing and advanced visitor-level analytics. Overfuel is the all-in-one website platform dealerships have been waiting for.

Ryan Pfenninger, Paul Fearnow and Alex Griffis knew the automotive industry needed better sales technology. Putting the hard squeeze on car shoppers was no longer an effective tactic. They also knew how to build and grow a startup. They had done it several times, including together at 250ok, which they sold in 2020.

What they didn’t know when they launched Overfuel in 2022 were the ins and outs of the automotive industry, the market their company was hoping to capture. And so as the Co-Founders developed their team, they brought in subject matter experts, including Fishers Imports Owner Peyman Rashidfarokhi. The result is an all-in-one, mobile-first website platform for dealerships.

“Some people know how to wrap a business around an idea,” Pfenninger says. “Others are SMEs with deep expertise in one industry. You need both to accelerate.”

In 2023, in addition to acquiring one of its competitors, 321 Ignition, Overfuel raised a $500,000 preseed funding round led by Elevate Ventures. The capital will be used to expand its onboarding and customer success team to support more than 100 new customers signed since piloting in March.

Whether founders need industry SMEs, business guidance or resources to accelerate their companies, Elevate can help.

"Elevate's partnership program with companies like Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud saved us money almost to the tune of the whole raise," Griffis says. At Elevate, we know that post-investment next steps look different for every company. That is why we have cultivated a rich suite of resources to unlock pathways for more efficient growth.

COMMUNITY

Access to Experts Overfuel's founders knew they needed experts in automotive to drive their startup forward so they added people like Fishers Imports Owner Peyman Rashidfarokhi to their team. Because SMEs can be invaluable to founders, Elevate taps its vast network of advisors and regularly connects founders with industry veterans to help fuel business growth.

Elevate's partnership program with companies like Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud saved us money almost to the tune of the whole raise.

— ALEX GRIFFIS, OVERFUEL

Overfuel's founding team is (from left) Paul Fearnow, Ryan Pfenninger, Alex Griffis and Peyman Rashidfarokhi.

18

E LE VAT E V E N T U R E S 2 0 2 3 ANNUAL RE PO RT

ELEVATE IN 2024 Fueling Founders Beyond Capital From Initial Engagement to Post-Investment Success While capital is an essential part of a startup's success, what comes after the check is even more valuable. To help ensure our portfolio companies continue to advance post-investment, Elevate has built a Platform Team focused on building a proactive, founder-first process.

Proactive engagement with:

Startups being supported through:

Portfolio companies receive:

•

Local communities throughout the state

•

Elevate Origins

•

•

Pre-Seed focused Vice President

Concierge, bespoke support from a dedicated Portfolio Success Team

•

Early-stage entrepreneurs

•

Vertical-specific Vice Presidents

•

•

ElevateME (Black, Brown and women founders)

•

Low-barrier pre-seed investment dollars

Access to leading experts and business leaders as Operating Partners

•

Partner discounts and trusted recommendations

•

Continued education on relevant topics

•

Vertical-specific communities

Elevate Ventures is getting a new look in 2024.

Here's a sneak peek of our brand refresh and that is just the beginning.

E LE VAT E VE N T U R E S .C OM

19

50 E 91st Street, Suite 213 Indianapolis, IN 46240 ElevateVentures.com