Elevate Ventures

Elevate operates through a public-private framework established by its 2011 spinout from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, giving it proprietary access to in-state founders at universities, accelerators, and state-supported incubators. The firm also runs the RALLY innovation conference and an explicit co-investor syndication model, sharing due diligence with a network of external investors. This creates a broad, non-competitive origination funnel that coastal firms typically cannot replicate in the region.

CEO Toph Day and Managing Partner Matt Tyner lead the investment team, alongside sector-focused Vice Presidents including Cy Megnin for software, Makenzie Norris for life sciences, and Nicholas Kuhn for hardtech. The firm's investment committee structure is not publicly detailed, but these named officers serve as the visible front-line decision-makers on deal evaluation and portfolio management.

Elevate is a venture capital firm structured as an asset manager, not a family office. It was created through a 2011 government spinout and operates with a mandate to invest in cross-sector Indiana startups while delivering market-rate returns — a hybrid model that is neither a pure state fund nor a traditional independent GP.

Elevate's disclosed investment activity focuses on direct investments into early-stage companies through equity and convertible notes, with no public indication of making LP commitments into external funds. Its cooperative syndication model, however, means it routinely invites co-investors into its rounds and shares due diligence, functioning as a de facto deal-by-deal partner to other institutional investors.

Elevate targets the full early-stage spectrum: pre-seed, seed, and Series A. Its pre-seed program sources founders pre-product and provides initial capital and validation, while seed investments support founders actively selling a minimum viable product, and Series A checks go to companies that have achieved product-market fit with clear go-to-market strategies.

Elevate was founded as a spinout from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation in 2011 under Governor Mitch Daniels, and it remains legally separate but deeply embedded in Indiana's innovation ecosystem. The firm works across multiple gubernatorial administrations and cooperates with state economic development bodies, but it is not a state agency — it operates as an independent venture capital firm using this public heritage to drive regional deal flow.

Elevate actively syndicates and shares due diligence with a network of external co-investors, a practice it describes as part of its collaborative DNA. The firm will introduce its portfolio companies to other investors with founder consent, functioning more like a networked regional anchor than a gatekeeper that restricts access to its deals.