If you tend to follow a lot of Portland startup folks on social media, there’s no doubt that, today, your social streams were lit up with images of the governor of Oregon in a Microsoft HoloLens, a jam-packed crowd at Oregon Story Board, and news of Portland’s newest VC, Elevate Capital, and the big reveal of their first six investments—with four technology local startups among them.
To celebrate, the newest venture capital firm in town held a gathering of local media, elected officials, and other dignitaries. Many of whom have a vested interest in the way this money is being put to work.
“I am truly elated to see this idea come to fruition and celebrate the first six recipients of the Elevate Inclusive Fund,” said Loretta Smith, Multnomah County Commissioner. “This is a key example of how we can foster wealth creation within our communities of color and low-income neighborhoods and get us closer to becoming an even more competitive and equitable place for folks to live and work.”
Capital for the Elevate Inclusive Fund was led by a $250,000 investment from the State of Oregon, $500,000 from Multnomah County, and $500,000 from Portland Development Commission. The Elevate Capital Fund was led by a $2 million investment from Meyer Memorial Trust and $250,000 from the Oregon Community Foundation.
Among the Elevate portfolio companies revealed today were four local tech startups:
- Hubb (Elevate Inclusive Fund)
- I.T. Aire (Elevate Inclusive Fund and Elevate Capital Fund)
- RFPIO (Elevate Inclusive Fund and Elevate Capital Fund)
- Versi (Elevate Inclusive Fund)
Worried you’re too late to the party? Calm down. There’s still time to get involved—whether you’re an investor or a promising startup. If you’re a potential investor, understand that this is a “first close” for both funds, meaning that there is still money to be raised to meet the total amount. As such, both funds are on a rolling close till first half of 2017. And that means, of course, that if you’re a startup looking for investment, Elevate will have even more money to put to work in the coming months.
For more information, see Elevate’s press release or coverage by GeekWire, the Portland Business Journal, and The Oregonian.
