ANGOLA, Ind. – Trine University is the first college campus to house an entrepreneur-in-residence
with Elevate Ventures, a nonprofit entrepreneurial venture capital firm with offices
throughout Indiana.
Elevate Ventures' Northeast Indiana office is now open in Trine's Ford Hall and will
relocate to the Jim and Joan Bock Center for Innovation and Biomedical Engineering,
currently being constructed and on schedule for completion in August. The office had
been at the Northwest Indiana Innovation Center in Fort Wayne.
The office will serve the region and help deliver funding, consultation and best business
practices to companies throughout Northern Indiana. The Elevate team provides professional
advisory services to entrepreneurs and early stage companies interested in growth
and connects them with other resources in the state.
Robert Clark, Elevate's Northeast Indiana entrepreneur-in-residence, will be based
on Trine's campus. Clark's responsibilities include mentoring portfolio company leadership
and sourcing and evaluating new investment opportunities in Northeast Indiana.
"Combining Elevate's regional mandate with Trine's educational mission and Innovation
One is a perfect fit," said Earl D. Brooks II, Ph.D., Trine president. "Our entrepreneurial
focus in our Ketner School of Business and the expertise in the Allen School of Engineering
and Technology together with our regional consulting and professional services of
Innovation One are uniquely positioned to help our students succeed and our region
to thrive in economic development."
Elevate Ventures manages the Indiana Angel Network Fund, Indiana 21st Century Research
& Technology Fund and other entrepreneurship initiatives.
"I've been working with Trine through the Ketner School of Business and Innovation
One for more than two years and they truly understand the needs of the region's businesses
and entrepreneurs," Clark said.
The Bock Center will also be the home of Trine's Innovation One and a variety of laboratories
stocked with state-of-the-art equipment to serve engineering and assist businesses
and corporations in the region.
Elevate will have access to Trine's laboratories, business and engineering schools,
faculty and students as it provides the consulting and seed capital to launch and
grow business in Indiana.
"With Trine and Elevate together here on our main campus, we can truly develop an
idea, gather the expertise for production, help to fund and move it to market," Brooks
said.
For more information about Innovation One, visit www.Innovation1.org.
For more information about Elevate Ventures, visit www.elevateventures.com.