Trine, Elevate Ventures partnership

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.