Elevate Capital

10/12/2026

The October 2026 Elevate Capital Newsletter is here, and it's packed with entrepreneurial advice, inspiring founder stories and more.

🔗 Read the full October newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/24eac1c93b73/elevate-capital-october-2026-newsletter

What's Inside:

✅ Why early deals fail and how founders can avoid costly legal and storytelling pitfalls.

✅ How Rapta's "AI Supercoach" is reinventing high-precision manufacturing by cutting error costs by over 90% and onboarding workers 10x faster.

✅ Celebrate our portfolio finalists at the Bend Venture Conference and Oregon Entrepreneurship Awards.

✅ Oregon Bioscience Incubator Startup Expo key takeaways you can use.

✅ Get inspired with portfolio company news and latest wins.

10/08/2026

National Pet Wellness Month reminds us that love for our pets can spark something bigger. For Healers Pet Care, it all started in 2011 when founder and CEO Terri Entler's German Shepherd, Jake, came home from a hike with burned paw pads. After days of struggling with makeshift bandages, Terri knew there had to be a better way.

An engineer by trade, she couldn't find the right solution, so she pulled out her sewing machine and made healing dog boots herself. "Jake wasn't just my dog. He was my first customer, my product tester, my business partner," says Terri.

One act of love for Jake became the foundation of everything Healers PetCare stands for: durable dog booties and pet wellness products to keep your dog happy and healthy.

➡️ Learn more about Healers PetCare: https://www.healerspetcare.com

Discover Healers PetCare's innovative solutions for pet health. From Medical Dog Booties & Urban Walkers to natural supplements for joint, skin & coat, and first aid essentials, we support your pet's well-being. A portion of sales benefits pet rescues.

10/06/2026

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and behind every statistic is a woman facing one of the hardest journeys of her life. If you're preparing for surgery, healing in recovery, or years past your diagnosis, you don't have to walk this road alone.

HandfulRx was built by survivors, for survivors. This resource from Handful supports women across the U.S. living with breast cancer, offering guidance on breast forms and compression, help navigating insurance reimbursement and sharing real survivor stories.

During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, buy any full-priced bra from Handful and get 50% off any Battle Cry Pink bras.

➡️ Shop Handful: https://handful.com/pages/survivor-support

➡️ Learn more about HandfulRx: https://www.handfulrx.com

10/06/2026

Applications are OPEN for the inaugural BioBuild cohort.

BioBuild is an 8-week commercialization program for early-stage bioscience companies ready to move promising science toward a stronger path to market.

Participating companies will:
• Learn from experienced bioscience industry experts
• Work with a dedicated BioMentor
• Strengthen their commercialization strategy
• Build alongside a small cohort of fellow founders
• Prepare to communicate their opportunity more clearly to partners, funders and investors

The inaugural cohort will include just 8-10 companies and launches in early January 2027.

Applications close November 20, 2026, or when 10 qualifying companies have been selected.

Ready to build?
Apply: https://zurl.co/QgMl2

BUILD WHAT'S BIOPOSSIBLE.

10/05/2026

Congratulations to Elevate Capital portfolio companies Osheru - Ziplyft (Growth Industries) and CleanHaus (Growth Tech) for being selected as Growth Stage finalists at the Bend Venture Conference!

The 2026 Bend Venture Conference Growth Stage finalists are set.

Eight companies across Growth Industries and Growth Tech will take the Tower Theatre stage on October 15 and 16, bringing proven traction, innovative solutions and ambitious plans for growth to this year’s competition.

Growth Industries finalists:
• Aquagga, Tacoma, WA
• LOOPTWORKS, Gresham, OR
• Osheru - Ziplyft, Bend, OR
• Penderia Technologies, Eugene, OR

Growth Tech finalists:
• Caravel Bio, Portland, OR
• CleanHaus, Portland, OR
• Permeta, Lake Oswego, OR
• Zing Drone Solutions, Pendleton, OR

These companies have moved beyond proving the concept and are poised to scale. Historically, companies competing in the Growth Stage have received investments ranging from $100,000 to $2.5 million from BVC LLC and partner venture capital funds.

Now in its 23rd year, BVC has helped channel more than $14 million into 67 companies, connecting founders with investors, expertise and opportunities to grow.

Join us October 15 and 16 in downtown Bend to see these companies take the stage.

Tickets are available at bendvc.com.

10/04/2026

Osheru - Ziplyft

10/02/2026

How can manufacturing plants cut error costs by over 90% and onboard workers 10x faster? In our latest portfolio spotlight, Elevate Capital met with two of the three Rapta co-founders, Aaron Brown (CEO) and Matthew Thornton (CMO), to discuss how their "AI Supercoach" is reinventing high-precision manufacturing.

Key highlights from the conversation:

✅ Bridge skill gaps: Rapta acts as an AI Supercoach to onboard workers 10x faster.
✅ Cut errors instantly: Catches defects live at the work cell to slash error costs by 90%+.
✅ Deploy in hours: Installs on-premises or air-gapped without changing facility footprints.
✅ Ensure full traceability: Automatically captures step-by-step photographic evidence and work orders.
✅ Accelerate future roadmaps: Generates quality control models directly from 3D CAD files to reduce setup time.

🔗 Read their story here: https://elevate.vc/inside-rapta-using-ai-cut-manufacturing-errors-drive-roi/

Rapta AI helps manufacturing plants bridge skill gaps, cut error costs by over 90%, and accelerate worker training by 10x.

10/01/2026

Why do deals die between Seed and Series A? Nitin Rai, Founder and Managing Partner of Elevate Capital, sat down with Daniel Novela of Novela Law to compare what each sees before a Series A.

Nitin looks for the point where the founder's story stops holding up. Daniel looks at the early legal decisions that become expensive once the company has value.

➡️ Read or watch the full conversation: https://novelalaw.com/where-deals-die-between-seed-and-series-a/

09/29/2026

The Oregon Bioscience Incubator (OBI) Startup Spotlight Expo on September 17 sold out, demonstrating the region’s strong interest in biotech and life sciences innovation.

Moderator Cara Turano (Oregon Entrepreneurs Network) led a conversation with biotech investors and industry leaders Shula Jaron (ONAMI), Shashi Jain (Portland Seed Fund), and Ben Nahir (Elevate Capital). The panel explored emerging funding trends, the evolving challenges founders face and the promising opportunities ahead in biotech and life sciences.

So, how can startups set themselves apart for investors? Ben offered this advice:

➥ Build an exceptional team that combines scientific rigor with strong business acumen. Success is more than technical expertise; you need to assemble a complementary, well-rounded group.

➥ Clearly identify your buyer, how they'll pay for your product and why they’ll make that purchase.

➥ Thoughtfully consider long-term financial projections, even those far in the future. This demonstrates a level of business maturity that many healthtech founders overlook.

09/25/2026

What advice would you share with aspiring entrepreneurs to guide them on their journey? Julie Melnick, Founder and CEO of The Sky Squad, says:

➥ "Listen to your inner voice. If you have an idea you can’t stop thinking about, go for it! It won’t be easy, but the journey will teach you so much about yourself."

➥ "Trust your gut and start taking action; you’ll learn as you go."

➥ "You don’t have to know everything about your industry. You just have to believe in your idea. Test it with a small group, gather feedback and keep iterating. You’ve got this!"

➡️ Read Julie's story here: https://elevate.vc/skysquad-extra-hands-extraordinary-journeys/