Jacob Schpok serves as Partner and Head of Platform at Elevate Ventures. He is a member of the Investment Committee and oversees the teams responsible for sourcing and sponsoring investment opportunities and ensuring portfolio companies realize strong exits.
My goal is to ensure Elevate Ventures supports founders in their pursuit of solving national and global problems.
Before joining Elevate, Jacob co-founded two startups in the SaaS and logistics industries and worked in a senior leadership role for a telecommunications startup in Indianapolis. Jacob also has an extensive background in state government, where he served as the State Director of the Indiana Small Business Development Center and the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
Most founders build their data room too late. From real investor checklists to naming conventions that build trust, Matt broke down exactly how and when to prepare your data room and why doing it early isn’t just smart, it’s strategic.
If your deck and your model tell two different stories, investors notice... and not in a good way. Ben Pidgeon laid out a clear roadmap for aligning your narrative and numbers, building investor trust, and avoiding credibility-killing red flags. If you’re raising capital, this one’s a must-read.
Fundraising isn’t just about the pitch; it’s about the paperwork. Attorney Audrey Wessel unpacked the legal essentials every founder should know, from term sheets and SAFE pitfalls to red flags in your docs that could scare off investors. If you’re raising capital, this one’s a must-read.