Venture Capital
Members only
expert event

Venture Insights with Elevate Capital, Benjamin Nahir, Elevate Capital

This is your chance to sit down with an investor who brings a scientist's precision and a builder's empathy to every deal he evaluates.

Ben Nahir is a Partner at Elevate Capital, a venture fund backing early-stage founders building at the application layer of AI — with a particular focus on industries where regulation and compliance create real competitive moats, including healthcare, legal, industrial automation, security, and finance. Ben oversees investments across Elevate's expanding funds and works hands-on to help scale early-stage companies into thriving, sustainable businesses.

What Elevate Capital looks for:

  • Stage: Primarily Seed, but will evaluate opportunities from Pre-Seed to Series A
  • Check size:
  1. Pre-Seed: $500K
  2. Seed: $1–1.5M
  3. Series A: $2–3M

Investment thesis: Application layer AI in verticals with a regulatory and/or compliance component — with a broad commitment to supporting diversity at the founding and leadership levels.

Before Elevate, Ben spent over a decade as a cornerstone of Oregon's startup community through TiE Oregon Angels and TiE Global Angels, providing strategic guidance and capital insights to early-stage entrepreneurs. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for OTRADI and the Oregon Biosciences Incubator. A neuroscientist-turned-investor, Ben brings a rare data-driven lens to identifying and backing breakout companies — and is widely known for his collaborative, mentor-first approach within the ecosystem.

He holds a BS in Mathematical Biology from Harvey Mudd, an MBA from Portland State University, and a Doctorate in Neuroscience from the University of Florida.

This is a members-only session. Come with your questions about AI investing, how compliance-heavy industries create defensible moats, or whether your company fits Elevate's thesis.

Speaker

Speaker avatar

Benjamin Nahir
Partner. Elevate Capital.
Ben is a neuroscientist-turned-investor who uses a data-driven approach to identify, research, and recommend investment opportunities. At Elevate, Ben oversees investments across Elevate’s expanding funds and helps scale early-stage companies into thriving, sustainable businesses. He is well known throughout the ecosystem for his collaborative approach and commitment to serving as a mentor, advisor, and connector within Elevate’s portfolio community.

Beyond his work at Elevate Capital, Ben has been a cornerstone of Oregon’s startup community for over a decade through his involvement with TiE Oregon Angels and TiE Global Angels, providing strategic guidance and capital insights to early-stage entrepreneurs. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Oregon Translational Research and Development Institute (OTRADI) and the Oregon Biosciences Incubator (OBI).

Ben received his BS in Mathematical Biology from Harvey Mudd, his MBA from Portland State University, and a Doctorate in Philosophy in Neuroscience from the University of Florida.

01

May

Fri

in-person
  • WHERE

    Zoom
  • WHEN

    7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • SPEAKER

    Benjamin Nahir

You must be Pre-Qualified to Register

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01

all founders,
not just ceo
People inclined to be Founders are a rare breed, and are hard to spot in society. We welcome ALL Founders, regardless of role, and generate proprietary profiles for every member so you can easily find your next team member or co-Founder.

02

current founders
Regardless of where you are on your journey, Founders share a unique set of challenges. Hiring, leadership, managing investors, developing products, handling customer issues, external communications, etc. This community exists to amplify your success.

03

TRANSITIONING FOUNDERS
So you’ve founded at least one company, and now you’re looking to refine your next great idea or find the perfect co-founder. Share and learn from a wide array of talented Founders in your area.

04

CURIOUS FOUNDERS
Congratulations! You’ve found success as a Founder and are now getting curious about doing it again. Now you need to find the right idea and co-founder to excite you. Share your wisdom and passion while forming new bonds within the startup ecosystem in your area.

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