Michael Choi
Executive Partner
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- Full Name
- Michael Choi
- Title
- Executive Partner
- Firm
- Elevate Capital
- Firm Type
- Venture capital firm / early-stage inclusive venture fund
- Investment Stage
- Pre-seed, seed, and Series A
- Check Size
- $25k-$100k through the Inclusive Fund; $100k-$2M through Capital Fund II; $50k-$250k through the Innovation Gap Fund
- Target Company Profile
- Scalable startups, especially companies led by underrepresented founders including women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ founders, veterans, and founders with limited regional access to capital
- Sector Focus
- Technology, healthcare, SaaS, CPG, science/technology, medical devices, hardware/IoT, sustainability, fintech, and related early-stage sectors
- Geographic Focus
- Portland/Oregon through the Inclusive Fund and Innovation Gap Fund; national through Elevate Capital Fund II
- Location
- Beaverton, Oregon / Portland metro
Background
Michael "Mike" Choi is an Executive Partner at Elevate Capital, an early-stage venture firm founded in 2016 that focuses on underrepresented entrepreneurs. Elevate describes its team as investors who provide venture capital and mentorship, and Choi's role is listed around deal sourcing and portfolio value-add.
Before Elevate, Choi built and led enterprise software companies. Elevate's team profile says he guided overall direction for Axiom EPM, including company strategy, business development, and international expansion, and had more than 20 years of experience in enterprise performance management software. He was previously President and CEO of CPM Systems, Inc. before joining Axiom.
Elevate lists Choi as a CEO and co-founder of two startups with two bootstrapped acquisitions. He is also listed as a TiE Oregon board member, tying him into one of Oregon's major entrepreneur and angel-investor networks.
Investment Thesis & Focus
- Elevate Capital's stated thesis is inclusive early-stage investing: the firm says it invests early and offers mentorship to entrepreneurs who are underserved or overlooked by traditional capital markets.
- The firm specifically targets women, minority, veteran, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and regionally undercapitalized founders.
- Stage focus spans pre-seed and seed for the Inclusive Fund, pre-seed through Series A for Capital Fund II, and pre-seed or earlier for the Innovation Gap Fund.
- Check sizes vary by vehicle: $25k-$100k for the Inclusive Fund, $100k-$2M for Capital Fund II, and $50k-$250k for the Innovation Gap Fund.
- Choi's disclosed value-add is operating experience in enterprise software, bootstrapped exits, company strategy, business development, international expansion, deal sourcing, and portfolio support.
Notable Investments
- GrowthPlug - Healthcare practice-growth and optimization SaaS for patient acquisition, reputation management, scheduling, and front-desk automation; Elevate announced a $1M investment in 2019.
- Garden Bar by Evergreens - Portland healthy fast-casual salad company founded by Ana Chaud; Elevate lists it as an exit, and the company joined forces with Evergreens in 2019.
- TrueLark - AI communications platform for appointment-based local businesses; Elevate announced the portfolio company's acquisition by Weave Communications in 2025.
- RFPIO - Proposal-management software company; Elevate announced a strong return on investment after RFPIO's 2018 growth financing.
- JourneyTrack - Customer journey management SaaS startup; Elevate announced a $1M investment in 2023.
- SHYFT Power Solutions - IoT technology company focused on clean, reliable, affordable energy through solar/storage integration and connected energy platforms.
- VitalFlo - Respiratory-monitoring company providing real-time lung-health data for patients and doctors.
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