Cheers to 10 Whole Years!
Elevate Funding began 10 years ago, when our CEO, Heather Francis, set out on a mission to launch a true direct funder built on these three core values:
- Transparency
- Ethical underwriting decisions
- Doing right by both partners and merchants
Our full team strives to embody these values in all that we do. What started with 5 employees in 2015 has blossomed into a dynamic, diverse, multi-department team. Each year, we continue to grow our number of referral partners, small businesses served, and our reputation as an ethical funder.
In honor of our 10th year in business, we thought it would be fun to talk a walk down memory lane. Here’s one highlight from each of our years in business:
- 2015: Funded our 1st small business file
- 2016: Introduced Flex Funds, our add-on program
- 2017: Rolled out Elevate View, our proprietary portal
- 2018: Funded our 1,000th small business file
- 2019: Reached $50 million in contracts
- 2020: Introduced Abound program to assist businesses impacted by COVID-19
- 2021: Launched Elevate API for more seamless partner submissions
- 2022: Grew into an upgraded office space
- 2023: Reached $150 million in contracts
- 2024: Funded our 10,000th small business file
- 2025: Celebrated our 10 year anniversary!!!
If you’d like to read more about our history and 10 years worth of progress and growth, check out this sliding timeline graphic:
Dec. 2014
Founded
Elevate Funding was founded
Feb. 2015
First Deal
Funded our first small business
Dec. 2015
Volunteer Program
First volunteer event supporting Guardian Ad Litem
March 2016
Flex Funds
Introduced our valued add-on program, Flex Funds
April 2016
Merchant Milestone
Funded our 1,000th small business file
Dec. 2016
New Office
Moved into 5,000 square foot office space
Jan. 2017
Tasty Thursdays
Implemented "Tasty Thursday" - a weekly office breakfast
Jan. 2017
Fresh Website
Launched version 2.0 of our website
Feb. 2017
Elevate View
Rolled out proprietary portal/software, Elevate View
Dec. 2017
Socksssss
Our beloved branded socks made their debut at a conference
Feb. 2019
Funding Milestone
$50 million in contracts
April 2020
Abound Program
Introduced new program to assist businesses impacted by COVID-19
Sep. 2020
Blog Program
Launched our new blog and educational resources
Sep. 2020
Funding Milestone
$100 million in contracts
Nov. 2020
Rebrand & New Logo
Refreshed branding and updated logos
Feb. 2021
Self-Service Feature
Introduced self-service feature within Elevate View
April 2021
Elevate API
Introduced Elevate API for seamless partner submissions
May 2021
Fresh Website
Launched version 3.0 of our website
Dec. 2021
Adopted Ginger
Adopted Ginger, the office dog
Jan. 2022
New Office
Grew into an upgraded office space
May 2023
Funding Milestone
$150 million in contracts
July 2024
Merchant Milestone
Funded our 10,000th small business file
Jan. 2025
Expanded Office
Expanded our office to accommodate our growing team
Jan. 2025
10th Birthday
Celebrated Elevate's 10th year in business
We wouldn’t be where we are today without our incredible partners and amazing clients. Thank you for your trust and faith in us through the years. Cheers to 10 whole years, and here’s to many more!
— The Team at Elevate Funding
