HR Startup Elevate Raises $12 mln To Revolutionize Employee Benefits

Elevate, an HR startup based in Denver, has raised $12 million in Series A funding to expand its consumer-directed benefits platform.

The round, which was co-led by Greycroft and Norwest Venture Partners, brings the startup’s total funding raised to $15 million. Existing investor Bowery Capital also participated in the round. Sean Jacobsohn from Norwest Venture Partners said about the round:

“As an early Wageworks employee, I saw how version 1.0 consumer directed benefit platforms were really just online versions of the same paper-based process that existed pre-internet, which was always a frustrating experience for employees. Since becoming a venture capitalist, I had been looking for a team who could modernize the experience. When I met Brian and Brian, and heard their vision combined with their experience and team, I knew the opportunity for Elevate to reshape the industry was enormous.”

Elevate was co-founded by Brian Strom and Brian Cosgray, two entrepreneurs with ample experience in the industry and leadership positions. The mission of the startup was to provide employees with a platform that better allowed them to view, plan, and manage their pre-tax benefits, providing them with increased control over their financial life. Cosgray referred to this mission by stating:

“If one third of American employees use one or more employer-sponsored consumer directed benefits, imagine what utilization would look like if we modernized the experience for both employees and employers. We’ve spent the last year building to this vision of modernization, and we look forward to empowering employers and employees with the consumer directed benefits experience they deserve.”

The platform developed by the HR startup has also been recently launched to the public after having to be in stealth mode for more than a year, allowing the team to tune it up and improve it based on the results. This approach is sure to ensure new users with a better experience and improved results, which is essential to help more than 95 million American employees who have access to such plans.