This New Venture Fund Is One The Few Led By A Native American Female Founder
Velveteen Ventures, a Midwest-based firm founded by Native American entrepreneur Betsy Fore, is one of the few US venture firms led by a Native American woman. As reported by TechCrunch, its institutionally backed first fund plans to invest $500,000 to $4 million in 15 to 20 seed and Series A startups focused on e-healthcare, climate, consumer, and community.
Lack of Native American female founders
The number of native American founders in the US is extremely low. TechCrunch attempted to find funding statistics for Native American founders, but the figures were so small that they could not be accurately compiled.
Fore stands out in this landscape. A three-time founder, she has built two multi-million dollar companies: baby food brand Tiny Organics, app builder Wondermento, and the nonprofit Natives Rising. In 2021, Fore made history when Tiny Organics raised $11 million in Series A funding, making her the first Native American woman to raise a Series A.
Other notable Native American founders include Aaron Yazzie, a Diné (Navajo) Nation member who designs critical systems for space missions; Danielle Boyer, an Ojibwe inventor and founder of The STEAM Connection; and Robin Máxkii, an Indigenous tech advocate and filmmaker.
Velveteen Ventures’s funding process
The launch of Velveteen Ventures makes Fore ones of the few Native American women to establish a venture firm in the US.
When speaking about the fundraising process, Fore said it was “thrilling to have held institutional closes out of the gate.” She says she has the “support of purpose-driven institutions” that believe a strong ROI also exists in the Midwest.
Karla Brollier, who is also of Native descent, will be joining the Fore team, along with Katherine Stabler, who serves as the chief operating officer, bringing years of experience as an attorney at private funds. Fore says she hopes to honor her ancestors as she runs the fund and shares that a portion of the initial fund will be allocated to Native American tribes.
Image: Betsy Fore
