This Venture Firm Becomes One Of The Latest Firms With A Native American Female Founder – peopleofcolorintech

Velveteen Ventures, has become one of the latest venture firms with a Native American founder, Betsy Fore. The Midwest firm aims to invest $500,000 to $4 million in seed and Series A companies that focus on e-healthcare, climate, consumer, and community, as stated by TechCrunch. It hopes to invest in around 15 to 20 companies.

Lack of Native American female founders

The number of native American founders 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 is collaborating with a nonprofit to support Native American founders by offering the community mentorship and opportunities.

Some 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

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

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