When Betsy Fore was five years old, her grandmother got a gift she never forgot. Decades later, the rabbit lent the name to the former venture company Velvetine Venture, which came true on Tuesday.
“After nearly 20 years of building a business, I realized that being on the other side of the table can create the biggest ripples of this one precious life,” she told TechCrunch. Her company includes baby food company Tiny Organic (he became the first Native American woman to raise Series A) and app builder Wondermento.
“Instead of building one thing, we can help other founders build dozens of life-changing companies,” says Fore.
Fore refused to share the amounts the company's funds were intended to raise, but the SEC filing indicates that they began raising money in October. The Midwest-based company aims to invest between $500,000 and $4 million in seed and Series A companies focused on the healthcare, climate, consumer and community sectors. I want to invest in at least 15-20 companies.
Even more interesting, the launch will make the former FORE one of the few Native American women who have launched a venture company in the US.
A few years ago, when TechCrunch looked for funding statistics for Native American founders, the numbers were so low that they could barely accurately pull them. Fore has been working to change that. She has a nonprofit organization that has worked to provide mentoring and opportunities to Native American founders.
Describing the fundraising process, Fore says that “institutionally closing the gates is thrilling,” and she has “purpose-driven institutional support,” which she believes has strong ROIs in the Midwest as well.
“When we brought in the LP, we knew that was because they were looking for us,” she said.
At Velveteen, the first to come to the forefront is Karla Brollier, a native of Patagonia, leading the company's climate investments. Katherine Stabler has been joining the company as a private funding lawyer and chief operating officer for decades.
(LR) Betsy Fore, Karla Brollier, Katherine StablerImageCredits: Velveteen Ventures
Fore wanted to honor her ancestors when she runs the fund, adding that some of my carry will go to Native American tribes.
“It's not an impact fund,” she said.
Fore previously worked for Xactor Ventures and Longjump Ventures (and is about to publish a book on entrepreneurship and venture capital).