When Betsy Fore was 5, her grandmother obtained her a present she has by no means forgotten: A Velveteen Rabbit from Goodwill that Fore believed, with sufficient love, may spring alive. Many years later, that rabbit has lent its identify to Fore’s enterprise agency, Velveteen Ventures, which got here to life on Tuesday.
“I realized after building companies for nearly two decades that I could make the greatest ripple in this one precious life by being on the other side of the table,” she advised TechCrunch. Her corporations embody the newborn meals firm Tiny Organics (for which she turned the primary Native American girl to boost a Sequence A) and the app builder Wondermento.
“Instead of building one thing, I can help other founders build dozens of life-changing companies,” Fore stated.
Fore declined to share what quantity the agency’s fund would purpose to boost, however SEC filings present it began elevating in October. The agency, based mostly within the Midwest, will look to speculate $500,000 to $4 million in seed and Sequence A corporations, specializing in the healthcare, local weather, shopper, and neighborhood sectors. It hopes to spend money on at the least 15 to twenty corporations.
Extra curiously, nevertheless, with this launch, Fore turns into one of many few Native American ladies to launch a enterprise agency within the U.S.
Just a few years in the past, when TechCrunch regarded for funding statistics for Native American founders, the numbers had been so low that they nearly couldn’t be precisely pulled. Fore has been working to vary that — she has a nonprofit that has labored to supply mentorship and alternatives to Native American founders.
Describing the fundraising course of, Fore stated it was “thrilling to have held institutional closes out the gate,” and says she has the “support of purpose-driven institutions” that imagine a powerful ROI additionally exists within the Midwest.
“I have found that when we do bring on an LP, it’s because they were searching for us,” she stated.
Becoming a member of Fore at Velveteen is Karla Brollier, additionally of Native descent, who hails from Patagonia and can lead local weather investments on the agency. Katherine Stabler is becoming a member of the agency as chief working officer, after many years as an lawyer at non-public funds.
Fore stated she hopes to honor her ancestors as she runs the fund, including {that a} portion of Fund I’s carry will go to Native American tribes.
“While not an impact fund,” she stated, “Velveteen plans on proving that profits and purpose go hand in hand.”
Fore beforehand labored at XFactor Ventures and LongJump Ventures (and is about to publish a ebook on entrepreneurship and enterprise capital).
