Founding Partner & Managing Director

Betsy Fore is a three time founder of two multi-million dollar brands and a non-profit, Natives Rising. She is the first Native American to raise a Series A. Previously she served as an Entrepreneurial Ambassador on behalf of the US Embassy. Betsy has strong operational expertise enabling her to add tremendous value to companies while also gaining access to the best deals in underserved markets. She has been an active Investment Partner with XFactor Ventures/Flybridge (funding over 2.5% of all female-led seed rounds in the nation) and LongJump (funding Midwest-based underrepresented founders with an LP base of ~200), leading ~8 deals over the past two years. She is Forbes 30 Under 30, Entrepreneur 100 Women of Impact and BBC 100 Most Inspiring Women.

Principal, Planet

Karla Brollier has worked in the climate space her entire career and is a mission driven operator turned climate investor with a core focus on climate stabilization through climate economics and climate financing. In addition to her role at Velveteen Ventures, Karla is currently the Director for Patagonia’s new investment and philanthropy fund, the Home Planet Fund. Karla's past roles include working with the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and as an executive for former Vice President Al Gore's Climate Reality Project. With a strong entrepreneurial spirit, including operator and investment experience, knowledge in climate and economic issues as well as Indigenous rights, Karla brings a unique, systems-thinking and ROI approach to her work.

Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel

Katherine Stabler has over 15 years of legal, financial and operational experience in the private fund space. During this time, she has lead and managed strategic legal matters, grounding her expertise in fundraising, fund formation, due diligence, operations and investment transactions across private equity, private credit and hedge fund verticals. Katherine's experience includes senior and executive roles at Monroe Capital, Kuvare Asset Management and Nuveen. She began her legal career in private practice at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Ropes & Gray LLP. Prior to law school, she worked for Grosvenor Capital Management, L.P. and Jones Lang LaSalle. She earned her J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis and her B.S.C. from DePaul University.

Senior MBA Intern

Kyler McGillis is an emerging deal-maker with a strong background in negotiation and startup ecosystems. He is currently pursuing an MBA at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, focusing on identifying high-potential investments and building genuine connections. Kyler founded the All Indigenous Recruiting Organization (AIRO), a nonprofit dedicated to educational outreach for Native American students, showcasing his commitment to social impact and business success. Before joining Velveteen Ventures, Kyler worked in impactful financial and startup roles. As a Derivatives Clearing Analyst at Morgan Stanley, he enhanced his financial expertise. His experience at startups like RHR Swag and Carrot Health (now Unite Us) provided valuable insights into entrepreneurial challenges and successes, especially under the mentorship of experienced entrepreneurs and during a successful acquisition. At Velveteen Ventures, Kyler's collaborative approach and commitment to excellence help empower startups and advance the fund's vision of nurturing innovative and impactful ventures.

Virtual Executive & Personal Assistant

Tara Ulrich is a Virtual Executive & Personal Assistant with over a decade of administrative and business experience. She is passionate about helping executives and entrepreneurs get back what they value most: their time. Tara has worked with CEO's, authors, serial entrepreneurs, investors and advisors in various industries including tech start-ups. non-profits, and retail. Tara is a graduate of Arizona State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Tourism Development & Management. She lives in Arizona with her beautiful son, Julian, and sweet rescue dog, Poppy. Tara and Betsy have worked together for over a decade.