Building the Veteran Startup Ecosystem with Ryan Micheletti
Jun 14, 2026
“America is the most innovative country in the world, and we want veterans leading that next wave of innovation.” – Ryan Micheletti
Ryan Micheletti is the co-founder of The Veteran Fund, a venture capital firm focused on investing in veteran-led critical technology companies. As a California National Guard veteran, Ryan has played a leading role in building the veteran startup ecosystem. Before launching The Veteran Fund, he founded VetTech, the first veteran-led startup accelerator, and later served as Head of Global Operations at Founder Institute, helping scale more than 8,000 startups across 200 cities worldwide.
Today, Ryan leads The Veteran Fund’s strategy and ecosystem building efforts, backing exceptional veteran leadership teams in dual-use and mission-critical technologies. His work connects founders with early capital, strategic partners, and a growing network of investors committed to strengthening American innovation.
In this episode of the SABM podcast, Scott chats with Ryan about:
Building the Veteran Startup Ecosystem: Launching the first veteran-led accelerator and creating infrastructure to support founders after 9/11
Investing in Leadership at the Seed Stage: Why The Veteran Fund prioritizes exceptional teams with deep domain expertise and long-term resilience.
Critical Technology and Dual-Use Strategy: Backing companies that serve both commercial markets and national security priorities.
From Fund One to Fund Two: Refining ownership strategy, increasing first-check size, and strengthening capital allocation discipline.
Patriotic Capital and Long-Term Vision: Mobilizing family offices and aligned investors to support veteran-led innovation that reinforces American competitiveness.
Timestamps:
00:52 Origin of Veteran Fund
02:10 Building VetTech and FI
04:05 Fund Launch and Thesis
06:27 Ideal Deal Criteria
09:37 Havok AI Success Story
12:26 Fund Two Evolution
17:34 Ecosystem and Events
21:30 Goals and Bigger Mission
Connect with Ryan:
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A special thank you to Ryan for joining me this week. Until next time!
-Scott Mackes, USNA '01