DESIREE VARGAS WRIGLEY

Desiree Vargas Wrigley Allen
Founder, Velocity Catalyst

Desiree Vargas Wrigley [LinkedIn] is the Founding GP of Velocity. She has spent the last 16 years building in and for Chicago as a founder, innovation leader, and angel investor, her superpower being connecting diverse data points to uncover new opportunities and anticipate emerging trends. She is currently wrapping up her tenure as Chief Innovation Officer at P33 and Executive Director of TechRise by P33, where she helped overlooked founders raise $160MShe is the founder of Josephine Collective, Chicago’s most active angel group, an LP in an emerging FinTech fund and sits on the steering committee for All Raise. Previously, Desiree founded Pearachute, a children’s activity marketplace, and GiveForward, the world’s first peer-to-peer crowdfunding platform that transacted nearly $200M prior to being acquired by GoFundMe. A Yale graduate, Desiree also worked at the Kauffman Foundation as a specialist in entrepreneurship, at Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors, and at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management teaching New Venture Discovery. Desiree has been named Inc’s 30 Under 30, Crain’s 40 Under 40, one of Parents Magazine’s Most Inspiring Moms, one of Forbes Women to Watch, and has appeared on Shark Tank, closing one of the largest deals on the show to date.  ​