Founder & Creative Director
Anika Mehta
Before Velle, there was corporate big tech.
I was the girl who landed internships at some of the biggest names in tech — and kept choosing Intel every time. From day one I had an experience most people don't get. I met the CTO on my first day, and he became my mentor. That kind of access fast-tracked my leadership and taught me early that the right room and the right relationship matter more than any resume ever could.
But while I was climbing in big tech full time, I was also doing everything else. Building my personal brand. Creating content around sweet and savory treats. Hosting dinner parties and pop-up gatherings just because I loved bringing people together. I started a college org at Intel. I organized creator meetups across cities. I couldn't stop building — and I couldn't stop hosting.
Then I kept showing up to networking events looking for a space for people like me — people trying to do it all — and it just didn't exist. I saw so many talented, intentional people scanning the room and never quite finding their place. So I just started Velle. No company backing. No big budget. Just a girl and an idea — and a deep belief that nobody should have to build alone.
What Drives Me
I used to answer “what do you do?” with a job title. Then somewhere along the way, the answer stopped fitting in a box.
I am a founder, a content creator, a community builder, a host — a woman in tech who also really loved talking about dessert. Being a multi-hyphenate to me means refusing to shrink yourself to make others comfortable. It means saying “I contain multitudes” and building a life that reflects all of them. It doesn't matter if you have 1 follower or 100k. If you just launched your first product or you're scaling your tenth. If you're a makeup artist, a mobile developer, a chef, or a founder who can't stop starting things.
What matters is that you're building with intention. And that you're not doing it alone.
I built Velle because I kept seeing what happened when people stopped trying to figure it all out by themselves and just got in the room together. Collaborations were born. Partnerships formed. People who thought they were too early, too niche, or too “not the right type” found their people and everything shifted.
That's exactly how I build Velle. This was never going to be just for founders or just for creatives. It was always going to be for the people who, like me, couldn't be put in one box — and were tired of being asked to try. As long as you're building with intention, you are welcome here. That's not a tagline. That's a promise.
Where We're Going
Velle started in one room. Now it lives in three cities and we're just getting started.
The vision is bigger than events. I want Velle to be the place where no matter what city you land in, there's a room full of your people waiting. Where the founder finds a creator to help share their story. Or the photographer finds a founder to shoot their product launch. For investors to truly see the founder in a more natural setting.
To everyone who has ever shown up to a Velle event, joined our community, or felt seen by what we're building, thank you. You are why this exists. You are the room.
“I stopped introducing myself by my job title the day I realized I was so much more than one thing. Velle is for everyone who's ever felt that way.” — Anika
Let's Connect
I'm always building, always hosting, always looking for the next conversation that turns into something real.
📍 NYC & Bay Area
Come to an event. That's where the magic happens.