Meet Julie Pulda: The Artemis Fund’s Newest Huntress

August 13, 2025

By The Artemis Fund
The Artemis Fund believes technology can create prosperity for all. With offices in New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and Nevada, Artemis leads seed rounds for companies creating resilient families, individuals, and businesses across the US.
After seven years working with institutional capital to back impact-driven funds and founders, Julie Pulda wasn’t looking for another finance job. She was looking for conviction. “One of the themes I’ve felt most connected to over time is this simple truth: when more women are in the room, better decisions get made,” she says.
Julie recently joined The Artemis Fund as Principal after years as an LP investing across climate, women’s health, financial inclusion, and systems change. In this interview, she shares how she found her way to venture, what she’s learned from backing emerging managers, and why Artemis feels like home.

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Q: What drew you to The Artemis Fund at this stage in your career?
A: I’ve had the opportunity to invest across many sectors: climate, health equity, women’s health, and financial inclusion, and the common thread has always been backing models that drive both social change and real financial outcomes. I’ve seen again and again that when more women are at the table, outcomes improve. That includes investment performance.
At Artemis, I found a team living that ethos through and through. It wasn’t performative. It wasn’t a side initiative. Every investment, every founder conversation, every decision reflects a belief that expanding access to economic opportunity builds stronger businesses and a more resilient economy. It felt like a place where my values and my experience could compound.
Q: As an LP, what sparked your interest in backing emerging managers, especially in venture?
A: Emerging managers are builders. They’re often leaving comfortable roles to create something because they see a gap and believe no one else is going to fill it. That mindset is incredibly similar to founders. There’s this mix of vision and grit and urgency that’s impossible to ignore.
For LPs who care about systems change, emerging managers are the lever. They often come from underrepresented or unique backgrounds. They’re sourcing differently, seeing around corners others miss, and investing in markets traditional firms deem too risky or niche. But those are often the exact markets with the most opportunity.
Venture capital, especially at the seed stage, is where you can change trajectories. That first yes, that early conviction, can unlock everything else. If you’re willing to show up early and back overlooked founders with real insight, you can reshape an entire category. That’s where I want to be.
Q: What advice would you give to someone trying to build a meaningful brand and network in finance?
A: Own your path, especially if it doesn’t look traditional. I started my career in international development, working with refugees and asylum seekers. I used to downplay that when I entered finance, trying to prove I belonged in investment circles. But over time, I realized that my previous experience is the source of my edge. The questions I asked in that work: Are we centering the people closest to the problem as the decision makers? Are we designing for the margins? Are we shifting power? Those are investment questions too.
So, my advice is: don’t bury the things that brought you to where you are. Make them central. They’re part of your lens.
And when it comes to networks: be human. Be helpful. I always tried to treat GPs the way I hoped they’d treat founders. You can write a check and disappear, or you can be a partner. Choose partnership.
Q: You’ve done a lot of work around financial education for women and girls. What have you learned from that?
A: One moment sticks with me. I was preparing a workshop for high school girls on the basics of investing. I was stressing over technical content: Should I teach asset classes? Retirement vehicles? Budgeting? And the director of the nonprofit pulled me aside and said, “They’re not going to remember any of that. What they’ll remember is that you’re a young woman who says, ‘I do this. And you can do this too.’”
That reframed everything. So much of financial empowerment is permission and proximity. It’s seeing someone you relate to and thinking, “If she can do this, maybe I can too.” That’s how I approach investor education today. Lead with confidence, not complexity. Meet people where they are. Tell them they belong.
Q: What excites you most about Artemis’ investment thesis? Any themes you’re especially drawn to?
A: Artemis backs real businesses solving real problems for real people. That’s rare. There’s so much capital chasing convenience or incremental innovation. We’re looking at systems: How do families build wealth? How do women access healthcare? How do communities grow resilient commerce?
I’m especially energized by women’s health and health equity. The data gap is massive. Women were excluded from clinical trials until 1993. There’s a legacy of underinvestment and misunderstanding, and now we’re finally seeing a wave of innovation that recognizes the need to focus on women exclusively. From a purely financial perspective, these companies are massively undervalued.
I’m also watching the circular economy within commerce. There’s a huge opportunity to rethink how we use existing resources, especially in apparel and goods. With global tariffs, rising costs, and shifting consumer values, circularity is the new frontier.
Q: Is there a founder who embodies the kind of systemic change you hope to drive through Artemis?
A: Melodie from Max Retail. I met her during my diligence as an LP in Artemis, and I was blown away. She had spent 15+ years in her industry, saw a broken system, and decided to fix it herself. Her clarity, her energy, her willingness to learn was all there.
On our call, she said, “I feel like I died, woke up, and landed in heaven when I met the Artemis team.” That stayed with me. Founders like Mel aren’t just pitching a product. They’re reimagining infrastructure. They know the pain points because they’ve lived them. And when you give them capital and partnership, they fly.
Q: When you think about economic empowerment at a systems level, what does that look like to you? What role can VC play?
A: Historically, the capital markets have been extractive. They’ve consolidated wealth, not distributed it. But venture, especially at the earliest stages, is where we can rewrite that story.
For me, economic empowerment means putting power and decision-making into the hands of people who’ve been left out, and funding the solutions they design. Venture capital can do that. It can seed companies that create access, affordability, and dignity for working families.
It comes down to a simple idea: Wealth is power. And how we allocate capital determines whose problems get solved. That’s the lever. That’s why I’m here.
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