Karen Krause-Bencal, Managing director

Karen (KK) is the founder and Managing Director of K2C Ventures. She is a seasoned entrepreneurial professional specializing in growth initiatives for emerging technologies with dual-use national security, government and commercial applications.

Over the course of her career, she has played key roles in the capture and management of more than $500 million in contract research and development (CRAD) funding from DOD and US Government agencies supporting the advancement of S&T innovations from R&D and prototyping to field demonstrations and customer adoption.

At K2C, Karen works as an advisor to startups, accelerators, and investors commercializing dual-use emerging technologies and building out their govcon support stack. Previously, she managed a portfolio of dual-use deep tech startups in Activate’s DARPA INNOVATE program and led corporate innovation initiatives for Battelle Memorial Institute and Raytheon Technologies. Before entering the defense industry, she was the CEO of a public sector transportation engineering services firm managing new technology pilot and funding programs.

Karen received her B.S. in Environmental Technology from the Biological and Environmental Engineering Department of Cornell University and her MBA in Entrepreneurship from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College.

Karen is an angel investor, board advisor and startup mentor. She is the co- founder and past president of Women in Defense Greater Boston Chapter (WID-GBC), recognized for its novel university STEM and business student engagement, mentorship and scholarship programs.