OUR STORY
It started on set. Backstage. On the mat. Inside the machinery of global money—and in the lived reality of creators who were expected to build an empire with borrowed tools.
SCROLL TO ENTER THE STORY ↓THE ORIGIN / 001
They produced stories. Built talent. Fought for discipline. Moved money across borders. Created audiences in countries far from home. Velvet is what happens when those worlds stop operating separately.
FRAME 01 / STORY FINDS A MARKETCHAPTER 01 / THE PRODUCER
1990sFILM → LIVE STREAMING → FINTECH → VELVET AIIn 1992, Jeff Bazan helped pioneer independent film and television, developing pilots and producing the 90-minute comedy Vinnie & Chaz’s Sex Adventures, which aired on HBO and Playboy Channel and reached international buyers through AFM and Cannes. As founder of Gencast Networks from 2001–2003, he moved from film to streaming and produced the 2003 AVN Awards on Sex.com—recognized at the time as the largest live webcast in the world.
In 2013, Jeff returned to film as associate producer for DragonLine Media’s 110-minute Madoff With America. In 2014, he developed a fully compliant, FDIC-bank-sponsored Visa product for Dr. Phil’s group; the completed fintech program was sold to the founders of Chime and became the foundation for what is known as Chime today. That rare combination of production empathy, distribution, streaming, and financial-product experience made Jeff the driving mind behind Velvet and the proprietary workflow powering its AI core command center.
“From the camera to the stream to the transaction, creators need one system working in their favor.”
FRAME 02 / TALENT BECOMES A BUSINESSCHAPTER 02 / THE MODEL
Marcelo Galles arrived in Hollywood as an international model. Then he made the harder transformation: from being represented to building the machine that represents others.
Across modeling, casting, editorial, entertainment, and major-brand work, Marcelo saw the industry from both sides. He understood how much creator value disappeared between the image and the opportunity—and how often talent was kept distant from the relationships that moved a career forward.
His conviction became Velvet’s second rule: creators do not need another gatekeeper. They need command of the business behind their image.
FRAME 03 / DISCIPLINE UNDER PRESSURECHAPTER 03 / THE FIGHTER
Fernando Fayzano brought a fighter’s discipline to the founder’s arena. His background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu—including years connected to Rickson Gracie’s school—shaped a mindset built around preparation, control, patience, and execution under pressure.
Then he applied it to one of the most unforgiving industries in business: regulated financial technology. He built Pontual Money Transfer and USend, helping move money across borders before cross-border fintech became a headline. USend was later acquired by Banco Inter.
Fernando understood the problem at the center of every creator platform: the experience is only as strong as the infrastructure that gets people paid.
CHAPTER 04 / THE INFRASTRUCTURE
Fernando assembled a technical bench with deep experience in engineering, payments, compliance, and cross-border operations—including Bibhu Aryal, Robson Teixeira, and fintech builder Ran Grushkowsky.
Ran’s background spans WireCash, USend, and MassPay, where he now serves as co-founder and CEO. It is the kind of experience Velvet needs: turning regulatory and financial complexity into systems people can actually use.
One operating view from audience signal to available earnings.
HÉLOINE MORENO / CREATOR POINT OF VIEWCHAPTER 05 / THE CREATOR
Heloine Moreno brings the perspective of a working model, traveler, performer, and founder. Through Models Guidance, her world moves across modeling, events, food, samba, ring work, burlesque, and a global life lived in public.
She knows the distance between posting and building. Between being seen and being paid. Between an audience that follows and a business that belongs to you.
See Heloine Moreno on Instagram ↗THE COLLISION / 006
WHY VELVET EXISTS
Velvet is building a different future: a creator monetization platform and operating system designed for premium and adult creators who treat their audience like a company—not a side hustle.
Content, audience, access, production intelligence, and payouts belong in one command center. Not scattered across sixteen tabs. Not held hostage by algorithms. Not separated from the person creating the value.
THE PEOPLE / 007
Not one industry looking in from the outside. An ensemble built across the worlds Velvet is bringing together.
Jeff Bazan is an independent film and television producer, streaming-media pioneer, and financial-product architect. From HBO-era production and global distribution to Gencast live broadcasts and bank-integrated Visa programs, his creator empathy and business experience shaped the proprietary workflow at the heart of Velvet’s AI command center.
Marcelo Galles is a former international model who transformed himself in Hollywood into an agency operator. He brings a rare view from both sides of the camera—understanding how talent, casting, brands, representation, and opportunity must work together to build a durable creator career.
Fernando Fayzano is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner turned fintech founder and CEO. His fighter’s discipline became an operating advantage as he built regulated cross-border payment companies—including Pontual Money Transfer and USend—and assembled the financial infrastructure behind Velvet.
CTO Ran Grushkowsky leads with Bibhu Aryal, Lead Architect, and Robson Teixeira, Chief AI Officer—an all-star technology lineup with deep experience across engineering, global payouts, AML/KYC, regulated financial systems, and AI products built to perform at scale.
Heloine Moreno is a former international model turned UGC creator, influencer, performer, and founder of Models Guidance. Her experience building an audience across fashion, travel, music videos, premium content, and global brand collaborations keeps Velvet grounded in the daily reality of the creator behind the screen.
See Heloine on Instagram ↗THE NEXT CHAPTER IS NOT ABOUT US.
Velvet is assembling a founding cohort of ambitious adult creators, founder-creators, and operators who want more than another place to post.
Apply to become a Founder Creator →