Common Forge Ventures

Co-founders Chris Onan and Ari Newman make all investment decisions. Onan brings over a decade of experience from Foundry Group, where he focused on early-stage software investments. Newman's background includes a partnership role at Techstars, where he evaluated thousands of startups and led dozens of investments. The partnership structure remains intentionally small, with no publicly announced additions to the investment committee since the firm's 2019 founding (per public record).

The firm sources primarily through the Colorado and broader Rocky Mountain technology networks, leveraging Onan's relationships from Foundry Group and Newman's extensive Techstars alumni network. Common Forge also draws referrals from the Rockies Venture Club and the dense concentration of startup accelerators in the Denver-Boulder corridor. The firm does not publicly operate a scout program or formal co-investor syndicate.

Common Forge focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage companies, typically leading or co-leading rounds with initial checks between $500,000 and $1.5 million. The firm reserves capital for follow-on investments through the Series A stage. It does not publicly participate in growth-stage rounds or late-stage secondaries, maintaining a deliberately concentrated early-stage mandate.

The firm's disclosed investments are concentrated in the United States and Canada, with a particular density in Colorado. No publicly disclosed portfolio companies are headquartered outside North America. Common Forge's partnership network and sourcing model are built around the US venture ecosystem, and the firm has not indicated plans for geographic expansion beyond its current footprint.

Common Forge launched in 2019, but the firm has not publicly announced a specific fund vehicle or disclosed its total assets under management. The partnership structure and investment pace suggest a single fund or rolling capital vehicle, though the firm has made no formal announcement of a Fund I close or a subsequent fundraise. All investment activity should be verified through direct inquiry with the firm.