Serra Ventures

CEO and Managing Partner Tim Hoerr leads the firm, with Managing Partners Dennis Beard and Rob Schultz serving as co-leaders of the investment team. Venture Partners John Giuliani and David Hodge provide additional deal sourcing and portfolio support. The firm notes its preference for partners with operating experience rather than purely financial backgrounds.

Serra Ventures sources deals nationally through a distributed office network in Champaign, Chicago, San Diego, and Park City — giving it reach into Midwest, West Coast, and Mountain West startup ecosystems. Its advisory services arm, Serra Advisors, provides operational consulting to portfolio companies and likely surfaces new investment opportunities through those relationships.

Serra Ventures operates as a private equity asset manager with a venture-focused mandate. It is not a single-family office, though the firm does not publicly disclose its limited partner base. Its dual structure — venture fund investments alongside an advisory services practice — distinguishes it from a standard institutional venture capital firm.

The firm targets early-stage funding across Seed, Start-up, and Growth phases. It also pursues Expansion and Late Stage opportunities when the venture fits its thesis, giving it a broad mandate that spans from initial seed rounds to later-stage growth capital.

Serra's portfolio reflects a generalist venture approach with concentrations in Enterprise Software, AI/ML, Industrial Tech, AgriTech & FoodTech, and Digital Health. Confirmed holdings include scientific instrumentation, advanced materials, and energy inspection technologies — indicating an emphasis on deep-tech and physical-world applications alongside software.