Side Door Ventures

Side Door runs four separate funds under one platform. The Seed Fund writes first checks up to $500,000 with half reserved for follow-ons. The Michigan Fund leads seed rounds up to $1.5 million in Michigan-headquartered hard-tech companies. The Digital Asset Fund invests up to $300,000 in Web3 and crypto-native startups. The Opportunity Fund deploys up to $5 million into Series A and later companies, either as first checks to new positions or follow-ons to breakout Seed and Digital Asset portfolio companies.

The firm describes itself as a globally distributed team of former founders, biotech scientists, space engineers, and growth operators. Investment decisions route through an investment committee after associates complete diligence and present recommendations. The process averages 12 days from initial meeting to final decision. Specific named investment committee members or a managing partner are not publicly listed on the firm's website.

Side Door rarely leads priced rounds, preferring to co-invest alongside trusted network GPs. The Michigan Fund is a partial exception — it writes lead checks up to $1.5 million exclusively into Michigan-headquartered seed-stage companies. For all other vehicles, the firm is comfortable being the first money in on a SAFE or convertible but defaults to a co-investor posture on equity rounds.

The firm's team is composed of former founders who have raised over $100 million for their own companies and exited, plus domain experts in biotech, space, and growth. Sourcing draws on that operator network. The firm also maintains local network nodes in Los Angeles, Singapore, Vancouver, Amsterdam, and Nashville beyond its San Francisco and New York hubs, giving it global top-of-funnel reach across five continents.

Side Door describes itself as sector-agnostic and generalist, with no publicly stated exclusions. Its portfolio spans software, life sciences, space, deep tech, blockchain, gaming, media, security, food, and financial services. The Michigan Fund applies a narrower lens focused on manufacturing, advanced mobility, AI/ML, clean energy, and deep tech.

Stage coverage runs from pre-seed and seed (Seed Fund and Digital Asset Fund) through Series A and later (Opportunity Fund). The Michigan Fund targets seed-stage companies exclusively. The firm's internal follow-on reserves and the Opportunity Fund's crossover mandate mean a company that enters via the Seed Fund can receive additional capital through later-stage vehicles.

Side Door Ventures is a multi-strategy venture capital firm, not a family office. Its platform structure — four named funds with distinct investment mandates, check sizes, and geographies — operates more like a venture capital manager managing multiple strategies than a single-family investment vehicle. There is no public disclosure of a single-family wealth source or a family office parent entity.