Side Stage Ventures

Investment decisions are led by General Partners and Co-Founders Markus Kahlbetzer and Ben Grabiner, with Partner Elli Hanson also sourcing and leading deals. Kahlbetzer brings 18 years of venture and multi-asset investing experience, while Grabiner brings operator experience from founding Platoon (acquired by Apple) and investing at London's LocalGlobe. The firm operates as a tight, founder-led partnership where conviction is built collectively before a check is written.

The firm sources opportunities through its own operator networks and a distinct community of founder-LPs that includes the co-founders of Linktree, Go1, and Airtasker. Side Stage augments this with an active content and research practice — publishing reports like the 'Australia Outliers Report' — which acts as an inbound funnel for early-stage talent across the country. The partnership's own startup experiences also create referral paths from repeat founders who previously worked alongside the GPs.

Side Stage operates as a traditional venture capital firm managing committed capital from external limited partners. It closed a $15 million launch fund in September 2023, anchored by fellow Australian founders rather than institutional allocators. While the LP base includes prominent individual operators, the firm is not a family office and does not manage a single-family's balance sheet.

Side Stage focuses on direct, first-check investments into pre-seed and seed-stage companies. The firm's public positioning and its team's investment histories emphasize direct startup exposure; there is no disclosed program for investing as a limited partner into other venture funds.

The firm describes itself as 'super collaborative' and actively invests alongside other venture funds in Australia and around the world. It does not require a lead position and frequently participates in syndicates where a larger domestic or international fund sets the terms. This co-investment posture aligns with the firm's focus on adding operational support rather than controlling rounds.

Leonardo.AI, a generative-AI platform, was acquired by Canva in 2024 in a transaction the firm cites as a validation of its thesis (per the firm, 2024). The acquisition marked a breakout moment for the portfolio and demonstrated the fund's ability to identify globally scalable AI businesses emerging from the Australian ecosystem.

The GPs and Partner Elli Hanson are all former founders or operators who built companies before joining Side Stage — Grabiner at Platoon/Apple, Kahlbetzer at multiple startups, and Hanson at the consumer-hardware company Flaus and Ogilvy. They offer portfolio companies direct, hands-on support in US market entry, hiring, fundraising strategy, and product-market-fit development, operating as an extension of the founding team rather than a passive capital source.