A screendoor is pretty much half a door.<\/p>\n
Mesh and semi-transparent, screendoors are most associated with sticky summer Sunbelt days, but they\u2019re not fundamentally aesthetic\u2014they\u2019re meant to improve air circulation for homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat it also symbolized was that, as a kid, you knew when your friends were home, and you could go over and open the door,\u201d said Hunter Walk, cofounder of LP Screendoor and cofounder at VC Homebrew. \u201cIt meant \u2018come on in.\u2019 It was an invitation\u2026 So, when we were thinking about starting Screendoor, it was from the standpoint of inviting and easing new managers into the ecosystem. The metaphor of the screendoor as a symbol and signal just stuck for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walk\u2014known for his online writing and for backing companies like ShieldAI, Plaid, Gusto, and Chime through Homebrew, the firm he cofounded with Satya Patel\u2014launched Screendoor with Patel in 2021, at what\u2019s now become an almost apocryphal moment in venture capital: the height of the ZIRP (zero interest rate policy) era. At the time, Patel and Walk got together with eight other GPs\u2014including Forerunner\u2019s Kirsten Green, Cowboy Ventures\u2019 Aileen Lee, and Precursor\u2019s Charles Hudson\u2014who agreed to serve as advisors to emerging VC fund managers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their idea was straightforward\u2014act as an LP to the most promising emerging managers long before they became obvious winners. If it worked, it would be a win-win.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually, LPs will say, \u2018great, let\u2019s wait until your fund three or four, when you quote-unquote have a track record,\u2019\u201d said Walk. \u201cWe looked at our own experiences\u2014Homebrew\u2019s fund one was quite successful\u2014and thought that LPs who take that perspective are missing out on alpha\u2026So, we saw Screendoor originally as the bridge between the best of new emerging managers and large institutional LPs who wanted to build relationships with those emerging managers while also capturing some of the upside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Screendoor\u2019s now been around for nearly five years, a time frame in which much has changed. The AI boom has materialized, but overall the ecosystem has grown increasingly split between the haves and have-nots. In 2025, for all but the most elite firms, fundraising has been challenging: In the first half of the year, the top 30 firms collected 74% of all venture dollars raised from LPs, and 12 firms in the U.S. comprised 50% of that total value, according to PitchBook.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless you\u2019re spinning out of an established multi-stage venture fund, it\u2019s a challenging environment for emerging managers,\u201d said Precursor\u2019s Hudson via email. \u201cLPs are cautious, preferring to reinvest in funds they already know. This concentration of capital makes it harder for emerging managers to break through, especially if they don\u2019t have strong LP networks, a strong track record, and an obviously differentiated thesis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Screendoor is key, Hudson adds, in the \u201cgrowing ecosystem of support for emerging managers,\u201d which also includes organizations like Raise and Venture Forward. Some emerging managers naturally have buzz, like those spinning out of giant platforms like Andreessen Horowitz, but for those with unconventional backgrounds, they\u2019re a harder sell in a tough environment, especially for the deluge of investors who raised funds in the ZIRP era. According to PitchBook, among managers who raised first funds in 2021, only 33% have raised a second fund so far. There\u2019s still time, of course, for those who haven\u2019t, but the landscape remains tough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s still early for all involved, but Screendoor says 100% of its VC managers who have pursued a subsequent fund have succeeded in raising it. Among them: Screendoor-backed managers leading firms like Sunflower Capital and Divergent Capital have raised second funds in 2025 and 2024 respectively. Screendoor\u2019s strategy involves being among the first LPs to commit and taking an ecosystem approach, providing these emerging managers with mentorship, network, and co-investing connections in order to succeed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have this database of every LP that I\u2019m aware of and, to be honest, I don\u2019t know a single LP out there that\u2019s like Screendoor, \u201csaid Liu Jiang, founder of Sunflower and previously of Sequoia. \u201cThere are so many funds-of-funds, right? And so many LPs in general, but none of them provide the same value. Most of the time, I\u2019m the one pinging Screendoor with a question, which is really rare. I don\u2019t tend to ping LPs with questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Screendoor may have started as ad-hoc, but it has become increasingly institutionalized since Lisa Cawley, formerly from the family office world, joined in 2023. This year, Screendoor has backed a number of buzzy debut funds that Term Sheet has broken the news on, including Rex Woodbury\u2019s Daybreak<\/a> and Ashley Smith\u2019s Vermilion Cliffs Ventures<\/a>. Both are relatively unconventional\u2014Woodbury was previously at Index Ventures but is best known for his Substack Digital Native, while Smith has a background as an operator at companies like Twilio<\/a> and GitHub.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re trying to remove all of the perceived risk in a venture investment, you\u2019re just removing the alpha from it,\u201d said Cawley. \u201cThe other thing from the LP side is that the real risk in emerging managers isn\u2019t actually participating in it\u2014it\u2019s waiting too long for someone to emerge, for them to no longer be an emerging manager. LPs can sit and wait for performance, but by waiting, you\u2019re not actually participating. You\u2019re making a different bet.\u201d<\/p>\n Finding true alpha in VC, Walk says, is in part a right-sizing game: \u201cVenture, for me, is: Does the firm\u2019s fund size match their talent and strategy? I\u2019d say that for most funds that have grown large, the AUM has grown faster than the quality of the average partner, and the ability to deploy successfully.\u201d For Walk, this all comes back to a core principle: That emerging managers aren\u2019t emerging for long.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to back competitors,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re funding our competition. We\u2019re not funding minor leagues. We\u2019re not funding scouts. We\u2019re funding people who, head-to-head, have a reasonable chance of beating a Homebrew, beating a Forerunner at some point. That\u2019s the bar.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s the bar\u2014but it\u2019s also a door, one clear enough to walk through.<\/p>\n See you tomorrow,<\/p>\n Allie Garfinkle Joey Abrams curated the deals section of today\u2019s newsletter.Subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Venture Deals<\/p>\n – Gamma<\/b><\/a>, a San Francisco-based AI-powered presentation-making platform and website builder, raised $68 million in Series B funding. Andreessen<\/b>Horowitz<\/b> led the round and was joined by Accel<\/b>, Uncork<\/b>Capital<\/b>, and others.<\/p>\n – 1mind<\/b><\/a>, a San Francisco-based AI platform designed to lead marketing, sales, and customer success, raised $40 million in funding, including a $30 million Series A round led by Battery<\/b>Ventures<\/b> and joined by Primary<\/b>Ventures<\/b>, Wing<\/b>Venture<\/b>Capital<\/b>, and others.<\/p>\n – AirOps<\/b><\/a>, a New York City-based content engineering platform for AI search, raised $40 million in Series B funding. Greylock<\/b> led the round and was joined by Unusual<\/b>Ventures<\/b>, Wing<\/b>Venture<\/b>Capital<\/b>, XFund<\/b>, Village<\/b>Global<\/b>VC<\/b>, and Frontline<\/b>VC<\/b>.<\/p>\n – Extellis<\/b><\/a>, a Durham, N.C.-based satellite imaging company, raised $6.8 million in seed funding. Oval Park Capital<\/b> led the round.<\/p>\n – Spectral Compute<\/b><\/a>, a London, U.K.-based developer of a software designed to enable Compute Unified Device Architecture applications to run on any GPU, raised $6 million in seed funding. Costanoa<\/b> led the round and was joined by Crucible<\/b> and angel investors.\u00a0<\/p>\n – OneLot<\/b><\/a>, a Manila, Philippines-based financing platform for used car dealers, raised $3.3 million in seed funding. Accion Ventures<\/b> and 468 Capital <\/b>led the round and were joined by Everywhere<\/b>Venture<\/b>, Seedstars<\/b>, and others.<\/p>\n – NLPatent<\/b><\/a>, a Toronto, Canada-based AI-powered patent research and intelligence platform, raised $3 million in funding. Mighty<\/b>Capital<\/b> and Draper<\/b>Associates<\/b> led the round and were joined by The Legal<\/b>Tech<\/b>Fund<\/b>, Storytime<\/b>Capital<\/b>, and The51<\/b>. <\/p>\n Private Equity<\/p>\n – Avego<\/b> invested $29 million in myTomorrows<\/b><\/a>, an Amsterdam, the Netherland-based platform designed to connect patients with all possible pre-approved treatments.<\/p>\n – Lindsay<\/b>Goldberg<\/b> agreed to acquire EMCO<\/b>Chemical<\/b>Distributors<\/b><\/a>, a Pleasant Prairie, Wis.-based distributor of industrial chemicals. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n – Miller Environmental Group<\/b>, a portfolio company of Coalesce<\/b>Capital<\/b>, acquired ACE<\/b>Environmental<\/b>Services<\/b><\/a>, a New York City-based environmental consulting company. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n – MML<\/b>Capital<\/b>Partners<\/b> agreed to acquire a majority stake in Lowe Rental Corporation<\/b><\/a>, a Lisburn, Northern Ireland-based commercial refrigeration and catering equipment company. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n – Russell<\/b>Landscape<\/b>Group<\/b>, a portfolio company of The Sterling Group<\/b>, acquired Utz<\/b>Environmental<\/b>Services<\/b><\/a>, a Leander, Texas-based landscaping company. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n – State Street Corporation<\/b> acquired PriceStats<\/b><\/a>, a Boston, Mass.-based provider of daily inflation statistics. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n – Valor<\/b>Exterior<\/b>Partners<\/b>, a portfolio company of Osceola<\/b>Capital<\/b>, acquired Unisource Roofing<\/b><\/a>, a Louisville, Ky.-based roofing company, and A. Casperson Co.<\/b><\/a>, a Stow, Ohio-based home remodeling company. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n Exits<\/p>\n – Arcline<\/b>Investment<\/b>Management<\/b> agreed to acquire Novaria<\/b>Group<\/b><\/a>, a Fort Worth, Texas-based provider of components and processes for the aerospace and defense industries, from KKR<\/b> for approximately $2.2 billion.<\/p>\n – Align<\/b>Capital<\/b>Partners<\/b> acquired Advantage<\/b>Investigations<\/b><\/a>, a Kannapolis, N.C.-based insurance investigation services platform, from MD<\/b>Holdings<\/b>. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n – Nexture<\/b> agreed to acquire Frulact<\/b><\/a>, a Porto, Portugal-based natural ingredient solutions platform, from Ardian<\/b>. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n – Satair<\/b>, an Airbus company, agreed to acquire Unical<\/b>Aviation<\/b><\/a>, a Glendale, Ariz.-based provider of aerospace aftermarket parts, from Platinum<\/b>Equity<\/b>. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n Funds + Funds of Funds<\/p>\n – J2 Ventures<\/b><\/a>, a Boston, Mass.-based venture capital firm, raised $250 million for its new Brookhaven Fund focused on developing technologies across advanced computing, cybersecurity, AI, and other tech fields.<\/p>\n
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