Interview
Hunter Walk, Homebrew & Screendoor
- Screen Door intends to anchor emerging manager funds with checks equal to 10% of the total fund size, ranging from $2 million for a $20 million fund to $10 million for a $100 million fund, while deploying capital into "fund zeros," "fund ones," and selected "fund twos."
- Homebrew projects a new operational model targeting 10 to 12 annual investments with most seed checks between $100,000 and $500,000, occasionally making larger or later-stage investments within an evergreen vehicle structure having no defined fund life.
- Screen Door plans to grow its team by combining portfolio managers to transform the venture industry, while maintaining a concentration risk profile where a core group of Limited Partners commits 5% to 20% of each fund.
- Screening and investment criteria prioritize managers with differentiated strategies, lived experiences, or networks who can consistently articulate a coherent "why" for their fund to both LPs and founders, with a rejection policy for conflicting narratives between these groups.
- Capital deployment will focus on North America and Latin America, specifically targeting funds in markets driven by fear or greed such as SPACs, crypto, and AI, while excluding global funds for the current phase.
- Manager lifecycle expectations dictate that Fund 1 be raised on potential, Fund 2 on momentum, and Fund 3 on results, with a recommendation to avoid drastic changes in strategy, size, or ownership targets between the first two funds.
- The outlook anticipates market evolution where underperforming large funds may exit over a decade, and emerging managers with unique perspectives could displace slow-moving, consensus-driven incumbents.
- Hunter Walk expects to intensify efforts in managing existing businesses and the Screen Door fund of funds, while Screen Door intends to foster a community through coaching, mentorship, and LPAC participation rather than focusing solely on capital provision and quarterly reporting.
- Strategic advice includes helping managers define a "minimum viable fund" size, avoiding AUM growth as a primary success metric, and using fund size reductions or static sizes during market corrections to achieve necessary ownership percentages.
- Future fundraising success is linked to a manager's ability to demonstrate a clear strategy moving from Fund 1 to Fund 3, prioritize LPs who re-up based on performance, and articulate lessons from failed investments alongside successes.