In VC, the biggest risk is not backing a fund one, it's ignoring one.Jamie Rhode · on the real risk in backing Fund I
Rohit Yadav sits down with Jamie Rhode, Partner at Screendoor, a fund-of-funds backing the next generation of enduring venture capital managers. Jamie brings a rare combination of institutional rigor and early-stage conviction, built across years in family offices, hedge funds, and venture investing. At Screendoor, she finds VC-GP gems in the often-overlooked emerging manager ecosystem while guiding managers toward institutional success.
We dig deep into:
- Why the emerging manager ecosystem has exploded, and what's driving the 50% drop in fund launches.
- The Screendoor approach: institutional capital + GP mentorship from firms like Homebrew and Precursor.
- What it really means to be an "emerging" vs. "enduring" manager.
- Why indexing early-stage VC may actually beat chasing brand names.
- Why DPI challenges, not performance, are holding back emerging managers.
- The LP dilemma: comfort vs. conviction in a long-duration, illiquid asset class.
We also unpack:
- Generalist vs. specialist: does sector focus still matter?
- What family offices get wrong (and right) about venture access.
- Why fund size is a proxy, not a predictor, of alpha.
- How to manage operational risk, team splits, and long-term durability in EMs.
- Why now might be the best vintage window in decades, and why only consistent LPs will capture it.
FIRMS
Screendoor
Started in 2021 by 10 established venture capitalists; anchors first institutional funds in pre-seed and seed in North America, pairing each manager with one or two of its now 14 GP advisors.
Homebrew, Precursor, Cowboy Ventures
Among the established firms behind Screendoor, they wanted to fund their competition.
Source for the fund-launch counts; Screendoor has reviewed a little more than a thousand Fund Ones since 2021, about 90% of that figure.
An example of the fresh access an emerging manager can have that legacy firms don't.
PEOPLE
Jamie Rhode
Partner at Screendoor.
Investments thought leader, Big Book of VC.
NUMBERS & CONCEPTS
$30M / $50M / $60M
Median fund sizes in Screendoor's data set for Fund I, II and III; the average Fund I is around $95M, lifted by larger spin-outs. Sizes have been shrinking since 2023.
1.9x median, 3x top quartile
Investing a million dollars a year into early-stage VC from 1982 to 2018 gives a median TVPI around 1.9–1.95x; top quartile gets the 3x.
Operational due diligence
LPAs, succession planning, LPAC setup, the managers who treat Fund I like Fund IV are the ones who win the shakeout.
Venture Fund-of-Funds: Emerging Managers →
The full written snapshot of this interview on the Rethink site.