Hyde Park Venture Partners

What Hyde Park Venture Partners does

Hyde Park Venture Partners (HPVP) is a Chicago-based early-stage venture capital fund manager founded in 2011/2012 that invests in AI, software, and tech-enabled services startups from idea stage through $2M in revenue, targeting first or second institutional rounds (pre-seed through early Series A). The firm concentrates its thesis geographically on founders with connections to the Midwest, Toronto, and the Southeast US, claiming visibility into more than 90% of mid-continent startups. HPVP manages approximately $320M in assets under management across five fund vehicles: Fund I ($25M, 2012), Fund II ($65M, 2015), Fund III ($100M, December 2019), an Opportunity Fund ($30M, 2021), and Fund IV ($98M, May 2024). The firm has invested in 50+ active portfolio companies and realized 20+ exits including VNDLY ($510M acquisition by Workday), Tock ($400M+ acquisition by Squarespace), Pear Deck, FairX, Hubdoc, BaseCRM, and ParkWhiz.

HPVP operates with a team of approximately 10 professionals including managing partners, vice presidents, a talent partner, an investor, and a CFO/Partner, led by co-founders Guy Turner and Ira Weiss alongside managing partner Greg Barnes. Revenue is generated through standard venture fund economics: recurring management fees on committed and invested capital across the five fund vehicles, plus performance-based carried interest from portfolio exits. The firm's go-to-market is a hybrid direct-and-network model: founders submit inbound via the website and partner emails, while the investment team proactively sources through accelerator lists, conference attendee lists, media coverage, and warm introductions from co-investors and portfolio founders. Distribution channels include content marketing through the HPVP Perspectives blog, an email newsletter, LinkedIn presence, events and webinars, and earned media coverage.

The firm's competitive positioning rests on three pillars: a focused geographic thesis in an undercapitalized market, an institutional LP base anchored by state-affiliated and foundation investors (Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund, RK Mellon Foundation, Renaissance Venture Capital), and dedicated operational support via a Talent Partner and value-add services. HPVP has been recognized as #9 of 200+ firms on the Founder's Choice VC Leaderboard (February 2023) and named to Fortune's America's Most Innovative Companies 2023. Internally, the firm uses AI tooling (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity) and a custom-built Model Context Protocol integration connecting Claude AI to its Affinity CRM to streamline deal sourcing and CRM workflows, though its core business remains capital deployment rather than AI product development.

Name

Hyde Park Venture Partners

Legal name

Hyde Park Venture Partners

Website

https://hydeparkvp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hyde Park Venture Partners is a Chicago-based early-stage venture capital firm managing approximately $320M across five funds, investing in AI, software, and tech-enabled services startups at pre-seed through Series A from the Midwest, Toronto, and Southeast US.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds / Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAAAJ)

Keywords

• Early stage venture capital
• Seed stage investing
• Startup funding
• Portfolio management
• Venture fund management

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Venture Fund Management Fees: Recurring management fees on $320M+ assets under management across Fund I ($25M, 2012), Fund II ($65M, 2015), Fund III ($100M, 2019), Opportunity Fund ($30M, 2021), and Fund IV ($98M, 2024). Standard VC fund economics.
2. Carried Interest from Portfolio Exits: Performance-based carried interest from successful portfolio exits including VNDLY (Workday, $510M), Tock (Squarespace, $400M+), Pear Deck (GoGuardian), FairX (Coinbase), Hubdoc (Xero), BaseCRM (Zendesk), ParkWhiz (FlashParking), and others.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hyde Park Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital fund manager that invests pre-seed through early Series A in AI, software, and tech-enabled services startups from idea stage to $2M in revenue. The firm concentrates on founders connected to the Midwest, Toronto, and the Southeast, deploying capital across five fund vehicles (Fund I through Fund IV plus an Opportunity Fund) totaling approximately $320M in assets under management, and providing portfolio support through talent networks, strategic guidance, and introductions to later-stage investors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HPVP Fund I The inaugural flagship early stage venture capital fund from Hyde Park Venture Partners, providing capital to Midwest and Toronto startups.
• HPVP Fund II The second flagship early stage venture capital fund from Hyde Park Venture Partners, providing continued early-stage capital to Midwest and Toronto startups.
• HPVP Fund III The third flagship early stage venture capital fund from Hyde Park Venture Partners, providing capital to software, B2B, marketplace, and consumer service business model startups.
• HPVP Opportunity Fund A $30M supplemental fund vehicle that supports follow-on and opportunistic investments in Hyde Park Venture Partners' existing portfolio.
• HPVP Fund IV The fourth flagship $98M early stage venture capital fund from Hyde Park Venture Partners, providing capital to pre-seed through early Series A startups with founders connected to the Midwest, Toronto, and the Southeast.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranking #9 of 200+ VC firms on Founder's Choice VC Leaderboard (Feb 2023)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• High AlphaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndianapolis-based venture studio in HPVP's portfolio ecosystem. Operates a venture studio model and is connected to HPVP's regional mid-continent network.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Drive Capital: Columbus, OH-based early- and growth-stage venture firm with a Midwest focus, investing in software and tech-enabled services. Directly comparable in geography and stage mandate, and a frequent competitor for the same mid-continent founders HPVP targets.
• M25: Chicago-based early-stage VC focused on tech startups in the Midwest. Co-invests with HPVP (e.g., Benji seed round) and competes for the same pre-seed/Seed AI and B2B software deals out of Chicago.
• Rev1 Ventures: Columbus, OH-based startup studio and early-stage investor with a Midwest mandate. Closely comparable in stage, geography, and mission of backing founders outside the major coastal hubs.
• gener8tor: Milwaukee/Chicago-based accelerator and early-stage investor running Midwest and Midwest-adjacent programs. Direct competitor for the same early-stage deal flow and frequently co-invests with HPVP.
• Lightbank: Chicago-based early-stage VC investing in seed through Series A software and consumer startups. Overlapping geography, stage, and thesis; competes for many of the same Midwest B2B SaaS founders.
• Chicago Ventures: Chicago-based early-stage VC investing in software and tech-enabled services founded in or connected to Chicago. Most directly comparable peer in terms of size, stage, and city-level focus.

Regional players

• Chrysalis Ventures: Louisville, KY-based early- and growth-stage investor focused on Kentucky and the broader Midwest/South. Comparable regional thesis and stage, but typically writes larger checks into later-stage Midwest companies.
• JumpStart Inc. Cleveland, OH-based early-stage venture development organization backing high-growth startups in Northeast Ohio. Comparable in mission (developing an undercapitalized regional ecosystem) though structured as a nonprofit/development finance hybrid.
• Detroit Venture Partners: Detroit-based early-stage VC and venture studio backing founders in Detroit and the broader Midwest. Comparable in regional thesis and stage, but with a more concentrated Detroit focus.

Others

• Cintrifuse: Cincinnati-based startup innovation hub and fund-of-funds/seed investor. HPVP's LPs include Cintrifuse Capital, and the two share the same mid-continent ecosystem thesis — Cintrifuse is a regional ecosystem participant more than a direct check-writing competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hydeparkvp
• Facebookfacebook.com/hydeparkvp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hyde-park-venture-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments191 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hyde Park Venture Partners