Midtown Doornail
Midtown Doornail is a company.
Active
Updated: ·
Financial History
Total Raised
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Valuation
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Leadership Team
Key people at Midtown Doornail.
Midtown Doornail is a company.
Key people at Midtown Doornail.
Key people at Midtown Doornail.
Midtown Doornail operated as an early 2000s investment company and startup incubator focused on internet ventures, notably contributing to the creation of Yelp.[2] Based in the US with registrations in Florida (as Midtown Doornail, Inc., filed around 2013) and the UK (as Midtown Doornail Limited, incorporated 2022), it supported emerging tech companies during the post-dot-com era, though a separate entity named Sidekicks (Midtown Doornail Inc.) appears as a small technology firm in Illinois with just 2 employees.[1][7][3]
Limited public details exist on its full portfolio or current status, suggesting it was more of a boutique incubator than a large-scale VC firm, with ties to prominent figures like Max Levchin.
Midtown Doornail emerged around 2004 in the San Francisco Bay Area, functioning as an incubator—an anagram of "World Domination"—under the involvement of PayPal Mafia member Max Levchin.[2] Bob Goodson joined in April 2004 as a product manager after meeting Levchin, having paused his studies at Oxford to pursue opportunities in Silicon Valley; the firm helped launch successful internet companies like Yelp, where Goodson became the first employee months later.[2]
Its evolution reflects the early 2000s startup boom, with later corporate filings in Florida (2013) and the UK (2022) indicating possible revivals or unrelated entities using the name, but no clear continuity from the incubator phase.[3][7]
These traits positioned it as a nimble launchpad rather than a high-volume investor.
Midtown Doornail rode the post-dot-com internet renaissance, timing its activity in 2004 amid recovering VC interest in consumer web services like Yelp, which capitalized on emerging social review trends.[2] Market forces favoring networked incubators—leveraging mafia-style founder connections—amplified its influence, helping seed ecosystem players that shaped local discovery and user-generated content.
It exemplified Silicon Valley's incubator trend, influencing the startup ecosystem by bridging academic talent (e.g., Goodson's Oxford background) with venture capital, though its footprint remains niche compared to larger funds.[2]
With sparse recent activity beyond filings, Midtown Doornail's legacy endures through alumni successes like Yelp and figures such as Goodson, who later founded YouNoodle and Quid.[2] Emerging AI and data analytics trends could revive similar incubator models, potentially repurposing the name for new ventures in those domains. Its influence may evolve via network effects, as early bets continue yielding indirect returns in the tech landscape it helped pioneer.