About Mike Ma
Mike Ma is an entrepreneur, investor, and advisor with over 25 years of experience, having built seed-stage startups, managed national advertising campaigns, and advised some of the world’s largest financial institutions.Mike is the Founder and Managing Partner of Sidecut Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund that backs “coachable superheroes” at the pre-seed stage across economic mobility, digital health, climate, and education. Sidecut offers not only capital but also hands-on strategic support, connecting founders with the mentorship and resources they need to scale. With a passion for transformative innovation, Sidecut seeks out mission-driven founders determined to tackle systemic challenges and forge meaningful impact.
Before launching Sidecut, Mike served as Managing Director at Nex Cubed, where he led the inaugural FinTech cohort and the HBCU Founders Fund, and as Operating Partner at Sway Ventures, overseeing their FinTech practice. As a startup operator, Mike was Chief Marketing Officer at Betterment and Own Up, co-founded ShredBetter (acquired by Only Sky), and acted as Chief Business Officer at kasina (acquired by SS&C Technologies). His early career includes Trilogy Software and iPhrase Technologies (acquired by IBM). Mike also co-founded Coeio, a disruptive startup in the funeral industry.In financial services, Mike was SVP and Digital Strategy and Innovation Executive at Bank of America’s Consumer Bank, and Head of Retail Advertising at Vanguard, leading the award-winning $60M “Vanguarding” campaign.
He holds an AB in Philosophy with honors from Harvard College and served on the Adaptive National Team of the Professional Ski Instructors of America. Mike resides in New York and Vermont with his wife, three children, and two rescued doodles.
