Mark Suster

Mark Suster is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is a managing partner at Upfront Ventures,[1] the largest venture capital firm in Los Angeles.[2] Suster is a prominent blogger in the startup venture capital world.[3]

Mark Suster
Born (1968-04-30) April 30, 1968
OccupationVenture Capitalist
SpouseTania Suster
Children2

Despite claiming to be "founder friendly" through his blog "Both Sides of the Table", an April 2023 article in Business Insider revealed that of the 19 boards Suster has sat on, 15 of the original founder-CEOs had stepped down early, left the company entirely, or had been removed.[4]

Career

In 1999, with Ireland-based property entrepreneur Brian Moran, he founded his first company, a construction collaboration technology business called BuildOnline, where he was also chief executive officer. BuildOnline merged with US-based rival Citadon in December 2006.

By April 2007, Suster had already left Citadon, having founded a second company (Koral, a content collaboration software business). In April 2007, Koral was acquired by Salesforce.com where Suster took the role of Vice President, Product Management.

Suster joined Upfront Ventures (previously known as GRP Partners), an investment firm, in 2007.[5] At Upfront, Suster leads investments in companies including Bird, Invoca, MakeSpace, mitu, Nanit,[6] Osmo, Tact, and uBeam.[7]

Suster also led the initial funding round for, and was on the board of, Maker Studios (acquired by Disney in 2014).[8] However, he has also refused investments in businesses that went on to become successes, including Snap Inc.[9] and Uber.[10]

In February 2023, Suster said an excess of capital in the startup market was keeping many startups afloat. Of 5,000 early-stage companies Upfront Ventures had funded since 2019, half were at risk of going out of business, he said.[11] Less than a month later (11 March 2023), Suster called for calm as investors became concerned about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, suggesting a "handful" of VCs were creating panic.[12]

An April 2023 article in Business Insider revealed that of the 19 boards Suster has sat on, 15 of the original founder-CEOs had stepped down early, left the company entirely, or had been removed.[4] Suster has been referred to as "the last person you want on your cap table or your board" and "works to remove more founders from the CEO position than any other investor."[13]

Suster has been in numerous lawsuits against the founders he has invested in through Upfront Ventures, including Loot Crate[14] and Maker Studios.[15]

Private-investment data obtained by Business Insider revealed that Upfront Ventures has returned less than 30 cents for every dollar one of its largest LPs, the University of Texas, or UTIMCO, had invested in the firm since 2014.[4]

Personal

Suster grew up in Northern California and is a dual citizen of both the United Kingdom and the United States. He is of Romanian Jewish descent.[16] Suster graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He received his MBA from the University of Chicago.[17]

Suster is married with two children.[18]

References
  1. "The Money Book: Mark Suster | Los Angeles Business Journal". labusinessjournal.com. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  2. Dave, Paresh (4 July 2017). "Upfront Ventures, L.A. County's biggest venture capital firm, just got bigger". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  3. "The Founder Showcase: Launching startups with a community". The Next Web. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  4. Upfront's Mark Suster became the star of LA's booming startup scene. Some founders and VCs say they will never work with him again Business Insider, April 2023. Retrieved: 20 April 2023.
  5. Kamelia Angelova (July 28, 2011) Privately, Investors Admit There's Big Bubble In Tech Startups. Business Insider
  6. "Nanit knows more about how your baby sleeps than you do – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  7. "uBeam's Meredith Perry shows her stealth wireless charging technology really works". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  8. Barnes, Brooks (2014-03-24). "Disney Buys Maker Studios, Video Supplier for YouTube". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  9. Suster, Mark (16 February 2017). "How Do I Feel About the Snap IPO Given I Didn't Invest?". Both Sides of the Table. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  10. Murphy, Hannah (11 May 2019). "The investor who turned down Uber at a $5m valuation". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  11. Williams, Lara (23 February 2023). "Mass extinction of start-ups on the horizon in 2023". Investment Monitor. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  12. Loizos, Connie (11 March 2023). "Investor Mark Suster says a "handful" of bad actors in VC destroyed Silicon Valley Bank". TechCrunch. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  13. https://www.backchannel.co/reviews/recJP7rkmnLhPaEXp
  14. Yerack, Betty (5 October 2022). "Loot Crate's Venture Backers Reach $6.8 Million Chapter 11 Deal With Creditors". WSJ. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  15. "Maker Studios, Co-Founder In Legal Battle". SocialTech. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  16. Suster, Mark (13 July 2013). "Startup Grind Turns the Tables on Mark Suster". Both Sides. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  17. Chang, Andrea (12 July 2013). "How Mark Suster became a go-to guy for tech start-ups". Los Angeles Times.
  18. Suster, Mark. "How Twitter Got Me Into The White House And Saved My Son's Birthday". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
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