Mark Suster is an American businessman and investor. He is a managing partner at Upfront Ventures,[1] the largest venture capital firm in Los Angeles.[2] Aside from his business career, Suster is also a prominent blogger in the American high-technology startup scene and venture capital world.[3]
Mark Suster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 30, 1968 |
| Education | University of Chicago (M.B.A.) University of California at San Diego (B.A.) |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, investor |
| Spouse | Tania Suster |
| Children | 2 |
Business career
editIn 1999, with Ireland-based real estate entrepreneur Brian Moran, he created his first company, a construction collaboration technology business called BuildOnline, where he also served as chief executive officer.[4] BuildOnline merged with US-based rival Citadon in December 2006.[5]
By September 2006, Suster had already left Citadon, having established a second company called Koral, a content collaboration software business.[6] In April 2007, Koral was acquired by Salesforce.com where Suster then assumed the role of Vice President of Product Management upon the completion of the acquisition.[7]
Suster later joined Upfront Ventures (previously known as GRP Partners), a venture capital and investment firm, in 2007.[8] In 2009, Suster started the Launchpad LA accelerator while continuing his employment at Upfront.[9] At Upfront, Suster led investments in companies including Ring, Bird, Invoca, ThreadUp, MakeSpace, mitu, Nanit,[10] Osmo, Tact, and uBeam.[11]
Suster also led the initial funding round for, and was on the board of, Maker Studios, an online video talent agency (acquired by Disney in 2014).[12] He was also an early investor in online car-shopping system TrueCar, which went public that same year.[13] Unlike other Silicon Valley technology entrepreneurs, Suster has been open about turning down investments in potential start-up businesses that later became successful, including Uber.[14]
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.[15] 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.[16]
Suster and Upfront are hosts of the Upfront Summit, an invite-only VC conference in Los Angeles.[17] The event brings more than 1,000 attendees each year and have taken place in locations such as Paramount Studios, the Rose Bowl, and Dolby Theatre. [18]
Investors including Upfront Ventures/Suster have been in lawsuits brought by Loot Crate[19] and Maker Studios.[20]
Personal life
editSuster grew up in Northern California and is a dual citizen of both the United Kingdom and the United States. He is of Romanian Jewish ancestry.[21] Suster graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He later received his MBA from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.[22]
Since he was diagnosed with ADHD in 2014, Suster has openly talked and written often about how he's learned to integrate his business skills with his coping strategies for ADHD.[23]
Suster is married with two children.[24]
References
edit- ^ "The Money Book: Mark Suster | Los Angeles Business Journal". labusinessjournal.com. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "The Founder Showcase: Launching startups with a community". The Next Web. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ "The e-biz has landed". Building.co. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ "BuildOnline and Citadon merge". Growth Business. 15 December 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ "Salesforce.com Inc. Acquires Koral Inc. April 10, 2007". Redmond. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ "Salesforce.com Inc. Acquires Koral Inc. April 10, 2007". Redmond. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ Kamelia Angelova (July 28, 2011) Privately, Investors Admit There's Big Bubble In Tech Startups. Business Insider
- ^ Grant, Rebecca (June 27, 2013). "LA-based GRP Partners closes new $200M fund, rebrands as Upfront". Reuters. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ "Nanit knows more about how your baby sleeps than you do – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
- ^ "uBeam's Meredith Perry shows her stealth wireless charging technology really works". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
- ^ Barnes, Brooks (2014-03-24). "Disney Buys Maker Studios, Video Supplier for YouTube". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
- ^ "Mark Suster". LA Business Journal. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ Murphy, Hannah (11 May 2019). "The investor who turned down Uber at a $5m valuation". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ Williams, Lara (23 February 2023). "Mass extinction of start-ups on the horizon in 2023". Investment Monitor. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Hall, Christine (March 2024). "Rants, AI and other notes from Upfront Summit". TechCrunch. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ Bergman, Ben. "'My job is not to be the best friend of the CEO': Upfront's Mark Suster prides himself on being hard on founders, but some say his tough-love approach has gone too far". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ Yerack, Betty (5 October 2022). "Loot Crate's Venture Backers Reach $6.8 Million Chapter 11 Deal With Creditors". WSJ. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ "Maker Studios, Co-Founder In Legal Battle". SocialTech. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ Suster, Mark (13 July 2013). "Startup Grind Turns the Tables on Mark Suster". Both Sides. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
- ^ Chang, Andrea (12 July 2013). "How Mark Suster became a go-to guy for tech start-ups". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Are Founders With ADHD Built for Entrepreneurship?". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ Suster, Mark. "How Twitter Got Me Into The White House And Saved My Son's Birthday". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 June 2011.