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Mark Suster

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Mark Suster
Born (1968-04-30) April 30, 1968 (age 56)
EducationUniversity of Chicago (M.B.A.)
University of California at San Diego (B.A.)
Occupation(s)Businessman, investor
SpouseTania Suster
Children2

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]

Business career

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In 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

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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 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

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  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. ^ "The e-biz has landed". Building.co. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  5. ^ "BuildOnline and Citadon merge". Growth Business. 15 December 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Salesforce.com Inc. Acquires Koral Inc. April 10, 2007". Redmond. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Salesforce.com Inc. Acquires Koral Inc. April 10, 2007". Redmond. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  8. ^ Kamelia Angelova (July 28, 2011) Privately, Investors Admit There's Big Bubble In Tech Startups. Business Insider
  9. ^ Grant, Rebecca (June 27, 2013). "LA-based GRP Partners closes new $200M fund, rebrands as Upfront". Reuters. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  10. ^ "Nanit knows more about how your baby sleeps than you do – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  11. ^ "uBeam's Meredith Perry shows her stealth wireless charging technology really works". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  12. ^ Barnes, Brooks (2014-03-24). "Disney Buys Maker Studios, Video Supplier for YouTube". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  13. ^ "Mark Suster". LA Business Journal. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  14. ^ Murphy, Hannah (11 May 2019). "The investor who turned down Uber at a $5m valuation". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  15. ^ Williams, Lara (23 February 2023). "Mass extinction of start-ups on the horizon in 2023". Investment Monitor. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Hall, Christine (March 2024). "Rants, AI and other notes from Upfront Summit". TechCrunch. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ Yerack, Betty (5 October 2022). "Loot Crate's Venture Backers Reach $6.8 Million Chapter 11 Deal With Creditors". WSJ. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  20. ^ "Maker Studios, Co-Founder In Legal Battle". SocialTech. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  21. ^ Suster, Mark (13 July 2013). "Startup Grind Turns the Tables on Mark Suster". Both Sides. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  22. ^ Chang, Andrea (12 July 2013). "How Mark Suster became a go-to guy for tech start-ups". Los Angeles Times.
  23. ^ "Are Founders With ADHD Built for Entrepreneurship?". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  24. ^ 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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