Mark Suster

Who they are

Mark Suster is Managing Partner at Upfront Ventures — a two-time founder who sold BuildOnline and Koral to Salesforce before switching sides of the table, and runs Both Sides of the Table, one of the most-read VC blogs in the country.

Person

Mark joined Upfront Ventures in 2007 when the firm was still called GRP Partners — he came in as a first-time VC after roughly eight years as a founder, which is unusual enough that he built an entire blog around the perspective it gives him. He studied at the University of Chicago for his undergrad, then got his MBA at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, before founding BuildOnline in London in 1999 — a cloud platform for large-scale engineering and construction projects — which was acquired. He then founded Koral, a document management and collaboration tool in the Bay Area, which Salesforce acquired; he went to Salesforce briefly as VP of Products before making the jump to VC. His founded companies: BuildOnline (cloud construction software, acquired), Koral (content collaboration, sold to Salesforce), and Launchpad LA (co-founded in 2009, a tech accelerator still active in Los Angeles). The through-line is someone who has built, sold, and now funds — and is deliberate about never letting investors forget what the founder side of the table actually feels like. He writes at bothsidesofthetable.com on venture capital, fundraising, and founder strategy, and posts actively on LinkedIn covering hard tech, aerospace/defense, health and longevity, cybersecurity, and LA's regional tech ecosystem; he also co-hosts the invite-only Upfront Summit, most recently at the Intuit Dome in 2025.

Company

In 2026, Upfront Ventures participated in Care's $100 million Series D round — a deal that pushed Care to a $1 billion valuation, led by Goodwater Capital. The firm has made 3 investments so far in 2026, including Neon, continuing its early-stage focus. Recent 2025 activity included leading Modern Animal's $46 million Series D (with Addition and Founders Fund), leading Clair's $23.2 million Series B in May, and participating in Nanit's $50 million growth round in December. The portfolio now counts 9 unicorns — including Apex, WRITER, and Invoca — with Apex reaching unicorn status in 2025, one year after Upfront's initial investment. The firm was founded in 1996, is headquartered in Los Angeles, and has raised over $2 billion in total funds, including $650 million across three funds in 2022.

Market

Upfront Ventures sits as one of the largest LA-based VC firms, competing with Greycroft, Daher Capital, and Accel, and investing across AI, fintech, cybersecurity, space and defense, agtech, health tech, life sciences, and gaming. The broader VC market in 2025–2026 is characterized by AI concentration — 46% of global venture funding in Q3 2025 went to AI companies — alongside tighter financing conditions, higher interest rates, and increased regulatory scrutiny on outbound investments in semiconductors and AI by the US and EU. Defense tech is gaining investor attention, a trend that aligns with Upfront's stated sector interests.

Network

Suster's closest professional orbit at Upfront includes Managing Partners Yves Sisteron and Kara Nortman, General Partner Kevin Zhang (focused on government contract spend and partnerships), and partner Aditi Maliwal, who came up through Deutsche Bank, Crosslink Capital, and Google. He's publicly amplified Samir Kaji as a thoughtful voice in the VC ecosystem, and mentors through Techstars. He also sits on the board of Modern Animal, an Upfront portfolio company.

Yves Sisteron· Managing Partner, Upfront Ventures
Kara Nortman· Managing Partner, Upfront Ventures
Kevin Zhang· General Partner, Upfront Ventures
Aditi Maliwal· Partner, Upfront Ventures
Samir Kaji· VC/startup ecosystem commentator and podcast collaborator

How they likely show up

Joined Upfront in 2007 and has stayed for nearly two decades → thinks in fund cycles and long compounding relationships, not short-term deal sprints.
Two exits as a founder before becoming a VC → likely approaches founder pitches as a practitioner, not a theorist; will pressure-test operational detail.
Runs bothsidesofthetable.com and posts actively on LinkedIn → comfortable being a public voice, probably reads his own comments and engages; visibility is part of how he works, not a side effect.
Co-founded Launchpad LA while already a GP → high agency; doesn't wait for institutional permission to build something.
Hybrid role pattern (founder turned investor turned public commentator) → likely expects people he meets to have done their homework; generic pitches will fall flat.
Co-hosts the Upfront Summit as a flagship community asset → relationship and network-building is a deliberate strategy, not accidental.

Conversation tips

→ Reference a specific post from Both Sides of the Table — he's been writing it for years and will notice immediately whether you've actually read it.
→ Ask about the founder-to-VC transition on his terms — he's written about it extensively and has strong, rehearsed views, but asking about a specific tension (e.g. board dynamics vs. operator instincts) will get a more genuine answer than a generic 'how did you make the switch?' question.
→ If you're a founder, don't pitch in the abstract — he's built companies himself and will want specifics on what you've shipped, what broke, and what you learned.
→ The LA tech ecosystem is a point of genuine pride, not just a talking point — referencing the Upfront Summit at the Intuit Dome or the Launchpad LA origin story will land better than generic Silicon Valley comparisons.
→ He covers hard tech and defense/aerospace on LinkedIn — if that's your space, lead with a specific sector view, not a capability claim.

Toolbox

Openers

Open on Apex hitting unicorn status in 2025, one year after Upfront's initial investment — it's a recent win that reflects the firm's early conviction thesis and gives him something concrete to riff on.
Bring up Both Sides of the Table by name and cite a specific piece — the blog is his own property and represents a sustained, decades-long bet that transparency builds deal flow; acknowledging it as a deliberate strategy (not just content marketing) will resonate.
Reference the 2025 Upfront Summit at the Intuit Dome — he co-hosts it as a flagship community event for LA tech, and it's a point of pride about building the ecosystem, not just investing in it.

Discovery questions

You led Modern Animal's Series D and sit on its board — how do you think about doubling down on a portfolio company at that stage versus deploying fresh capital into new bets?
You co-founded Launchpad LA in 2009 while already a GP — what was the gap in the LA ecosystem you were trying to fill, and does it still exist?
Both Sides of the Table has been running for years — has the founder's relationship to fundraising information changed now that so much VC advice is public, or do founders still make the same mistakes?

Avoid

Don't lead with surface-level 'LA is the next Silicon Valley' framing — he's been building the LA ecosystem since 2007 and has nuanced, specific views on what it actually is; generic boosterism will read as unprepared.

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