# Mark Suster

> Mark Suster is a Managing Partner at Upfront Ventures, the largest early-stage VC firm in Southern California, and the author of the influential blog Both Sides of the Table. A serial entrepreneur who built and sold two companies before switching to investing, Suster brings a rare founder's perspective to venture capital. Known for coining 'fauxmentum,' championing the LA tech ecosystem, and advocating openly about ADHD, he manages hundreds of millions in capital while hosting the Upfront Summit — one of America's premier LP and VC conferences.

- **Role:** Managing Partner at Upfront Ventures
- **Organizations:** Upfront Ventures, Launchpad LA
- **From:** Philadelphia, USA
- **Nationality:** American, British (dual citizen)
- **Education:** B.A. in Economics, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- **Known for:** Built and sold two venture-backed companies (BuildOnline merged with Citadon; Koral acquired by Salesforce) before becoming an investor, Managing Partner of Upfront Ventures — largest early-stage VC firm in Southern California, Raised $650M+ across multiple fund vehicles in 2023 alone

## Career timeline

- **1991** — Joined Andersen Consulting (later Accenture) as a software developer and consultant; worked across Europe, Japan, and the US
- **1998** — Left Accenture to attend MBA at University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- **1999** — Co-founded BuildOnline, a construction collaboration technology platform (enterprise SaaS)
- **2006** — BuildOnline merged with Citadon (backed by The Sword Group) — his first successful exit
- **2006** — Founded Koral, a content collaboration software company
- **2007** — Koral acquired by Salesforce.com; Suster became VP of Product Management at Salesforce
- **2007** — Joined GRP Partners (later rebranded Upfront Ventures) as Managing Partner — transitioned from operator to investor
- **2009** — Co-founded Launchpad LA accelerator with Adam Lilling to keep LA tech talent in Southern California
- **2010** — Published 'Invest in Lines, Not Dots' — one of the most cited VC blog posts ever written
- **2012** — Founded the Upfront Summit, an annual invite-only VC and LP conference in Los Angeles
- **2014** — Maker Studios (Upfront portfolio) acquired by Disney
- **2014** — TrueCar (Upfront portfolio) IPO'd on NASDAQ
- **2018** — Delivered TEDx Talk 'Six Life Lessons That Lead to Success' at TEDxCrossroadsSchool
- **2023** — Raised $650M+ across Upfront VII, Upfront VIII, Upfront Growth IV, and secondary funds
- **2024** — Recognized in LA500 2024 by Los Angeles Business Journal; advocated for VC secondary market reform
- **2025** — Led $46M funding round for Modern Animal; family home survived the January LA wildfires
- **2026** — Hosted Upfront Summit on theme 'From First Principles to Big F*cking Ideas — How to Win in the AI Era'

## Achievements

- Built and sold two venture-backed companies (BuildOnline merged with Citadon; Koral acquired by Salesforce) before becoming an investor
- Managing Partner of Upfront Ventures — largest early-stage VC firm in Southern California
- Raised $650M+ across multiple fund vehicles in 2023 alone
- Blog 'Both Sides of the Table' has 121,000+ Medium followers and is one of the most-read VC blogs in the world
- Coined the term 'fauxmentum' (fake momentum in startups) — now industry shorthand
- Co-founded Launchpad LA, helping 23 companies raise capital and generate $60M+ in exits
- Founded the Upfront Summit — grew from $300K to $2.3M annual budget, hosting 1,000+ attendees
- Led investments in Ring (acquired by Amazon), Maker Studios (acquired by Disney), TrueCar (IPO), thredUP (IPO)
- LA500 2024 — one of Los Angeles's most influential business leaders in Banking & Finance
- Named 'the face of L.A. venture capital' by Yahoo Finance
- TEDx speaker with talk on entrepreneurship and life lessons
- Returned approximately $1.2 billion to investors through portfolio secondaries over five years

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Hosted Upfront Summit 2026 on AI era theme; interviewed Shopify President Harley Finkelstein
- **2025-09** — Led $46M Series B funding round for Modern Animal (veterinary + ecommerce); joined board
- **2025-02** — Upfront Summit featured Prince Harry; Suster moderated sessions on innovation
- **2025-01** — Pacific Palisades home survived LA wildfires; helped neighbors evacuate, shared account with Fortune magazine
- **2024-07** — Published Fortune op-ed advocating for VC industry to adopt PE-style secondary market practices
- **2023-09** — Closed Upfront VII ($280M), Upfront VIII ($280M), and Upfront Growth IV ($200M) — totaling $760M+ in new capital

## Links

- Website: https://bothsidesofthetable.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marksuster/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/msuster
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msuster/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/mark-suster
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-27