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Mark Suster

38 statements across 8 episodes · 8 bullish · 14 bearish · 6 people on the record · first statement Sep 18, 2015 by James Borow · said 77 times in 47 episodes since 2015 · across every show →

On the record as a speaker too: Mark Suster's record, appearances and statements → this page counts the times other people say the name.

Mentions by year

brought up most by Harry Stebbings (41), Miles Dieffenbach (4), Parker Thompson (3), Kara Nortman (3), Samir Kaji (2), Sam Corcos (2), Rob Go (2), Nav Athwal (2)

tap a year for its mentions
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0021042020152016201720182019202020212022202320242025episodesmentions per episode
2025 4 mentions in 1 episode
2024 10 mentions in 6 episodes 2 per episode
2023 6 mentions in 4 episodes 2 per episode
2022 3 mentions in 2 episodes 2 per episode
2020 1 mention in 1 episode
2018 3 mentions in 3 episodes 1 per episode
2017 6 mentions in 5 episodes 1 per episode
2016 38 mentions in 20 episodes 2 per episode
2015 6 mentions in 5 episodes 1 per episode

every mention, scene by scene, with the transcript →

Everything said about Mark Suster, oldest first

Sep 18, 2015 positive
Opinion
Silicon Valley bias against LA startups is now a non-issue
“Fast forward to today, I think that's a non-issue with people like, you know, Mark Suster and Upfront Ventures and Snapchat in LA.”
James Borow Sep 18, 2015 ▶ 18:43 FF 013: 'Make Bets And Believe In What You Are Doing' with James Borow @ Shift & Brand Networks
Nov 4, 2015
Insight
Suster: Excess capital breeds startup laziness while constraints force creativity
“A certain amount of constraint actually forces creativity, and when you have a little too much capital, you can take shortcuts, or you can throw money at problems, and it masks certain problems as well. So I'll just give you an example for anyone who's ever wo…”
Mark Suster Nov 4, 2015 ▶ 7:30 20 VC 085: Mark Suster @ Upfront Ventures on Being A Super Entrepreneur Driven VC
Nov 4, 2015
Insight
Suster: Every Tech Leader Needs a Fundamental Understanding of Programming
“You need to take some programming course, even if you want to be the CEO or the head of sales or the head of marketing or the head of biz dev, Understanding, having a fundamental understanding of how systems work is critical to being in the business.”
Mark Suster Nov 4, 2015 ▶ 3:24 20 VC 085: Mark Suster @ Upfront Ventures on Being A Super Entrepreneur Driven VC
Nov 4, 2015
Insight
Suster: Prospective Entrepreneurs Should Start Their Startup Journeys Earlier
“Entrepreneurship's not cut out for everybody, but if you want to give it a try, it's infinitely better to start earlier.”
Mark Suster Nov 4, 2015 ▶ 3:10 20 VC 085: Mark Suster @ Upfront Ventures on Being A Super Entrepreneur Driven VC
Nov 4, 2015 negative
Opinion
Suster: Founders should avoid demo days and batch fundraising hype
“Like, you've got one company, and there's no divorce clause from investors, so I really think entrepreneurs need to take the time to get to know their investors, which is why I'm not a big proponent of demo days, or overhyping your company, or Waiting to meet …”
Mark Suster Nov 4, 2015 ▶ 16:16 20 VC 085: Mark Suster @ Upfront Ventures on Being A Super Entrepreneur Driven VC
Nov 4, 2015
Insight
Suster: Seed and Series A investing relies on intangibles over traction
“There's all these intangibles that I'm trying to judge because I'm a seed or a round investor. So I'm usually not betting specifically on traction, which tends to be more of a B round activity.”
Mark Suster Nov 4, 2015 ▶ 13:59 20 VC 085: Mark Suster @ Upfront Ventures on Being A Super Entrepreneur Driven VC
Nov 4, 2015 negative
Insight
Suster: Entrepreneurship does not pay off economically for most founders
“I think it's stressful, it's hard, it leads a lot of people to depression, and conflict, and stress, and for most people it doesn't even pay off economically. And so if you're going to dedicate yourself to it, you sure as hell better love the product concept o…”
Mark Suster Nov 4, 2015 ▶ 23:31 20 VC 085: Mark Suster @ Upfront Ventures on Being A Super Entrepreneur Driven VC
Nov 4, 2015
Insight
Suster: Investor trust requires rapport built in meetings, not presentation data
“There's no great presentation, there's no amount of data that can get someone to want to take that bet on you other than Trust, and trust is established through rapport, which is built in meetings.”
Mark Suster Nov 4, 2015 ▶ 10:19 20 VC 085: Mark Suster @ Upfront Ventures on Being A Super Entrepreneur Driven VC
Nov 4, 2015 bearish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Suster warns fashionable tech market creates excess capital and non-entrepreneurs
“I think we've returned to a moment where startups and Silicon Valley and tech have become fashionable, and everyone wants to do it, which means you're gonna have too many companies, too much money, and too many people who aren't truly entrepreneurs, kind of cl…”
Mark Suster Nov 4, 2015 ▶ 21:19 20 VC 085: Mark Suster @ Upfront Ventures on Being A Super Entrepreneur Driven VC
Nov 4, 2015
Insight
Suster: Telesales and Direct Sales Experience Are Essential for Tech Careers
“Is to get some sales experience, and usually the best way to do that is telesales, and even if you want to be in marketing, even if you are in customer support, even if you want to do biz dev, ask the CEO if you can, you know, just do an hour a week of sales c…”
Mark Suster Nov 4, 2015 ▶ 4:28 20 VC 085: Mark Suster @ Upfront Ventures on Being A Super Entrepreneur Driven VC
Nov 4, 2015
Insight
Suster: Startups should aim to raise 18 months of runway
“I mean, the ideal amount of capital, if you can raise it as 18 months.”
Mark Suster Nov 4, 2015 ▶ 8:46 20 VC 085: Mark Suster @ Upfront Ventures on Being A Super Entrepreneur Driven VC
Nov 4, 2015
Insight
Suster: VCs should evaluate founders over time using 'lines, not dots'
“But probably the best known post I've ever done was a post I wrote saying I invest in lines, not dots. And the metaphor is an x-axis is time, and a y-axis is your performance. And on any given day, I'm judging your performance on that day. How well did you pre…”
Mark Suster Nov 4, 2015 ▶ 14:45 20 VC 085: Mark Suster @ Upfront Ventures on Being A Super Entrepreneur Driven VC
Nov 4, 2015 negative
Insight
Suster: VCs who chase hot market trends late will lose
“Investors are like lemmings, and when an idea works, everyone chases the same idea. By definition, if you're chasing a hot idea, and you weren't early in that market, you're gonna lose.”
Mark Suster Nov 4, 2015 ▶ 20:04 20 VC 085: Mark Suster @ Upfront Ventures on Being A Super Entrepreneur Driven VC
Jul 6, 2016 negative
Opinion
Kim: Party rounds are the absolute worst early-stage financing structure
“Now, the absolute worst scenario, and Mark Suster actually talks about it in his recent post on both sides of the table, are these party rounds. I don't think these party rounds are happening as often, but these party rounds are where 20 plus individuals, you …”
Michael Kim Jul 6, 2016 ▶ 8:23 20VC: What It Takes To Raise A VC Fund & Investing in First Time Fund Managers with Michael Kim @ Cendana Capital
Oct 28, 2016 positive
Opinion
Mark Suster Is the Best VC at Social Media Branding
“You know who I always love is Mark Schuster. He's like, so when we first, first started getting going in, in Twitter, 2008, nine, he was crushing it then. He's now crushing it on Snapchat and doing really interesting stuff.”
Ryan Holmes Oct 28, 2016 ▶ 20:04 20VC: Hootsuite's Ryan Holmes on Optimising Productivity in Meetings, Creating An Ownership Culture & Lessons From Running A Pizzeria!
Feb 15, 2017 negative
Opinion
Mark Suster's 'always be raising' advice distracts founders from execution
“There is a headset that has become the norm, which is always be raising. I don't know if that's always right. I think it's where we are, but I don't think that's necessarily the right thing for all founders. I think it's often very distracting and very, and ma…”
Micah Rosenbloom Feb 15, 2017 ▶ 18:00 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Focus On Top Line Valuation, Why Capital Efficiency Is Key To Returns And Investment Success & Why Despite Popular Thought, $100m Is An Exciting Exit For VC with Micah Rosenbloom, Managing Partner @ Founder Collective
Apr 20, 2020
Disclosure
Suster passed on Uber and Box due to personal biases
“The obvious example, Harry, is Uber, where having lived in London and seen the taxi lobby and how strong the taxi lobby was in London, that clouded my vision for what was possible. Having lived in Los Angeles and seeing how few people ever use taxis, that clou…”
Mark Suster Apr 20, 2020 ▶ 34:13 20VC: Upfront's Mark Suster on COVID Redefining What A Great Company Looks Like and What Valuations Look Like, Why Pay-To-Play Is Back On The Table & Why We Will See The Death of Party Rounds
Apr 20, 2020 bearish
Prediction Not publicly verifiable
Suster predicts party rounds will perform worst over the next three years
“And party rounds did incredibly well. For the last five years, but I suspect party rounds are going to do the worst for the next three years, because getting conviction across three or four small investors that each own seven, eight, nine, 10% of your company …”
Mark Suster Apr 20, 2020 ▶ 37:14 20VC: Upfront's Mark Suster on COVID Redefining What A Great Company Looks Like and What Valuations Look Like, Why Pay-To-Play Is Back On The Table & Why We Will See The Death of Party Rounds
Apr 20, 2020 positive
Disclosure
Upfront Ventures is closing deals entirely remotely without meeting founders
“We funded a company today. We submitted the term sheet two weeks ago, and I've never met the founder in person. We greenlit another term sheet last Monday. It'll fund early to middle of next week. I've never met the founder in person. We are going to our partn…”
Mark Suster Apr 20, 2020 ▶ 15:34 20VC: Upfront's Mark Suster on COVID Redefining What A Great Company Looks Like and What Valuations Look Like, Why Pay-To-Play Is Back On The Table & Why We Will See The Death of Party Rounds
Apr 20, 2020 bullish
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Suster predicts lead VC ownership targets will rise above 20%
“Yes. In fact, I think it'll go up from 20%, not down.”
Mark Suster Apr 20, 2020 ▶ 36:17 20VC: Upfront's Mark Suster on COVID Redefining What A Great Company Looks Like and What Valuations Look Like, Why Pay-To-Play Is Back On The Table & Why We Will See The Death of Party Rounds
Apr 20, 2020 positive
Opinion
Suster recommends Peter Zeihan's geopolitical books for predicting business shifts
“If you want to understand the world and what's happening around you, read The Accidental Superpower, The Absent Superpower, and Disunited Nations. And Disunited Nations is the most recent. Each one of those books Has predicted what was going to happen in the w…”
Mark Suster Apr 20, 2020 ▶ 38:22 20VC: Upfront's Mark Suster on COVID Redefining What A Great Company Looks Like and What Valuations Look Like, Why Pay-To-Play Is Back On The Table & Why We Will See The Death of Party Rounds
Apr 20, 2020 bearish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Mature startups facing cash crises will be hardest to refinance
“So when we're looking at companies, we're looking at bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, we're going to build this for the next 10 years, we're in the first six to 18 months of our journey, as opposed to a company been around for six years and suddenly finds itself in …”
Mark Suster Apr 20, 2020 ▶ 16:46 20VC: Upfront's Mark Suster on COVID Redefining What A Great Company Looks Like and What Valuations Look Like, Why Pay-To-Play Is Back On The Table & Why We Will See The Death of Party Rounds
Apr 20, 2020
Insight
Great board members focus on granular work and difficult budgets
“The things that really matter are people who turn up, roll up their sleeves, have a point of view, will do the detail work, actually read spreadsheets. And be thoughtful and be one step ahead of the game on things that are harder that people don't like to do, …”
Mark Suster Apr 20, 2020 ▶ 39:50 20VC: Upfront's Mark Suster on COVID Redefining What A Great Company Looks Like and What Valuations Look Like, Why Pay-To-Play Is Back On The Table & Why We Will See The Death of Party Rounds
Apr 20, 2020 negative
Opinion
Suster: Too many VCs lack real startup operating experience
“Too many investors that I had come across didn't have real startup operating experience. And I didn't feel like I always got the advice that I could have used at the time I could have used it.”
Mark Suster Apr 20, 2020 ▶ 4:11 20VC: Upfront's Mark Suster on COVID Redefining What A Great Company Looks Like and What Valuations Look Like, Why Pay-To-Play Is Back On The Table & Why We Will See The Death of Party Rounds
Apr 20, 2020 negative
Prediction Not checkable as stated
LP defaults won't be a major issue, but fund re-ups will
“So I don't think that's going to be a major problem. What'll be a major problem is people coming into your next fund, because if they find themselves in a bad economic situation, what they end up doing is cutting commitments to managers that they've had for a …”
Mark Suster Apr 20, 2020 ▶ 31:31 20VC: Upfront's Mark Suster on COVID Redefining What A Great Company Looks Like and What Valuations Look Like, Why Pay-To-Play Is Back On The Table & Why We Will See The Death of Party Rounds
May 1, 2024
Insight
Suster: Venture fund managers should pitch the smallest viable fund target
“Put the smallest number on the front of your pitch deck that you're possibly raising.”
Mark Suster May 1, 2024 ▶ 17:39 Mark Suster: Why Private Equity Will Replace IPOs and M&A as the Exit Path | E1147 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 1, 2024
Insight
Mark Suster limits secondary sales to 40% maximum during market run-ups
“Usually, in a run-up, I'll usually sell 33 to 40% maximum.”
Mark Suster May 1, 2024 ▶ 25:01 Mark Suster: Why Private Equity Will Replace IPOs and M&A as the Exit Path | E1147 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 1, 2024 negative
Insight
Mark Suster: All investors act like sheep and follow herd mentality
“All investors are sheep. End of story. Like, I don't want to pick on LPs, like LPs are no different than VCs. They're no different than retail investors.”
Mark Suster May 1, 2024 ▶ 20:54 Mark Suster: Why Private Equity Will Replace IPOs and M&A as the Exit Path | E1147 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 1, 2024 neutral
Insight
Suster: Rejections come quickly in fundraising while commitments take months
“I used to tell people about fundraising, which is lemons ripen early. And what do I mean by that? So if you go ask 30 people for money, five or 10 of them are going to tell you no quickly because no's come quickly and the yes's take months.”
Mark Suster May 1, 2024 ▶ 9:10 Mark Suster: Why Private Equity Will Replace IPOs and M&A as the Exit Path | E1147 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 1, 2024 positive
Disclosure
Suster: Upfront generated $1.4B from six hard-to-fund, capital-efficient startups
“On average of our companies that take longer and that we had reserves for. On average, it took six years to raise a growth round. Okay. But those companies by definition are more capital efficient because they didn't have access to it. I have six deals that fi…”
Mark Suster May 1, 2024 ▶ 45:49 Mark Suster: Why Private Equity Will Replace IPOs and M&A as the Exit Path | E1147 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 1, 2024 negative
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Suster: Tech industry will see many more startup frauds exposed
“You're already seeing it, you know, we're reading about it, like, almost monthly in the press. Yes, you're gonna see a lot more of it.”
Mark Suster May 1, 2024 ▶ 7:37 Mark Suster: Why Private Equity Will Replace IPOs and M&A as the Exit Path | E1147 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 1, 2024
Assertion Supported
Suster: Institutional LPs re-commit to future funds far more than friends and family
“Institutional money is way more likely to be in fund two and fund three and fund four. Whereas friends and family money's not as likely to repeat.”
Mark Suster May 1, 2024 ▶ 20:08 Mark Suster: Why Private Equity Will Replace IPOs and M&A as the Exit Path | E1147 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 1, 2024 negative
Disclosure
Suster: VCs settled with embezzling founder, getting equity but zero cash
“It's one step worse than that, which is, I know of a company in which the founder embezzled money. Ok, literally stole millions of dollars. In order to not end up in a big legal battle, their VCs ended up settling, and they got all the stock back, but none of …”
Mark Suster May 1, 2024 ▶ 7:44 Mark Suster: Why Private Equity Will Replace IPOs and M&A as the Exit Path | E1147 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 1, 2024
Disclosure
Suster: Fast-growing startup rejected $350M acquisition offer before crashing to $0
“And then I had one big company that was incredibly fast growing is the fastest growing company I had ever seen. And so I piled money into it and it ended up being a zero. We had an offer to sell the company for three hundred and fifty million dollars. Founder …”
Mark Suster May 1, 2024 ▶ 48:50 Mark Suster: Why Private Equity Will Replace IPOs and M&A as the Exit Path | E1147 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 1, 2024 bullish
Insight
Suster: Combining hardware and software produces differentiated VC returns
“Hardware plus software is incredibly valuable. So the hardware actually provides you with a differentiated return if you also have a services business.”
Mark Suster May 1, 2024 ▶ 51:56 Mark Suster: Why Private Equity Will Replace IPOs and M&A as the Exit Path | E1147 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 1, 2024 bearish
Disclosure
Upfront Ventures sold $1.2B in secondary positions during 2021 peak
“We sold 1.2 billion dollars worth of positions in 2021. When everyone was writing crazy checks, I sold six hundred million dollars that year.”
Mark Suster May 1, 2024 ▶ 23:25 Mark Suster: Why Private Equity Will Replace IPOs and M&A as the Exit Path | E1147 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 1, 2024
Insight
Suster: Doubling fund size to $100M doesn't change core strategy
“50 to 500 fundamentally changes your strategy. 50 to a hundred, you're still playing in the same ballpark.”
Mark Suster May 1, 2024 ▶ 19:21 Mark Suster: Why Private Equity Will Replace IPOs and M&A as the Exit Path | E1147 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Aug 4, 2025 positive
Assertion Supported
Mark Suster Aggressively Sold Portfolio Stakes During the 2021 Market Peak
“Mark Suster, I give him all the credit in the world. He's been in the game for a long time and upfront. He saw 20, 21 as an insane period. And he strip sailed like majority of his portfolios and his funds. For a very good price. DPI in the pocket. Like I, all …”
Miles Dieffenbach Aug 4, 2025 ▶ 56:48 Miles Dieffenbach: Inside Carnegie Mellon’s $4BN Endowment & The Math Behind DPI, TVPI, Illiquidity · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
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