Mo Koyfman

Moshe "Mo" Koyfman
Mo Koyfman, 2017
Residence New York
Nationality American
Alma mater University of Pennsylvania
Occupation Business executive
Known for Partner, Spark Capital

Moshe "Mo" Koyfman is an American business executive and investor.

Early life

Koyfman is a native of New Jersey.[1] He attended the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a B.S. in economics with a concentration in finance and a B.A. in English, graduating magna cum laude.[2]

Career

After graduating from college, Koyfman joined Bear Stearns as an investment banker, where he worked on mergers and acquisitions and raising financing for media, technology and entertainment companies.[2]

He next joined IAC, an internet holding company, where he was both vice president of mergers and acquisitions and vice president of programming,[2][3] helping to launch a new business unit focused on digital media.[1] In this role, he led the IAC acquisition of Connected Ventures, the parent of Vimeo, CollegeHumor and BustedTees. He eventually served as the chief operating officer of Connected Ventures.[1]

He was hired by Spark Capital, a Boston venture capital fund known as an early investor in Twitter and Tumblr, in the summer of 2008.[1][3] His work was focused on expanding into the New York media and entertainment sectors.[4] Koyfman said that New York had evolved into an active environment for VCs, in part because entrepreneurs and starts ups were considered "cool" by college graduates, compared to going to work on Wall Street or an investment bank.[5] He said in 2011 that closed social networking communities were becoming more important[6] and in 2012 that he was focused on investing on social media, mobile and local services.[5]

Among the first investments led by Koyfman at Spark were stakes in online marketplaces Skillshare and Work Market.[2] Later investments include eyeglass retailer Warby Parker,[2] fraud prevention software company Sift Science,[7] financial service provider Plaid (company), Kitchensurfing, Aviary, DIY, FundersClub, Consumer United, gdgt and Svpply.[2] Koyfman's exits for Spark include EBay buying Svvply, AOL buying gdgt,[2] and Adobe Systems buying Aviary.[8] He became a member of the Board of directors for Skillshare, Work Market, Aviary, Plaid, DIY and Consumers United.[2]

After Spark invested in Kik Messenger, Koyfman said that closed social networks were gaining in popularity because the early social networks included so many loose acquaintances.[9]

Koyfman was promoted in 2012 to general partner, one of six at Spark,[1][5] at the age of 35.[10] In 2012 was named one of New York's top 100 angel investors by Business Insider.[11] As an angel investor, his investments include online razor retailer Harry's, the clothing brand Reformation, urban affairs digital publisher Curbed, and horror and digital entertainment producer Crypt TV.[12]

In 2013, Koyfman became an early backer and member of the board of directors of Sefaria, a free content library of Hebrew and English Jewish texts. [13]

He left Spark in 2016, saying he wanted to do something more entrepreneurial.[14][15] He founded and became the CEO of MOKO Brands, an investment company focused on consumer brands.[16]

Personal

Koyfman is married to Hillary Rosenman Koyfman, a designer.[17]

Philanthropic activities

He has been on the board of directors of ArtWorks, a non-profit that offers art therapy to hospitalized children.[2]

He also served as a member of the Whitney Museum of American Art Future Leadership Council, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Collections Council, and the New York Public Library Tech Advisory Group.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ante, Spencer (2012-01-27). "Twitter Investor Spark Promotes Mo Koyfman To General Partner". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "A New York VC Spotlight: Mo Koyfman of Spark Capital - AlleyWatch". AlleyWatch. 2013-12-10. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  3. 1 2 "Former IAC Exec Koyfman Lands At Spark Capital". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  4. ↑ "Xconomy: Spark Capital Gains 'Mo,' as It Pushes Deeper Into NY Media and Entertainment Scene". Xconomy. 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  5. 1 2 3 "Spark Capital's Mo Koyfman Promoted to General Partner". Observer. 2012-01-27. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  6. ↑ CNBC.com, Jessica Naziri|Special to (2011-06-08). "The Next-Big Shift in Social Networking: 'Niche' Sites". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  7. ↑ Kolodny, Lora (2014-05-14). "Sift Science Raises $18M to Stop Fraud Online — Even As Criminals Change Tactics". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  8. ↑ "Adobe Acquires Photo-Editing Platform Aviary – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  9. ↑ CNBC.com, Jessica Naziri|Special to (2011-06-08). "The Next-Big Shift in Social Networking: 'Niche' Sites". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  10. ↑ Little, Lyneka (2013-08-01). "A Young VC on How Young Entrepreneurs Can Land Cash for Their Young Companies". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  11. ↑ Shontell, Alyson (June 21, 2012). "The Angel 100: New York's Top Early Stage Investors". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  12. ↑ "Mo Koyfman | Crunchbase". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  13. ↑ "'Sefaria' Text Site Could Expand Jewish Learning". Jewish Week. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  14. ↑ Garland, Russ (2016-03-09). "The Daily Startup: Mo Koyfman to Leave Spark Capital". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  15. ↑ Chernova, Yuliya (2016-03-08). "Mo Koyfman to Leave Spark Capital". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  16. ↑ "You Should Know: Mo Koyfman". Guest of a Guest. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  17. ↑ "Shop This New York Apartment - Our Storied Home". Our Storied Home. 2015-05-21. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  18. ↑ 33voices. "Mo Koyfman". www.33voices.com. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
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