Mo Koyfman

Moshe Koyfman is an American businessperson and investor.

Mo Koyfman
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania
OccupationBusiness executive
TitleFounder & General Partner, Shine Capital
Spouse(s)Hillary Rosenman Koyfman

Biography

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.[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 as 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] 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]

Venture investing

He was hired by Spark Capital, a Boston venture capital fund in the summer of 2008.[1][3] His work was focused on expanding into the New York media and entertainment sectors.[4]

Among the first investments led by Koyfman at Spark were stakes in online marketplaces Skillshare and WorkMarket.[2] Later investments include eyeglass retailer Warby Parker,[2] fraud prevention software company Sift Science,[5] 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.[6] He became a member of the Board of directors for Skillshare, WorkMarket, Aviary, Plaid, DIY and Consumers United.[2]

Koyfman was promoted in 2012 to General Partner, one of six at Spark,[1][7] at the age of 35.[8]

In 2012, Koyfman was named one of New York's top 100 angel investors by Business Insider.[9] As an angel investor, his investments included online razor retailer Harry's, the clothing brand Reformation, digital publisher Curbed, and horror and digital entertainment producer Crypt TV.[10]

He left Spark in 2016 [11][12] and founded MOKO BRANDS, an investment company focused on consumer brands.[13]

In 2019, he launched Shine Capital, a new venture-capital firm, with business partner Josh Mohrer.[14] An SEC filing on 11 November 2020 listed Shine Capital as having a gross asset value of $59,615,000.[15]

Personal

Koyfman is married to Hillary Rosenman Koyfman, a designer.[16]

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.[17]

In 2013, Koyfman became an early backer and member of the board of directors of Sefaria, a non-profit online open source free content library of Hebrew and English Jewish texts.[18]

References
  1. Ante, Spencer (2012-01-27). "Twitter Investor Spark Promotes Mo Koyfman To General Partner". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  2. "A New York VC Spotlight: Mo Koyfman of Spark Capital - AlleyWatch". AlleyWatch. 2013-12-10. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  3. "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. Kolodny, Lora (2014-05-14). "Sift Science Raises $18M to Stop Fraud Online — Even As Criminals Change Tactics". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  6. "Adobe Acquires Photo-Editing Platform Aviary – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  7. "Spark Capital's Mo Koyfman Promoted to General Partner". Observer. 2012-01-27. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  8. Little, Lyneka (2013-08-01). "A Young VC on How Young Entrepreneurs Can Land Cash for Their Young Companies". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  9. Shontell, Alyson (June 21, 2012). "The Angel 100: New York's Top Early Stage Investors". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  10. "Mo Koyfman | Crunchbase". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  11. Garland, Russ (2016-03-09). "The Daily Startup: Mo Koyfman to Leave Spark Capital". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  12. Chernova, Yuliya (2016-03-08). "Mo Koyfman to Leave Spark Capital". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  13. "You Should Know: Mo Koyfman". Guest of a Guest. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  14. Chernova, Yuliya (23 September 2019). "Investors Mo Koyfman, Josh Mohrer to Launch Venture Firm Shine Capital". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  15. "FORM ADV SEC filing document" (PDF). reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  16. "Shop This New York Apartment - Our Storied Home". Our Storied Home. 2015-05-21. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  17. 33voices. "Mo Koyfman". www.33voices.com. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  18. "'Sefaria' Text Site Could Expand Jewish Learning". Jewish Week. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
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