Moshe Koyfman is an American businessperson and investor.

Mo Koyfman
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania
OccupationBusiness executive
TitleFounder & General Partner, Shine Capital
SpouseHillary Rosenman Koyfman

Biography

edit

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

edit

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

edit

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]

He left Spark in 2016 [10][11] and founded MOKO BRANDS, an investment company focused on consumer brands.[12]

In 2019, he launched Shine Capital, a new venture-capital firm, with business partner Josh Mohrer.[13] An SEC filing on 11 November 2020 listed Shine Capital as having a gross asset value of $59,615,000.[14]

Personal

edit

Koyfman is married to Hillary Rosenman Koyfman, a designer.[15]

Philanthropic activities

edit

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.[16]

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.[17]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e Ante, Spencer (2012-01-27). "Twitter Investor Spark Promotes Mo Koyfman To General Partner". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "A New York VC Spotlight: Mo Koyfman of Spark Capital - AlleyWatch". AlleyWatch. 2013-12-10. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  3. ^ a b "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. 22 September 2014. 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. ^ Garland, Russ (2016-03-09). "The Daily Startup: Mo Koyfman to Leave Spark Capital". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  11. ^ Chernova, Yuliya (2016-03-08). "Mo Koyfman to Leave Spark Capital". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  12. ^ "You Should Know: Mo Koyfman". Guest of a Guest. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  13. ^ Chernova, Yuliya (23 September 2019). "Investors Mo Koyfman, Josh Mohrer to Launch Venture Firm Shine Capital". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  14. ^ "FORM ADV SEC filing document" (PDF). reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Shop This New York Apartment - Our Storied Home". Our Storied Home. 2015-05-21. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  16. ^ 33voices. "Mo Koyfman". www.33voices.com. Retrieved 2018-05-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "'Sefaria' Text Site Could Expand Jewish Learning". Jewish Week. Retrieved 2018-05-08.