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Strategy
Key Investment Principles
01.
Investment Stages
- Primarily Early-Stage: Focused on Seed, Series A, and Series B rounds.
- Selective Growth-Stage: Occasionally participates in later-stage rounds, though less frequently.
02.
Focus Areas
Spark Capital targets transformative, technology-driven sectors, including:
- Consumer Internet (e.g., Twitter, Tumblr, Postmates, Reddit)
- Fintech (e.g., Wealthfront)
- Crypto & Web3 (e.g., Kraken, Coinbase)
- Enterprise Software / SaaS (e.g., Slack, Notion)
- Gaming & Media (e.g., Oculus, Cruise, Niantic)
- AI & Infrastructure (with increasing focus in recent years)
03.
Investment Philosophy
- Founder-First: Deeply values the vision, team strength, and execution ability of founding teams, even in unproven business models.
- Long-Term Partnership: Often holds investments over the long term and may retain a stake even after exit events.
- Selective and Focused: Rather than pursuing high volume, Spark Capital makes a limited number of carefully selected investments each year to ensure dedicated support and strategic alignment.
Bijan Sabet has built a reputation for identifying exceptional founders and investing with conviction—backing Twitter in its Series B and serving on its board from 2008 to 2011, and supporting Tumblr at Series A, where he was a board member from 2007 to 2013.
After a decade as an entrepreneur in San Francisco, including work on platforms like WebTV, Bijan returned to Boston and joined Charles River Ventures as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence. There, he met Santo Politi and co-founded Spark Capital in 2005 with a vision to rethink traditional venture capital.
“The entrepreneurs I’m drawn to are those willing to take bigger risks,” he says. “That often leads to stronger results in mission and team.”
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Paul Conway has spent his entire career in Boston’s financial services sector. After starting in public accounting, he transitioned to venture capital as CFO at Charles River Ventures, where he spent 12 years blending his passion for finance with a growing interest in technology. In 2005, Paul co-founded Spark Capital and served as its Chief Financial Officer, overseeing operations, finance, limited partner relations, and HR. “My role is to manage everything outside of investing, so our partners can focus on what they do best,” he says. Under his leadership, Spark grew from a $250 million fund to a firm managing over $4 billion in assets. Paul believes in putting people first—whether or not there’s a deal on the table—and that great service starts with listening.
For Santo Politi, life is a series of reinventions. Born and raised in Turkey, he came to the U.S. on a scholarship to study electrical engineering, beginning his career in broadcast technology at Panasonic. After a decade as an engineer, he transitioned into business—turning down a trading role at Morgan Stanley to stay in the U.S. with his future wife, a decision that reshaped his path. Santo helped establish the first early-stage VC group at Bankers Trust, later serving as President of Blockbuster and then becoming a General Partner at Charles River Ventures. In 2005, he co-founded Spark Capital with a bold vision: “We wanted a West Coast-style firm on the East Coast—and we’ve bet big from day one.” At Spark, Santo set out to defy conventional VC thinking, believing that truly transformative companies don’t follow rules—they break them.
Professor John R. Smith is a seasoned expert in the U.S. financial industry, with over 20 years of experience in international investment and capital operations. He has held senior roles at top Wall Street investment banks and private equity firms, leading cross-border M&A, asset restructuring, and green finance initiatives.
As a Senior Partner at Spark Capital, he is currently based in Germany, where he spearheads the firm's expansion across continental Europe and drives its sustainable finance strategy. In addition to his professional work, Professor Smith serves as a visiting lecturer at several universities, promoting cutting-edge financial thought across Europe, the U.S., and Asia.
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