Mo Koyfman

@mo_koyfman

@jjrichardtang i believe in a connected energy in the universe, and i believe humans can tap into it. my favorite emoji is the fist pump, because it's classic and cool. but i must say i do like the middle finger emoji as well :)

Theoharis Dimarhos

@theo_dimarhos · Marketing+Biz Dev at AngelouEconomics

Hi Mo! How do you see online schools/education? What are the factors missing that will make them grow exponentially?

@mo_koyfman

@theo_dimarhos who are you referring to? Altschool and the like? or the MOOCs? or platforms like Skillshare? regardless, i think online education and learning platforms are going to grow, period. the demand, especially internationally, is crazy high. i don't believe that in person interaction and learning will ever go away. but the connected internet and mobile devices will fundamentally change the way we learn over the next decade and beyond.

Jack Smith

@_jacksmith · Serial Entrepreneur & Startup Adviser

Hi Mo. How did you end up getting to know your fellow Partners at Spark Capital and end up joining the firm?

@mo_koyfman

@_jacksmith Hi Jack. I first met Santo, one of Spark's founders, through a mutual friend that he went to business school with. Spark was raising their first fund at the time, and we stayed in touch. I ended up meeting some of the other partners as well and, over the years, helped them with diligence on deals and business development across the IAC portfolio. When I decided to leave IAC, I reached out out to a few folks including Spark, and ended up joining the team through a very organic and healthy process.

Emily Hodgins

@ems_hodge · Community and Marketing, Product Hunt

@mokoyfman Thanks for being here today. 🙌During your career to date, what has been your a) most challenging moment and how did you overcome it? b) proudest moment and why? c) most surprising moment?

@mo_koyfman

@ems_hodge a) the most challenging moments are when you doubt yourself, at whatever time and in whatever form those doubts come. i work very hard on believing in myself and getting better every day. b) my proudest moments are when i'm able to help someone or something succeed. i can think of a number of examples, but the specifics are less of the point. i really take great personal pride in knowing that something i did made a real difference. c) surprising moments are when people do something wonderful that you don't expect. it's too often that people disappoint, so when they delight, it's a wonderful thing.

Wen Wilson

@acreerph · CEO & FOUNDER , HEALTHCITE

@mokoyfman . Thank you for your time today. What is a typical day for you? Do you have much daily contact or how does your working relationship with startups look like?

@mo_koyfman

@acreerph i typically am up before 7am, hang with my daughter and wife for a little bit, try to get a work out in at least twice during the week and then spend the rest of the day doing mostly four things: 1) meeting with potential investments, 2) board meetings or other meetings with portfolio companies, 3) internal partner meetings/company presentations, 4) reading/thinking/emailing. the amount of time i spend on each of these varies based on the week/day, but it's generally 35% existing stuff and 35% new stuff and 35% other work stuff (with way too much email!).

3 share tweet・2 years ago

Sean Green

@disruptart · Founder, ARTERNAL

@mokoyfman thanks for being a part of this chat! Can you please detail what an early and growth stage investment looks like from your perspective. As a founder, I'd like to know as many of us here, when is the right time to approach. And, how should we reach out when ready? Also, I know your interest in Art. Are you considering or would you still consider investments in the Art/Tech space? We're a part of the New Museum Incubator (NEW INC - newinc.org)

@mo_koyfman

@disruptart early stage investments for us are either seed investments that are sub $3M, have a solid founding team, and a working prototype or product -or- Series A investments that are typically sub $10M, are beginning to build a quality team, and have a working product that is showing early indications of product/market fit. a growth investment is typically $20M and up, with a mostly built out management team, clear product/market fit, a path to scale and long-term competitive advantages.

@mo_koyfman

@disruptart in terms of approaching us, hopefully that framework guides you. i am certainly interested in disruptive investments in the art space, but it's quite a tough market to crack.

upvote share tweet・2 years ago

Michael Lee

@mikehlee_ · Product Designer @ Sunrun

Do you see any interesting startups in the sneaker space? What are some of your favorite companies that you believe have great branding? Thanks for stopping by!

@mo_koyfman

@mikehlee_ i've seen a couple. i like threeoverseven - i think they've done a good job for an early sneaker/shoe company. common projects does a really great job as well. but i like old school sneaker brands (nike, adidas). on the branding side more generally, i think Warby Parker and Harry's have done a great job on the startup side. Slack has done a wonderful job on the software side. in terms of the big boys, Nike and Apple are just unparalleled. gotta give a nod to Disney, Amex, Rolex and Levi's as well.

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Niv Dror

@nivo0o0 · Writer/Social Editor @ProductHunt

Hey @mokoyfman! Good timing on the live chat with @msquinn's announcement yesterday on joining Spark as the first GP in Silicon Valley. Curious, does that mean Spark will be opening a Silicon Valley office, with more partners to come?

@mo_koyfman

@nivo0o0 we already have one! 368 Clementina in Soma. We're open for business! And we have three partners there currently!

💖

Andrew Ettinger

@andrewett · Product Marketing, Twitter (ex-PH)

Hey @mokoyfman! What are your daily must reads? Aside from Product Hunt, of course!

@mo_koyfman

@andrewmettinger lots of email and meetings. endless email and meetings actually. with the occasional break to take in the news, the tweets, the always-on stream of information coming at us everyday. and the enjoyable chat with a partner or colleague in the office to unpack an idea, a business or just shoot the shit. my days are filled though. i often wish i was better at keeping large chunks of them open to just sit, read and think. i do that whenever i can.