Mark Batsiyan

Background

Mark Batsiyan is a Co-Founder and General Partner at Inspired Capital, the New York-based early-stage venture firm he co-founded in 2019 alongside Alexa von Tobel and Penny Pritzker ¹. He served as the firm’s COO until 2023, managing all fund operations in addition to his investing role ¹.

Batsiyan holds an A.B. in Philosophy from Princeton University (2006) and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School (2012), where he graduated with Dean’s Honors and Distinction ². He began his career as a management consultant at Oliver Wyman, specializing in financial services, then spent time as a public markets investor at Solas Capital Management ¹.

Batsiyan joined LearnVest in 2013 as Director of Business Development and rose to Head of Strategy ². During his four years at the company, he launched the enterprise division LearnVest at Work and signed several crucial partnerships ¹. Following LearnVest’s acquisition by Northwestern Mutual in 2015, he became a Partner at Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, where he helped launch and scale the firm’s corporate venture fund in 2016 ¹. The Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures portfolio included investments in Chime, OJO Labs, Ladder, Gabi (acquired by Experian), and LiveOak Technologies (acquired by DocuSign) ¹.

Inspired Capital raised $200 million for its debut fund in 2019, $281 million for Fund II in 2021, and $330 million for Fund III in February 2024, bringing total AUM to nearly $900 million ^{3 4}. The firm has invested in over 50 companies that have collectively raised more than $1.5 billion in follow-on capital ⁵.

Batsiyan resides in Brooklyn, New York ¹.

Stated Thesis

Inspired Capital publicly describes itself as a generalist fund focused on the “craftsmanship of early-stage company building,” investing $1M to $15M to lead pre-seed through Series A rounds ⁴. The firm says it backs “fearless founders solving the hardest challenges facing humanity” ⁴.

Batsiyan personally describes his focus as speaking with “founders quietly building new products that rethink how economic value is generated and captured across numerous legacy industries” ¹. He has stated he is “deeply committed to guiding founders through the evolution of business models and strategy as their companies scale” ¹.

In a podcast appearance on Village Global’s Venture Stories, Batsiyan discussed his views on fintech 2.0, the concept of the “self-driving wallet,” and removing friction for consumers ⁶.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 11 verified investments where Batsiyan has a confirmed personal role (board seat or named involvement), his actual investment behavior shows the following patterns:

Sector concentration: Fintech and insurtech dominate Batsiyan’s personally led deals. Of 11 verified investments: 5 are fintech/insurtech (Rho, Kalepa, Equal Parts, CredCore, Hugo Insurance — 45%), 2 are healthtech (CarmaCare, Canvas Medical — 18%), 1 is sports/media (Winible — 9%), and 1 is employee ownership (Teamshares — 9%). The remaining deals span other sectors. His stated interest in “legacy industries” aligns strongly with his actual portfolio, which targets insurance, banking, healthcare, and small business ownership — all large, established industries ripe for technology-driven transformation.

Stage distribution: Batsiyan invests across pre-seed through Series A, consistent with Inspired Capital’s stated range. His board seats span companies from seed (Rho, CarmaCare) through later growth (Teamshares Series D).

Geographic focus: Investments are concentrated in New York-based companies (Rho, Kalepa, CredCore, CarmaCare), reflecting both Inspired Capital’s NYC headquarters and Batsiyan’s personal network.

Founder profile patterns: Batsiyan’s portfolio skews toward founders tackling regulated industries (insurance, banking, healthcare) where deep domain expertise matters. Several portfolio founders have prior financial services backgrounds.

Check size: At the firm level, Inspired Capital deploys $1M to $15M per deal ⁴. Signal by NFX lists Batsiyan’s personal target at $5M with a range of $250K to $10M ⁷.

Notable pattern: Batsiyan’s operator background at LearnVest and Northwestern Mutual appears to inform a preference for companies building infrastructure that modernizes legacy business models — particularly in insurance (Kalepa, Equal Parts, Hugo Insurance) and financial services (Rho, CredCore, Finix).

Note: This analysis is based on 11 verified personal investments. Inspired Capital’s full portfolio exceeds 90 companies; Batsiyan’s individual deal attribution across the broader portfolio is not fully public.

Portfolio

Investments where Batsiyan has confirmed personal involvement (board seat, named in announcement, or LinkedIn post):

Prior investments at Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures (2016-2019): Chime, OJO Labs, Ladder, Gabi (acquired by Experian), LiveOak Technologies (acquired by DocuSign) ¹.

This table represents Batsiyan’s confirmed personal deals. Inspired Capital’s full portfolio includes 90+ companies; see the firm’s portfolio page for the complete list ¹⁶.

In Their Own Words

On Equal Parts and modernizing independent insurance:

“Equal Parts represents a changing of the guard in independent insurance, where subscale agencies are often overlooked or undervalued by private equity. We believe the company’s blend of human relationships and custom-built technology will unify and modernize an industry that desperately needs it to survive and thrive well into the future.” — Mark Batsiyan, General Partner, Inspired Capital, BusinessWire, February 2026 ¹⁵

On CredCore and automating credit markets:

“We’ve been part of CredCore’s journey since its inception and are very excited for the work CredCore is doing to automate strategic parts of the credit value chain — methodically and thoughtfully.” — Mark Batsiyan, Co-Founder and General Partner, Inspired Capital, PR Newswire, February 2025 ¹⁴

On Winible and the sports betting ecosystem:

“With a growing number of states legalizing sports betting, there is a new audience interested in betting insights and advice. Winible helps legitimize and professionalize the work of cappers by providing the infrastructure needed to create visibility, develop recurring revenue streams, and engage with an intelligent and passionate community like never before.” — Mark Batsiyan, Inspired Capital Partner, Refresh Miami, March 2024 ¹³

On fundraising:

“Fundraising crystalizes what you fundamentally believe to be true about your business, but it also exposes what assumptions you’ve been coasting on and what you need to test to have any knowledge about whatsoever.” — Mark Batsiyan, via Inspired Capital website ¹

What Founders Say

Everett Cook, Co-Founder and CEO of Rho (portfolio company where Batsiyan is a Board Director):

“Mark is the first call I make when I have a strategic idea or question, and I feel like the whole Inspired team is in the trenches alongside me every single day.” — Everett Cook, Co-Founder & CEO, Rho, via Inspired Capital website ¹

Jamie Ahern, Co-Founder and CEO of CarmaCare (portfolio company where Batsiyan is a Board Director):

“Mark’s insights have been instrumental in defining our long-term strategy at CarmaCare. He consistently encourages us to look beyond immediate obstacles and prioritize sustainable growth.” — Jamie Ahern, Co-Founder & CEO, CarmaCare, via Inspired Capital website ¹

Note: Both testimonials above are sourced from Inspired Capital’s website and may reflect curated endorsements. No independently sourced founder testimonials were found through dedicated searching of press, social media, or podcast transcripts.

Sources