Mo Koyfman

Founder & General Partner at shine-capital

Reviewed Updated Apr 25, 2026

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Location New York, NY
Check Size $1M-$7M
Last Verified Investment Gizmo (Series A (Shine led)) — ~2026
Social @mokoyfman LinkedIn
Stage Focus
pre-seed seed series-a
Sector Focus
fintech AI SaaS enterprise crypto consumer healthcare frontier

Background

Mo Koyfman is the Founder and General Partner of Shine Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm based in New York with a second office in San Francisco 12. He founded the firm in 2019 with business partner Josh Mohrer, and Shine has since raised approximately $435M across three funds since 2020, including Shine II ($200M early-stage fund) and Shine Opportunities I ($100M vehicle) 34. An SEC filing on November 11, 2020 listed Shine Capital with a gross asset value of $59.6M for its first fund 3.

Koyfman is an immigrant from Ukraine who grew up in New Jersey and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a B.S. in economics with a concentration in finance from the Wharton School and a B.A. in English from the College of Arts & Sciences 35. He began his career at Bear Stearns (2000-2002) as an investment banker handling M&A and financing for media, technology, and entertainment companies 36. He then joined IAC, where he progressed through vice president roles in M&A and programming and orchestrated the acquisition of Connected Ventures — parent of Vimeo, CollegeHumor, and BustedTees — eventually serving as COO of Connected Ventures 35.

He joined Spark Capital in summer 2008, focused on building out the firm’s New York presence in media and consumer Internet 57. He was promoted to General Partner in January 2012 at age 35, one of six partners at the firm at the time 35. During his tenure (2008-2016), he led or sourced investments in Plaid, Warby Parker, Skillshare, WorkMarket, Aviary, Hivemapper, Sift Science, and others 348. He left Spark in 2016 to found MOKO Brands, a consumer-brand-focused investment vehicle, before launching Shine 36.

Koyfman is also the founder (since 2013) and supporter of Sefaria, a nonprofit open-source digital library of Jewish texts, and has served on advisory groups at the Whitney Museum, the Guggenheim, and the New York Public Library 36.

Stated Thesis

Shine publicly describes itself as “an early-stage venture capital firm that partners with creative, convincing, relentless entrepreneurs to build iconic businesses” 1. The firm’s manifesto frames its approach as “lateralist” and “non-linear,” writing: “We invest thematically” and “We are willing to be your first check; we, in fact, embrace it” 9. The manifesto positions early-stage investing as the firm’s central conviction: “Early is where imagination meets opportunity. Early rejects shortcuts. Early is where loyalty is forever secured” 9.

On VCSheet, Koyfman’s stated focus is summarized as: “Applied artificial intelligence delivering tangible results; ambitious hardware and deep tech; moral character and emotional stamina in founders; taste and curation in consumer products” 4. His current sector interests are listed as AI, Fintech, SaaS, Web3/Crypto, and Enterprise, with average check sizes of $1M-$10M and stages ranging from pre-seed through Series A 4. Signal by NFX records his sweet-spot check at $5M and stages from Seed through Series B 10.

In an earlier 2015 interview, Koyfman framed his outlook by saying, “Everything is going to be changed by the power of the Internet, always on mobile connectivity, and ‘software eating the world,’” while specifically calling out healthcare, real estate, aerospace, AI, and computer vision as ripe for disruption 11.

Inferred Thesis

This analysis is based on 12 verified investments where Koyfman or Shine Capital participation is confirmed by a primary or contemporaneous press source. Shine’s published portfolio page lists ~60 active companies across Consumer, Enterprise, AI/ML, Frontier, Crypto, Fintech, and Healthcare buckets 2, so percentages below should be read as directional rather than statistically definitive.

Sector distribution (12 verified investments): Enterprise SaaS / B2B is the dominant verified theme — Tropic, Reggora, iVerify, and Two together represent 4 of 12 (33%). Fintech/embedded finance is a clear secondary cluster — Plaid (Spark-era), Bond Street (Spark-era), and Meow account for 3 of 12 (25%). AI/ML applied to vertical markets is an emerging cluster — Gizmo (edtech), Bliss (cosmetic surgery), and Orchard Robotics (agriculture) are 3 of 12 (25%). Consumer/marketplace investments are 3 of 12 (25%) including Warby Parker and Skillshare from the Spark era. Crypto/web3 appears via Goldsky and Hivemapper (2 of 12, 17%). Categories overlap (e.g., Bliss is consumer + AI + healthcare).

Stage distribution: Of the 12 verified rounds, 5 are seed rounds (Plaid 2013, Hivemapper 2015, Meow 2021, Bliss 2025, Goldsky 2022 participation), 5 are Series A (Tropic, Bond Street, iVerify, Gizmo, Orchard Robotics), 1 is Series B (Reggora), and 1 is Plaid’s later Series A (Spark-led with NEA). This is consistent with Shine’s stated focus on Inception, Seed, and Series A 4.

Lead vs. participation: Of the Shine-era investments (post-2019), Shine led at least 4 verified rounds — iVerify Series A 2024, Bliss seed 2025, Orchard Robotics Series A 2025 (co-led with Quiet Capital), Gizmo Series A 2026 — and participated as a co-investor in others such as Tropic Series A (Canaan-led) and Reggora Series B (Spark-led). This pattern is consistent with the stated willingness to “be your first check” and to lead Seed/Series A 94.

Geographic focus: Shine is headquartered in New York at 100 Crosby Street with a San Francisco satellite at 515 Pacific Ave 1. Verified portfolio companies are concentrated in NYC (Tropic, Cedar, Notion’s NYC roots, Plaid originally), with notable investments in international companies (Gizmo — London-based; Two — European B2B payments) 1213.

Founder profile patterns: Koyfman has invested in repeat or operator-turned-founder profiles (David Campbell of Tropic was a former Vendr operator; Plaid’s Zach Perret and William Hockey came from Bain consulting) and in younger first-time founders he tracked early (Plaid founders were 24-25 when he led the seed in 2013) 147. He has stated a preference for “moral character and emotional stamina in founders” 4.

Co-investor patterns: Across the verified portfolio, frequent co-investors include Spark Capital (returning lead alongside Shine in Reggora), Canaan Partners (Tropic lead), Founder Collective (Tropic), Box Group (iVerify), Quiet Capital (Orchard Robotics co-lead), NFX (Gizmo seed lead, Series A participant), Coinbase Ventures (Meow), Lux Capital (Meow), Felicis Ventures (Goldsky lead), Dragonfly Capital (Goldsky co-lead), and Synchrony Ventures, Sheva Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Cerca Partners (Bliss) 151617181920.

Notable patterns vs. stated thesis: The stated thesis emphasizes a balanced focus across AI, Fintech, SaaS, Web3, and Enterprise. The verified portfolio confirms these but skews heavier to enterprise SaaS and applied vertical AI than the manifesto language (“creative, convincing, relentless entrepreneurs to build iconic businesses”) would suggest — i.e., the actual portfolio is more workflow-software-heavy than the consumer-iconic-brand framing implies. The Spark-era portfolio (Warby Parker, Skillshare) was more consumer-marketplace; the Shine-era portfolio is more enterprise-focused.

Notable concentration: Plaid is the single most cited Koyfman investment (his 2013 seed lead at Spark, with Spark also leading Series A in 2015 with NEA, and Koyfman serving on the board through Plaid’s 2020 Visa acquisition deal) 714.

Portfolio

Company Year Stage Source
Skillshare 2010-2011 Seed/Series A (Spark-era) 521
Warby Parker 2011-2012 Series A (Spark-era) 521
WorkMarket ~2012 Spark-era 521
Aviary ~2012 Spark-era 5
Plaid 2013-07 Seed (Spark-era, led) 147
Hivemapper 2015-11 Seed (Spark-era, led) 8
Bond Street ~2014 Series A (Spark-era, led) 11
Reggora 2021-01-12 Series B (Shine participated; Spark led) 15
Tropic 2021-08-16 Series A (Shine participated; Canaan led) 1622
Meow 2021-11 Seed (Shine participated) 17
Goldsky 2022-09-13 Seed (Shine participated; Felicis & Dragonfly led) 18
iVerify 2024-06-26 Series A (Shine led) 19
Bliss 2025-04-10 Seed (Shine led) 20
Orchard Robotics 2025-09-03 Series A (Shine co-led with Quiet Capital) 23
Gizmo 2026-04-15 Series A (Shine led) 1324

This table represents 15 of an unknown larger set — Shine’s website lists ~60 portfolio companies across Consumer, Enterprise, AI/ML, Frontier, Crypto, Fintech, and Healthcare 2, plus additional Spark-era investments not listed here. The entries above are the rounds with confirmed primary or contemporaneous press citations connecting Koyfman/Shine to the investment. Many companies on Shine’s published portfolio page (e.g., Notion, Cedar, Goldsky later rounds, Audioshake, Kingdom Supercultures, Curie Bio) appear without round-level Mo-Koyfman-specific citations and were therefore omitted from the table to maintain citation discipline.

In Their Own Words

“Software unlocks the potential of hardware in the most powerful ways. As the personal computer is unimaginable today without the web, the same will be said about a mapping platform for drones.” — Mo Koyfman, Spark Capital announcement of the Hivemapper seed investment, November 2015 8

“We love investing in areas undergoing a radical shift in consumer perceptions and behavior.” — Mo Koyfman, on the Bliss Aesthetics seed announcement, April 2025 20

“The B2B payments market is approaching $100 trillion in volume, and is largely still processed with checks by Accounts Payable departments. Over the coming years, as we’ve increasingly seen with consumer payments, this market will also digitise.” — Mo Koyfman, on the Two Series A announcement 12

“Everything is going to be changed by the power of the Internet, always on mobile connectivity, and ‘software eating the world.’” — Mo Koyfman, LinkedIn interview with Ilan Regenbaum 11

“I think great companies are being built right now… but many companies are being over-funded at extreme valuations.” — Mo Koyfman, LinkedIn interview with Ilan Regenbaum 11

“Trust your gut, don’t be dissuaded by the naysayers, be bold, and take risks.” — Mo Koyfman, LinkedIn interview with Ilan Regenbaum 11

“It is an honor to be named general partner at Spark. I am lucky to work alongside some of the most talented venture capital investors in the business.” — Mo Koyfman, Spark Capital press release announcing his promotion to GP, January 2012 5

Shine Capital manifesto (firm voice authored under Koyfman’s leadership): “Putting these entrepreneurs first is foundational because they are the economic protagonists who bend the world to their will… We invest thematically. We are willing to be your first check; we, in fact, embrace it… We are allergic to groupthink but always work as a team; when you get one of us, you get all of us.” 9

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials specifically describing the working relationship with Mo Koyfman were located in the time budget for this profile. David Campbell (CEO of Tropic) publicly thanked “our investors, Canaan Partners, Founder Collective and Shine, who know how pervasive this problem is across the software industry” in his Series A announcement, but this is a generic round-announcement acknowledgment rather than a testimonial about Koyfman’s working style or post-investment support 22. Spark Capital’s farewell post noting Plaid’s 2020 Visa deal references Koyfman’s seed-stage relationship with founders Zach Perret and William Hockey but does not include direct founder quotes about working with him 7.

Connections

  • Board member, Plaid (2013-) — Joined the board in 2013 when leading the Spark seed; remained involved through Plaid’s 2020 Visa deal 714
  • Board observer, Tropic — Following Shine’s Series A participation in August 2021 16
  • Board member, iVerify — Alex Hartz of Shine joined the iVerify board after Shine led the Series A in June 2024 (Koyfman’s firm-level board seat) 19
  • Former board seats (Spark era) — Skillshare, WorkMarket, Aviary, DIY, Consumer United 3
  • Founding board member, Sefaria — Open-source Jewish texts library, since 2013 36
  • Prior employer: Spark Capital — General Partner 2008-2016; promoted from principal to GP in January 2012 5
  • Prior employer: IAC / Connected Ventures — VP M&A, VP Programming, COO of Connected Ventures (parent of Vimeo, CollegeHumor, BustedTees) 35
  • Prior employer: Bear Stearns — Investment banker covering media, technology, entertainment M&A and financing 36
  • Frequent co-investors (Shine era) — Canaan Partners (Tropic), Founder Collective (Tropic), Spark Capital (returning lead in Reggora alongside Shine), Box Group (iVerify), Quiet Capital (Orchard Robotics co-lead), NFX (Gizmo), Felicis Ventures and Dragonfly Capital (Goldsky), Coinbase Ventures and Lux Capital (Meow) 151617181923
  • Civic / philanthropic affiliations — Whitney Museum Future Leadership Council, Guggenheim Collections Council (former), New York Public Library Tech Advisory Group (former) 36
  • Shine Capital team — Founded with Josh Mohrer; partners include Alex Hartz (General Partner), Ethan Daly (General Partner), Amanda Niu (General Partner & CFO), Elie Seidman (Venture Partner), with operating partners Adam Hanft and Carl Tremblay 253

Sources

  1. Shine Capital, homepage, accessed April 2026. https://shine.vc/↩↩↩

  2. Shine Capital, “Portfolio” page, accessed April 2026. https://shine.vc/portfolio↩↩↩

  3. Mo Koyfman, Wikipedia, accessed April 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_Koyfman↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  4. VCSheet, “Mo Koyfman (Shine Capital) — VC Breakdown & Contact,” accessed April 2026. https://www.vcsheet.com/who/mo-koyfman↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  5. PR Newswire / Spark Capital, “Spark Capital Names Mo Koyfman General Partner,” January 27, 2012. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/spark-capital-names-mo-koyfman-general-partner-138214334.html↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  6. TechAviv, “Mo Koyfman” profile, accessed April 2026. https://www.techaviv.com/people/mo-koyfman↩↩↩↩↩↩

  7. Spark Capital (Medium), Santo Politi, “Congratulations, Plaid!,” January 2020. https://medium.com/@sparkcapital/congratulations-plaid-2835ea8acbcf↩↩↩↩↩↩

  8. Spark Capital (Medium), Mo Koyfman, “Welcoming Hivemapper to the Spark Capital Family,” November 5, 2015. https://medium.com/@sparkcapital/welcoming-hivemapper-to-the-spark-capital-family-1b8f576f57fa↩↩↩

  9. Shine Capital, “Manifesto,” accessed April 2026. https://www.shine.vc/about/manifesto↩↩↩↩

  10. Signal by NFX, “Mo Koyfman’s Investing Profile — Shine Capital General Partner,” accessed April 2026. https://signal.nfx.com/investors/mo-koyfman↩

  11. Ilan Regenbaum, “Interview With Mo Koyfman @ Spark Capital,” LinkedIn Pulse, accessed April 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/interview-mo-koyfman-spark-capital-ilan-regenbaum↩↩↩↩↩

  12. Two, “Two Raises €13M to Build TwoNet — The Trust Infrastructure for B2B Commerce,” accessed April 2026. https://www.two.inc/resources/two-cents-blog/two-raises-eu13m-to-scale-b2b-payments-globally↩↩

  13. TechCrunch, “AI learning app Gizmo levels up with 13M users and a $22M investment,” April 15, 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/15/ai-learning-app-gizmo-levels-up-with-13m-users-and-a-22m-investment/↩↩

  14. Shai Goldman, “Plaid, the non-obvious unicorn,” January 14, 2020. https://shaigoldman.com/2020/01/14/plaid-the-non-obvious-unicorn/↩↩↩↩

  15. PR Newswire, “Reggora Secures $30 Million in Series B Funding Led by Spark Capital,” January 12, 2021. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/reggora-secures-30-million-in-series-b-funding-led-by-spark-capital-301206203.html↩↩↩

  16. TechCrunch, “Tropic picks up $25M to streamline software procurement experiences,” August 16, 2021. https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/16/tropic-picks-up-25m-to-streamline-software-procurement-experiences/↩↩↩↩

  17. PR Newswire, “Meow Launches With $5 Million in Seed Funding,” November 2021. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/meow-launches-with-5-million-in-seed-funding-aims-to-be-the-first-compliant-cash-based-bridge-between-corporate-treasuries-and-crypto-market-yield-301418703.html↩↩↩

  18. TechCrunch, “Goldsky raises $20M to bring real-time, on-chain data to crypto companies,” September 13, 2022. https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/13/goldsky-crypto-data-infrastructure-blockchain-startup-funding/↩↩↩

  19. iVerify, “iVerify Announces $12M in Series A Funding to Transform Mobile Security,” June 26, 2024. https://iverify.io/press-releases/iverify-announces-12m-in-series-a-funding-to-transform-mobile-security↩↩↩↩

  20. PR Newswire, “Bliss Aesthetics (‘Bliss’) Secures $17.5 Million Seed Round to Launch AI-Powered Platform Connecting Patients with Board-Certified Plastic Surgeons,” April 10, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bliss-aesthetics-bliss-secures-17-5-million-seed-round-to-launch-ai-powered-platform-connecting-patients-with-board-certified-plastic-surgeons-302425601.html↩↩↩

  21. Venture Capital Journal, “Former Spark GP Koyfman aims to keep shining with Fund III,” March 17, 2025. https://www.venturecapitaljournal.com/former-spark-gp-koyfman-aims-to-keep-shining-with-fund-iii/↩↩↩

  22. Tropic, David Campbell, “A Note from Our CEO on Series A Announcement,” August 2021. https://www.tropicapp.io/blog/a-note-from-our-ceo-on-series-a-announcement↩↩

  23. TradedVC, “Orchard Robotics Raises $22 Million In Series A Funding Led By Quiet Capital And Shine Capital,” September 2025. https://traded.co/vc/deal/orchard-robotics-raises-22-million-in-series-a-funding-led-by-quiet-capital-and-shine-capital/↩↩

  24. PR Newswire, “Gizmo Raises $22 Million Series A to Make Learning Addictive for 13 Million Learners Worldwide,” April 15, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gizmo-raises-22-million-series-a-to-make-learning-addictive-for-13-million-learners-worldwide-302741943.html↩

  25. Shine Capital, “Team” page, accessed April 2026. https://shine.vc/team↩