CHAD BYERS
co-founder & general partner
Chad Byers is Co-founder & General Partner at Susa Ventures, where he focuses on investments in marketplaces, fintech, and healthcare. Chad led Susa's investments in Robinhood, Andela, Newfront Insurance and Stord. Raised in Silicon Valley, Chad was exposed to entrepreneurship and venture capital at an early age. He was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 for VC in 2015. Prior to Susa Ventures, Chad was the senior director of platform at Integrate.com and held various marketing and product roles at Silver Spring Networks, Bloom Energy, and Electronic Arts. Chad chased his love for skiing, mountains, and the outdoors to Boulder, Colorado where he mostly did those things but also received a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science.
CHAD BYERS
co-founder & general partner
LEO POLOVETS
co-founder & general partner
Leo Polovets is Co-founder and General Partner at Susa Ventures, where he focuses on enterprise software; developer tools and technical products; and newer categories like defense tech and climate tech. Leo led Susa's investments in Scalyr, People Data Labs, and Treasury Prime. Having been a software engineer for 10+ years, Leo approaches challenges with an engineering mindset and supports portfolio companies in vetting and hiring technical talent. Prior to Susa, Leo was the second engineering hire at Linkedin, where he worked on the first versions of products like LinkedIn Jobs and LinkedIn Groups. Leo then worked on payment fraud detection algorithms at Google, and was also an early engineer at Factual, where he built data processing software. Leo received a bachelor's degree in Engineering and Applied Science (Computer Science) from Caltech.
LEO POLOVETS
co-founder & general partner
SETH BERMAN
co-founder & general partner
Seth Berman is Co-founder and General Partner at Susa Ventures, where he focuses on investments in frontier tech, logistics, marketplaces & consumer. Seth led Susa's investments in Flexport, Periscope Data and Expanse. Prior to Susa, Seth was an active angel investor. He has invested in 100+ seed stage companies in total, and his portfolio includes Nest, Optimizely, Wish, Omio and Docker. He also served as the VP of Strategic Marketing for The Richemont Group, a publicly traded company (CFR:VX) which owns brands and e-commerce sites Cartier, Net-A-Porter.com, Mr. Porter, Montblanc, and Chloe. Seth graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a bachelor's degree in Business and Finance.
SETH BERMAN
co-founder & general partner
COURTNEY BUIE LIPKIN
partner
Courtney joined Susa Ventures as a Partner in November 2019. She is responsible for leading new investments, supporting the existing portfolio, and developing new initiatives to deepen our relationship with the broader startup community. Courtney invests across all sectors and verticals, but is particularly interested in companies changing foundational industries like real estate, transportation and logistics, insurance, and finance. Prior to joining Susa, Courtney was at First Round Capital, where she sourced new investments and helped curate Angel Track, their program for emerging angel investors. Courtney studied International Relations as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania and in graduate school at Stanford University.
COURTNEY BUIE LIPKIN
partner
DERICK EN'WEZOH
principal
Dr. Derick En’Wezoh joined Susa in June 2021 as an Investor at Susa Ventures. He is an entrepreneurial physician and seasoned operator specializing in the cutting edge of healthcare. He is responsible for driving new investments, supporting existing portfolio companies, deepening our expertise in healthcare, and cultivating relationships with the broader startup community. Derick invests across all sectors and verticals, but is particularly interested in healthcare and AI companies with virtuous data cycles. Prior to Susa, Derick led Growth at Viz.ai, built several departments, and was responsible for executing commercial and revenue strategies. He holds a bachelor's degree in Neuroscience from Washington State University, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and an M.B.A. and Certificate in Public Management and Social Innovation from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
DERICK EN'WEZOH
principal
HAMMAD ASLAM
investor
Hammad Aslam joined Susa in August 2021 as an investor based in our San Francisco headquarters and will be focused on Series B and Series C investments out of Susa’s Opportunity Fund. Prior to Susa, Hammad was at Vista Equity Partners, where he invested in enterprise software companies across all sizes and verticals — partnering with management teams of software companies at various stages to supercharge their operational and financial transformations. Prior to Vista, Hammad was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, where he specialized in capital raising and M&A transactions with a focus on software, internet, and fintech.
HAMMAD ASLAM
investor
MISHA GORDON-ROWE
principal
Misha joined Susa Ventures in 2020. As a Principal, Misha is responsible for leading new investments at both the seed and growth stage. Misha invests across all sectors, with a particular focus on applied AI, AI/ML infra, fintech, and supply chain software. He invests globally, having sourced and led Susa investments in six countries. Prior to Susa, Misha was an early employee at Funding Circle US (LSE: FCH). Misha has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor's degree in Economics from Dartmouth College.
MISHA GORDON-ROWE
principal
PRATYUSH BUDDIGA
investor
Pratyush joined Susa Ventures in May 2021 as an investor, partnering closely with Leo Polovets. He will be working closely with Leo on all new investments, helping existing Susa founders, and many other projects. Prior to joining Susa, Pratyush was Chief of Staff at Volley, helping scale the company from 12 to 30 employees and working on projects in business operations, legal, recruiting, and investor relations. He also led a six-year standout poker career and was ranked as high as #2 in the world for tournaments. He approaches new topics with intellectual open-mindedness, while valuing the discipline and commitment that is required for exceptional results. Pratyush holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from Duke University. In his free time, Pratyush enjoys weightlifting, reading, and cooking.
PRATYUSH BUDDIGA
investor
BENJAMIN WALLO
office & events coordinator
Benjamin joined the Susa team as Office & Events Coordinator in January of 2023. He supports founders, investors, and other members of the extended Susa family by creating novel opportunities for them to deepen existing relationships and forge meaningful new ones. Prior to joining Susa, Benjamin was at Principal Builders, where he coordinated the construction of Asana HQ, (San Francisco's largest office space lease of 2019) along with other tech and venture firm headquarters across the city. Benjamin has also spent time in the wine industry, and has CMS sommelier certification. He remains fascinated by wine, particularly in nearly-extinct varietals grown in forgotten vineyards. Benjamin holds an M.A. (Hons) in Ancient History from the University of St Andrews, Scotland.
BENJAMIN WALLO
office & events coordinator
CHLOË LA DUCA
chief of staff
Chloë joined Susa Ventures in August 2021 and is Chief of Staff to our General Partner, Chad Byers. She works closely with Chad on his existing portfolio, founder engagement, new investments and many other projects. Prior to joining Susa, Chloë was Chief of Staff at VR company Vantage Point, where she led business operations, recruiting, investor relations, legal and expansion. Chloë's career began in Private Equity, before moving to Tech and then Venture Capital. Chloë grew up in northern New York and in her free time, she enjoys fishing, planetariums and horticulture.
CHLOË LA DUCA
chief of staff
KENNY JOO
head of finance
Kenny joined Susa's operations team as Controller in June 2021. He will lead all aspects of fund administration and help us build the foundation for a world-class firm. He will also roll up his sleeves and support portfolio companies alongside the rest of the team. Prior to joining Susa, Kenny was at Y Combinator, where he was responsible for the fund’s accounting and investor reporting. Kenny holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from UC Berkeley and is a Certified Public Accountant.
KENNY JOO
head of finance
RACHEL COFFMAN
operations manager
Rachel joined Susa Ventures in April of 2019 and is an Operations Manager based in our San Francisco headquarters. She prefers to run projects in the background that have real effects on those she works with and is responsible for our marketing and comms, HR, internal data management, Venture Fellows Program backend, and supporting our founders through events and tactical offerings. Prior to joining Susa, she was an Executive Assistant at Gryphon Investors, where she supported the COO through facilitating fundraising and investor relations efforts. Previously, Rachel was at fund placement agent Probitas Partners, where she supported the COO and served as Junior Accountant. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, backpacking, gardening, and all things outdoors.
