Susa Ventures was founded in 2013 by Chad Byers, Leo Polovets, and Seth Berman in San Francisco, named after a family of mountain gorillas in Rwanda. The firm's first-ever investment, made just after closing a $25 million debut fund following an 11-month fundraise, was a $250,000 seed check into a fintech startup called Robinhood - a bet Byers made after its founders demoed the app to him at a Sand Hill Road hotel. When Robinhood went public in 2021, that original stake had grown into a return of roughly $400 million, close to a 1,000x multiple. Susa has since backed Flexport, Newfront Insurance, and Stord, deliberately keeping its fund sizes modest - 'your fund size is your strategy,' Byers has said - while raising more than $1 billion cumulatively.
Robinhood's 2021 IPO - Susa's very first investment was a $250,000 seed check into Robinhood in 2013, a bet that grew into a roughly $400 million return, close to a 1,000x multiple