THE LATEST: Suster rented out the entire Rose Bowl in Pasadena for January's Upfront Summit, an annual invite-only conference that Suster started in 2012 to showcase the L.A. tech sector and attract more investment to the region. This year, more than 1,000 investors, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders gathered, networked, and talked tech as speakers such as Meg Whitman, Ice Cube, Reese Witherspoon and Tyra Banks shared their entrepreneurial journeys.



BACKGROUND: Upfront Ventures invests almost 50% of its funding in Los Angeles-based companies, including Ring, Bird, GOAT and Parachute Home. Suster joined the venture capital firm in 2007 and became managing partner in 2011. By 2019, Upfront had $2 billion in capital under management. His most recent L.A.-based investment is Solve, a true-crime media company funded with Elisabeth Murdoch. Suster has founded and sold two companies, including Koral Technologies Inc., a content collaboration business that was the third company ever acquired by Salesforce.com Inc. in 2007. Suster also publishes a blog about venture capital funding called Both Sides of the Table.



YEARS ON THE LA500: 5