Investor profile
mark vc
VC
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mark vc is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Austin, TX that is 'generalist by design' and 'expert in people, not domains.' While opportunistic across a wide range of industries—including healthcare, security & defense, consumer, and enterprise software—the firm's core differentiator is a deeply human, founder-first diligence process. Managing Partner Adam Zeplain builds a '360-degree behavioral map' of each founder by speaking with family, friends, colleagues, and even critics before investing, seeking to understand how a person performs not just when things go well but when they are stressed or failing. The firm aims to be 'the most valuable investor on our portfolio companies' cap tables,' operating as investor and coach rather than a board-seat-seeking institutional backer. Zeplain deliberately avoids board seats in favor of candid, ongoing relationships with founders—helping entrepreneurs scale themselves, not just their companies.
Notable quotes
“When I meet somebody, the goal is: 'I've known this person for two weeks, so how do I make up for lost time? How do I figure out how to cram 10 years of data? How do I learn things about this person I'd know only if I've known them for 20 years over a few-week period?' You can never fully do that, but I can do it better than most.”
“Most people, when they truly know and care about someone, don't just want to speak to the things that make that person look good. If they can see that you're already committed to their friend or colleague—if they feel like you're just trying to best learn how to support that person—they're radically open about their weaknesses. They just have to know you care about that founder and their success.”
“This is not one-size-fits-all. Sure, there are certain tenets you can repeat and reuse. But this is a tailored approach to who someone is.”
Team
Andy Bursten
Co-Founder
Cody Rapp
Partner, Operations & Strategy
Recent investments
| Company | Round | Size | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artis | Seed | $7m | 2026-06-15 |
| Conflixis | Seed | $4m | 2024-11-08 |
| Apptronik | Series A | — | — |
| Anduril | Early Stage | — | — |
| CrowdStrike | Early Stage | — | — |
| ZenBusiness | Series B | $55m | — |
| Sana Benefits | Series A | $21m | 2020-09-10 |
| Dragos | Early Stage | — | — |
| Capella Space | Early Stage | — | — |
| Early Stage | — | — |
Frequent co-investors
| VC firm | Deals together |
|---|---|
| Breyer Capital | 2 |
| Gigafund | 2 |
| Trust Ventures | 2 |
| Lerer Hippeau | 2 |
| Alumni Ventures | 2 |
| Origin Ventures | 1 |
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