Mark Batsiyan
General Partner
Mark is a General Partner at Inspired Capital. Prior to Inspired, Mark was a Partner at Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, where he helped launch and scale their corporate venture fund in 2016. Mark joined Northwestern Mutual following the acquisition of LearnVest, where he was a member of the senior leadership team, overseeing strategy and business development.
As an investor, Mark is deeply committed to guiding founders through the evolution of business models and strategy as their companies scale. He is currently focused on speaking with founders quietly building new products that rethink how economic value is generated and captured across numerous legacy industries.
More About Mark:
In addition to his role as an investor, Mark served as the firm’s COO until 2023, managing all fund operations.
Mark began his career as a consultant at Oliver Wyman and spent time as a public markets investor at Solas Capital Management before becoming an operator, including four years at LearnVest. Prior to LearnVest’s acquisition by Northwestern Mutual in 2015, he launched their enterprise business, LearnVest at Work, and signed several crucial partnerships.
During his tenure at Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, the portfolio included investments in companies like Chime, OJO Labs, Ladder, Gabi (acquired by Experian), and LiveOak Technologies (acquired by Docusign).
Mark holds an A.B. in Philosophy from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Taline, and two children, Aliza and Luca.
What Founders Say
"I love working with the team at Inspired. For 5+ years, they've embraced our goals, understood our market and supported my vision as a founder. Mark is the first call I make when I have a strategic idea or question, and I feel like the whole Inspired team is in the trenches alongside me every single day. I could not recommend them more highly to any founder looking to build a category-defining business."
"I've known Mark for over a decade now, and he is someone I can always trust for a thoughtful perspective on key decisions. Mark's insights have been instrumental in defining our long-term strategy at CarmaCare. He consistently encourages us to look beyond immediate obstacles and prioritize sustainable growth. In Mark's own words, 'do the hard thing first.'"