Partner
Mark Wachen
Managing Director, Upstage Ventures
- Firm
- Upstage Ventures
- Title
- Managing Director
- Role
- Managing partner
- Known as
- Investor
Record updated 4 October 2026
About
Mark Wachen is the Founder and Managing Director of Upstage Ventures. Wachen is also the CEO/Founder of CardSnacks, the leading platform for sending gift cards and greeting cards online. Previously, Wachen as a Managing Director of DreamIt Ventures, one of the world's leading startup accelerator programs. Mark is the founder of Optimost, the company that pioneered multivariate testing and optimization on the Internet, and he served as CEO for the company up until its acquisition by Interwoven in November 2007 for $52 million. Before his entrepreneurial successes, Mark worked for seven years at Sony overseeing a variety of Internet initiatives. He was the CEO of Indimi, a company majority-owned by Sony. While there, he spearheaded the acquisitions of InfoBeat, AdTools, and DailyRating. He was Vice President of Online Ventures for Sony Music, where he directed online initiatives, including Sony Music’s investments in Spinner (acquired by AOL for $300 million), and the launch of the Son
Background
- Education
- Mark has an MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College.Source (opens in a new tab)
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