Susa Ventures

Investment decisions are made by the three general partners: Leo Polovets, Chad Byers, and Eva Ho. Polovets, a former Google and Factual engineer, leads the firm's quantitative sourcing efforts. Byers and Ho each bring operating and investing experience to the partnership. The firm's compact structure means every check requires consensus among the three GPs, with no junior investment professionals writing solo commitments.

Susa built an internal software platform historically called the Susa Data Pipeline that scrapes and ranks early-stage companies using signals like hiring data, technical background of founders, and early user traction. The system surfaces companies before they appear on other firms' radars, allowing the partnership to initiate relationships with founders who have not yet started fundraising. The pipeline is maintained by Leo Polovets, who remains a hands-on coder.

Susa focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage rounds, typically writing first checks between $500,000 and $2 million. The firm occasionally participates in later seed extensions and announced an opportunity fund in 2023 dedicated to follow-on investments in breakout portfolio companies. Susa does not lead Series A rounds or invest at the growth stage.

Most seed firms rely on referrals and network-driven deal flow. Susa deploys a proprietary data engine that algorithmically identifies early-stage companies, giving the firm visibility into founders who may not yet be actively fundraising. The model embeds a structural sourcing advantage independent of any single partner's personal network, which is uncommon among firms of Susa's size.

Susa invests directly into startups and does not operate as a fund-of-funds. The firm does, however, co-invest alongside other early-stage venture firms and participates in syndicates. Its opportunity fund, added with the fourth fund vintage, allows for continued direct investment into companies the firm backed at the seed stage.

Susa does not publicly maintain an explicit exclusions list, but its portfolio concentrations reveal clear boundary lines. The firm has made no known investments in consumer social media, cryptocurrency or web3 companies, or capital-intensive hardware businesses. Its focus remains on enterprise software, applied AI, logistics and supply chain, digital health, and fintech — sectors where technical founders sell to businesses rather than consumers.

Susa regularly co-invests with other seed-stage firms and has appeared in cap tables alongside Initialized Capital, Cowboy Ventures, and others. The firm participates in syndicated seed rounds and does not require lead-investor exclusivity. Its partners have noted publicly that collaborative syndicates often produce stronger governance for young companies.