Early-stage venture capital firm Mantella Venture Partners announced that Chris Sukornyk has joined the firm as venture partner.
Sukornyk founded Chango, which focused on the convergence of online marketing and big data to scale the business to 175 employees across North America and Europe. The digital marketing platform Chango sold for $120 million USD in 2015. Sukornyk has built and sold five previous startups.
“MVP was an early investor in my most recent company. As a founder, I absolutely loved the hands-on approach and sounding board they provided during what is traditionally a very lonely experience,” said Sukornyk. “In my 20-plus years as a startup entrepreneur, I’ve learned a great deal that I now hope to share with other Canadian entrepreneurs. MVP has a great platform to do this, having one of the best early stage track records in Canada with investments and exits in companies like Ritual, Chango, Pushlife, Unata, SurfEasy, ChatKit, Wysdom, and more.”
Sukornyk is personally interested in the nexus of sustainability, technology, and global connectivity. He is also an active angel investor with a personal portfolio that includes Ritual, ChatKit, PebblePost, and Selina.
“Chris is deeply knowledgeable about the early stages of a startup’s life and the inevitable changes and adaptations founders must navigate,” said Duncan Hill, general partner at MVP. “We believe strongly that the key to continuing the Canadian start-up ecosystem’s momentum is keeping people with Chris’s skills and experience in Canada. Chris will be an amazing mentor and contributor to our portfolio, our investment strategy, and the ecosystem as a whole.”