Joseph Essas
InvestorVenture Partner at FirstMark Capital
Los Angeles, California
Writes $250K β $10M checks Β· typically $5M
About
Joseph Essas is co-founder and managing director of Ascend Healthcare, a California-based provider of residential behavioral health treatment for adolescents operating 10 locations across the Los Angeles area. He previously held leadership roles including President and CTO at OpenTable, VP Engineering at Yahoo, and CTO at eHarmony, and has served as a venture partner at FirstMark Capital since 2011. His background combines operational experience scaling technology platforms with investment and board experience across multiple companies.
Experience
- Ascend HealthcareCo-Founder and Managing Directorcurrent2022 β present
- Miso RoboticsBoard Membercurrent2019 β presentPasadena, California, United States
- FirstMark CapitalVenture Partnercurrent2011 β presentGreater New York City Area
- OpenTablePresident and Chief Technology Officer2020 β 2022Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
- OpenTableChief Technology Officer2012 β 2022San Francisco, CA
- VolusionBoard Member2017 β 2020Austin, TX
- Chrome River TechnologiesBoard Member2014 β 2019Los Angeles, CA
- Zen PlannerBoard Member2015 β 2017Denver, CO
- eHarmony.comChief Technology Officer2010 β 2012Santa Monica, CA
- eHarmony.comVice President, Engineering and Operations2008 β 2010
- Yahoo!Vice President, Engineering2002 β 2008Burbank, CA
- Moore Capital ManagementPrincipal2001 β 2002New York, NY
- IdealabVice President, Technology and Company Development1999 β 2001
- Tickets.comChief Technology Officer1998 β 1999
- TyrexDirector, R&D1994 β 1997
Skills & more
Engineering3Product Development35Architecture15Software Development25E-commerce18Scalability69Integration8Computer Science1MobileSearch2Entrepreneur1iPhone1
+12 more
Cloud ComputingProduct StrategyHadoopDue DiligenceMatchingTechnology LeadershipProduct ManagementMobile DevicesUnixNoSQLEnterprise SoftwareEntrepreneurshipLanguages Hebrew Β· Russian
From Joseph's professional profile.
Colleagues at FirstMark Capital
Adam Nelson
Partner at FirstMark Capital
Aman Kabeer
Investor at FirstMark Capital
Amish Jani
Founder and Partner at FirstMark Capital
Arjun Dundoo
Investor at FirstMark
Arnav Bimbhet
Partner at FirstMark Capital
Ben Winn
VP Communities & Content at FirstMark
Beth Viner
Partner & Head of Platform at FirstMark
Catherine Ulrich
Venture Partner at FirstMark
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Joseph Essas?
- Joseph Essas is co-founder and managing director of Ascend Healthcare, a California-based provider of residential behavioral health treatment for adolescents operating 10 locations across the Los Angeles area. He previously held leadership roles including President and CTO at OpenTable, VP Engineering at Yahoo, and CTO at eHarmony, and has served as a venture partner at FirstMark Capital since 2011. His background combines operational experience scaling technology platforms with investment and board experience across multiple companies.
- Where does Joseph Essas work?
- Joseph Essas is Venture Partner at FirstMark Capital.
- What check size does Joseph Essas write?
- Joseph Essas typically writes checks of $250K β $10M.
- Where did Joseph Essas go to school?
- Joseph Essas studied at Jerusalem College of Technology (Computer Science).
Same school
Also attended Jerusalem College of Technology2
Shared employers
Also worked at OpenTable12
Bill GurleyGeneral Partner Emeritus at BenchmarkUtkarsh SengarEngineering Advisor at Modern TechnicalJeff JordanGeneral Partner at Andreessen HorowitzChuck TempletonManaging Partner at S2G InvestmentsLandry NicksDirector of Finance at Kapor CapitalCorey ReeseAngel investor
+ 6 more
Also worked at Volusion1
Also worked at eHarmony.com2
Also worked at Yahoo!300
Jess LeePartner and Chief Product Officer at Sequoia CapitalMike SpeiserManaging Director at Sutter Hill VenturesBrian ActonCo-founder of WhatsApp; co-founder of Signal FoundationStewart ButterfieldCo-founder of Slack and FlickrMax LevchinCo-founder of PayPal; founder, chairman & CEO of Affirm; partner at SciFi VCAmjad MasadCo-founder & CEO of Replit
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