Welcoming Natalie Sandman to Spark

We are delighted to welcome Natalie Sandman to Spark. She is joining our early-stage investing team in our San Francisco office.

Since day one at Spark, nearly 15 years ago, we’ve been obsessed with magical products — believing products can create markets, not just find market fit. So, naturally, when I and the rest of the Spark gang, met Natalie what first struck us was her product experience — both from the operating and investing side.

After graduating from Harvard with degrees in Applied Mathematics and Economics, Natalie joined Zenefits as one of the first product managers where she built out insurance, payroll, and HR products during the company’s hyper-growth years. From there, she led the product team at Ravelin, a London-based payment fraud detection startup. Eventually, her path led her to Shasta, where she invested in SaaS startups, including AppSheet, Lattice, and Tandem.

More than anything, though, the founders Natalie has worked with were effusively positive about her influence and partnership. Founders spoke of her early belief in them and their products — long before others. This early founder and product conviction is key to how we approach seed and Series A investing at Spark.

It is incredibly rare to have someone at the beginning stages of their venture career generate so much respect and admiration from the founders they work with. We could not be more excited to have Natalie join us.

Welcome to the Spark family, Natalie.