NYTech
People
Personinvestor

Ben Sun

Partner, Co-CIO at Primary Venture Partners

LinkedIn profile Suggest an update See network

Overview

Benjamin Sun is Co-Founder and General Partner at Primary Venture Partners[3], an early stage venture capital fund based in New York[4]. Sun co-founded Community Connect Inc., serving as President and CEO for 12 years, which published social networking sites including AsianAvenue.com, BlackPlanet.com, and MiGente.com[4]. As an investor, Sun participated in early rounds of Jet.com, which was acquired by Walmart for $3.3 billion, and Coupang[4]. Sun holds board positions at multiple companies including Coupang[7], Dandy[8], Chief[9], and Slice[10], and is Co-Founder and Board Member at Altis[6]. Sun earned a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan[13].

Profile introduction
Source excerptLinkedIn [4]

Benjamin Sun is an entrepreneur and investor. Ben is co-founder and General Partner at Primary Venture Partners which is an early stage venture capital fund based in NYC. He invested in the first rounds of companies such as Jet.com (acquired by Walmart for $3.3 billion) and Coupang (Amazon of Korea). Previously, Mr. Sun founded Community Connect Inc. where he served as President & CEO for 12 years. Mr. Sun co-founded Community Connect Inc. which published a network of social networking sites AsianAvenue.com, BlackPlanet.com, MiGente.com (pronounced mee-hen-tay). This network was one of the…

Career history

  1. Co-Founder and General PartnerJan 2013 to PresentPrimary Venture Partners
  2. Co-Founder and Board MemberOct 2025 to PresentAltis
  3. Board MemberJul 2010 to PresentCoupang
  4. Board MemberNov 2019 to PresentDandy
  5. Board MemberSep 2018 to PresentChief
  6. Board MemberNov 2015 to PresentSlice (formerly MyPizza)
  7. PartnerJan 2010 to PresentLaunchTime LLC
  8. Co-Founder and Board MemberJun 2011 to PresentFundedbuy

Education

  1. BA, EconomicsUniversity of Michigan

Insights & ideas

The through-line

Across every appearance, the consistent position is that seed-stage venture in New York is a category worth building a firm around rather than a stop on the way to somewhere else. He is described as co-founder and general partner at Primary, a firm whose stated focus is investing at seed in companies founded in New York [5][1][3], and the ambition attached to that work is scale: the framing of building the world's largest seed firm recurs in the more recent conversations [1][3]. Alongside the geographic and stage commitment sits a stated preference for being anti-thesis in how deals are chosen [5], and a willingness to talk publicly about companies that did not work [7].

On seed and New York

The case for New York is one he has made repeatedly and at length: why the focus on New York, how Silicon Alley has transformed over the past fifteen years, and why he is bullish on companies coming out of the city [5]. The choice of stage is treated as a separate deliberate decision, discussed as its own question of why seed investing rather than later rounds [5], and it has scaled into the goal of building the largest seed firm [1][3]. His investing has centred on consumer-facing companies [4], with Jet.com, Coupang, K Health and Mirror named among the investments [4][5], and Coupang treated as the exception that needed explaining against a New York-first mandate [5].

On thesis, founders and price

He describes his approach as anti-thesis [5], which sits against the more common practice of investing from a predetermined map of sectors. What replaces the thesis is judgement about people: he has spoken about his process for working out whether a particular person is the right founder [5]. On valuation, he has addressed whether early-stage companies are overvalued and how to approach a market at prevailing prices, framed as a macro read on the seed market rather than a deal-by-deal complaint [5].

On the firm's platform as an edge

With many venture firms building services and platforms for their portfolio founders, he has argued for what specifically makes Primary's version an advantage [5], anchored in the claim that the firm has the largest seed-stage portfolio impact team [5].

On learning from what failed

He has been willing to conduct a public post mortem on a portfolio company that did not survive, and to explain why it failed [7], which pairs with his account of his own operating past: founding Community Connect, one of the first social networking companies, and his reaction at the time to Facebook launching in high school [5][4]. The move from operator to investor, and how Primary came together, are things he has discussed directly [5].

Takeaways

  • Primary's model is seed-stage and New York-first, and he argues both the stage and the geography as deliberate strategic choices rather than defaults [5][1][3].
  • He describes himself as anti-thesis, leaning on judgement about whether someone is the right founder rather than a predetermined sector map [5].
  • His investing has concentrated on consumer-facing companies, including Jet.com, Coupang, K Health and Mirror [4][5].
  • He has publicly addressed whether early-stage companies are overvalued and how to operate at current seed prices [5].
  • He points to the largest seed-stage portfolio impact team as the basis of Primary's platform advantage over other firms building founder services [5].
  • He treats failed investments as material worth examining in public, including a post mortem on a portfolio company that did not survive [7].
  • His operating background at Community Connect, one of the first social networking companies, informs how he reads the evolution of social [5][4].

Media & appearances

  • Venture with GraceApple Podcasts
    Ben Sun, GP at Primary VC: Building World's Largest Seed FirmBen Sun is a Cofounder and General Partner at Primary. ~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Verivend. If you’re a GP or LP looking to simplify the capital raising and deployment process, Verivend is here to help. Trusted by over 800 funds and managi
  • The Full Ratchet (TFR)Apple Podcasts
    Post Mortems (Sun, Foxe Blader, Mehta)Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified: On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Ben Sun Ruth Foxe Blader Manan Mehta Each investor discusses a portfolio company that did not survive and why it was that they failed. Did you miss our guests...
  • Consumer VCApple Podcasts
    Ben Sun (Primary Venture Partners) - Lessons Learned from Building The First Social Networking Site, The Rise of New York's Tech Scene, and Are Early-Stage Companies Overvalued in Today's Market?My guest today is Ben Sun, co-founder and general partner at Primary Venture Partners. Primary focuses on investing in companies at seed that were founded in New York and has the largest seed stage portfolio impact team. Some of his investment include Jet.com, Coupang, K Health and Mirror. Previously he co-founded community connect, which was one of the first social networking companies. We discuss the evolution of social, why he's so bullish of companies coming out of New York, being anti thesis and a macro analysis of the current seed market. Questions I ask Ben: What was your initial attraction to entrepreneurship? How did you go about founding Community Connect? What made you decide to become a VC? How did Primary come together? What was your reaction then to Facebook starting off in high school I understand you invest in New York companies, which we will get to, but how did you end up investing in Coupang? Why the focus on New York? How has Silicon Alley transformed in the past 15 years? Why seed investing? New York City Summit? Process to figure out if a person could be the right founder? How do you approach this current market when it comes to price? It seems like lots of VCs are building out services and a platform for portfolio founders. How do you think about Primary's advantage when it comes to your own platform?
  • Rock the Boat | Asian American PodcastApple Podcasts
    7 | Asian Avenue and Primary Ventures: Ben SunThis week, Lucia speaks with Ben Sun, a partner at a venture capital firm called Primary Venture Partners based in New York City. Ben focuses his investing activities mainly in consumer facing companies. Some of his most notable investments include Jet.
  • unwantedfamilyYouTube
    Unwanted Family Podcast 02 - Ben SunThe Unwanted Podcast: Basement SeriesFor the second of our intimate basement sessions we have Voyeurhythm label boss, Delusions of Grandeur star and guest DJ...
  • Grace GongYouTube
    Ben Sun, GP at Primary VC: Building World's Largest Seed FirmBen Sun is a Cofounder and General Partner at Primary. ~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Verivend. If you’re a GP or LP looking to simplify the capital ...
  • Music Matters with Darrell Craig HarrisYouTube
    That '70s Show and 3rd Rock from the Sun composer Ben Vaughn join us for a fun conversationIn this episode of Music Matters, we sit down with acclaimed composer, songwriter, and producer Ben Vaughn, the creative force behind the iconic theme and sc...

This page shows public professional information only, each fact cited. Is this you? send a correction, or ask for removal within 24 hours, no questions asked.