Upfront Ventures adds partner from Accel with focus on VR and marketing

Upfront Ventures announced today that it has added new talent to its roster, bringing on board Kobie Fuller as a general partner. Fuller, who previously spent three years at Accel Partners as a principal, will now be joining the Los Angeles, Calif.-based investment firm to look at opportunities across the board, but with a special side-focus on virtual reality and marketing technology.

This hiring wasn’t by happenstance, though. Upfront managing partner Mark Suster told VentureBeat that the firm has already done two deals with Fuller before and that it also works well with Accel. Suster said that he “was impressed with [Fuller’s] operating knowledge, investment judgement, and unwavering support for entrepreneurs. He’s the perfect mix of operating and venture experience to add capacity to our partner team and capability for our portfolio companies.”

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Suster shared that this was a good career move for Fuller and said that Fuller had received Accel’s blessing: “We want to do three more deals with [Upfront].” Although Fuller was hired as an investment partner, there are additional areas where he’ll be able to help Upfront improve coverage: VR and martech.

When it comes to VR, Fuller’s been at the forefront, especially from an investment side — he was an early investor in Oculus, which Facebook acquired for $2 billion. His experience should complement Upfront’s background, as the firm has already invested in VR startups such as VREAL.

Fuller also has experience in the martech space: Previous investments he’s made include ExactTarget and Instructure, and he’s been the chief marketing officer for Revolve Clothing and at ecommerce company FWRD.

He joins Suster, Yves Sisteron, Steven Dietz, Greg Bettinelli, Kara Nortman, Hamet Watt, and Stuart Lander at Upfront.

“Upfront Ventures is at the forefront of unprecedented investment growth in Los Angeles, and I’m eager to help fuel the growing LA venture community while expanding our national investing footprint,” Fuller said.

Updated at 8:48 a.m. Pacific on Thursday: This post has been corrected to describe Kobie Fuller’s time at Accel as principal, not general partner.