Founder · Investor · Creator — Global

Building companies. Creating leverage. Investing in the future.

I'm Mark Priest. I build companies, back founders I believe in, and write down what I'm learning as I go. This site is less a résumé — more a record of the work, and the person behind it.

Read My Story See What I'm Building

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The Story

I didn't start with a plan. I started with a problem.

I built my first company because I couldn't find anyone else solving the problem in front of me. There was no grand strategy — just a willingness to figure it out, and enough stubbornness to stay with it longer than made sense.

Since then, the work has changed shape a few times. Some years it looked like operating. Some years it looked like writing checks. Lately it looks like both — building where I can, backing people where I can't.

What hasn't changed is the way I think about time. I'd rather spend five years on something that compounds than five months on something that trends. That's the thread running through everything on this site.

I'd rather build something slowly and own it forever than build something fast and lose it.

— Mark Priest

What I believe

A short list of things I keep coming back to, in business and outside of it.

Ownership over optics

I'd rather own something real and unglamorous than rent something that photographs well. Equity in the right thing beats attention every time.

Depth over speed

Most things worth building take longer than you want them to. I've stopped fighting that and started planning around it.

People before plans

Every company I've built or backed came down to one or two people I trusted completely. The plan changes. The people rarely do.

Say less, ship more

I try to let the work speak first. If I'm talking about something more than I'm building it, that's usually a sign to go quiet and get back to it.

What I'm building

A small number of companies, each one I still show up to every week.

01Security

OuterProof

Started because I was tired of seeing companies treat cybersecurity like an enterprise-only problem. Now it gives growing teams an AI security employee that watches what attackers see, 24/7.

02Capital

Black Swan

Started because I wanted to build an investment manager that doesn't sleep, hesitate, or let emotions make the trade. Now it runs an automated hedge fund designed to find and execute opportunities in the market.

03Finance

Reclaim

Started because I saw how much financial opportunity people lose simply because their credit profile isn't optimized. Now it acts as a personal finance advisor focused on helping people understand, improve, and leverage their credit.

Every company on this site started as a problem I couldn't stop thinking about.

— Mark Priest

What I write

Long-form notes on building, capital, and the decisions in between — written by me, for people doing the same work.

The Ledger

Weekly

One essay a week, usually written on a Sunday, about whatever I'm actually working through.

Conversations

Monthly

Long, unhurried conversations with founders and operators I genuinely learn from.

Some things aren't listed. They're discovered.

Hover, then click

Investments

How I invest

I write smaller checks than most funds, into fewer companies, because I want to actually be useful to the founders I back — not just show up on a cap table.

Operating leverage

Businesses that get meaningfully more efficient with every dollar of revenue they add.

Founders who'd build it anyway

People who were already solving the problem before there was a business case for it.

Decade thinking

I ask founders where the company is in ten years, not ten months. The answer tells me a lot.

The Long Game

I'm not trying to build the biggest thing. I'm trying to build the thing that's still here in twenty years.

That means slower decisions sometimes. Fewer companies. More time in the room with the people actually doing the work. If that's the kind of long game you're playing too, I'd like to hear from you.

Contact

Say hello.

For partnerships, capital, press, or just to talk shop — reach out directly. I read everything myself.

Emailoffice@markpriest.com

LocationRemote / Global

Response Time2–3 business days