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.

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Late Night — Desk One
Late Night — Desk One
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.

01

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.

02

Depth over speed

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

03

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.

04

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.

The journey, in moments

Fragments from the last few years — on stage, on the road, and at the desk in between.

Walking — Dubai, UAE
Walking — Dubai, UAE
The Studio, London
The Studio, London
On Stage — Capital Summit
On Stage — Capital Summit
Off Camera
Off Camera
Architecture Study
Architecture Study
Closing The Room
Closing The Room
The Drive Home
The Drive Home
In Between Meetings
In Between Meetings
Desk One, Again
Desk One, Again

What I'm building

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

01Software

Northline Systems

Started because I was tired of duct-taping spreadsheets together to run my own companies. Now it runs other people's too.

02Capital

Priest Capital

Where I put money behind founders I'd want to work for, if I weren't already doing this myself.

03Media

The Ledger

Where I write the honest version of what building companies actually looks like — including the parts that don't go well.

04Consumer

Studio Meridian

A small manufacturing house I started with a friend, because we wanted to make things worth keeping.

05Advisory

Fieldwork Advisory

Hands-on help for founders past their first ten million — the stage nobody warns you gets harder, not easier.

06Community

The Circle

A small, private group of operators and investors I meet with a few times a year. More below.

"

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.
Archive
180+
Everything I've published since 2019, organized by theme for members.
Reach
Direct
Sent straight to your inbox — no algorithm deciding whether you see it.
The Circle

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.

01

Operating leverage

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

02

Founders who'd build it anyway

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

03

Decade thinking

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

Press

A few places that have covered the work.

FORBES FAST COMPANY BUSINESS INSIDER INC. AXIOS
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