# Mark Pavlyukovskyy

> Founder of NZVC, New Zealand's first operator-run venture fund (Fund I top 5% globally, 60+ companies, $25M+ deployed). Previously founded Piper, a DIY computer kit that shipped 100K+ units across 70+ countries (Forbes 30 Under 30, $15M raised, exited), and co-founded Learn With Mochi, screenless coding toys for ages 3+ (20K units, 6 continents). Edmund Hillary Fellow. Studied molecular biology at Princeton and biomedical engineering at Oxford. Co-hosts TechMates podcast covering Australasia's tech scene.

## About
- [Homepage](https://pavlyukovskyy.com): Personal site for Mark Pavlyukovskyy — Founder & Investor
- [The Journey](https://pavlyukovskyy.com/journey): Full story from science to startups to venture capital

## Story

My family left Ukraine for America when I was nine. I didn't speak English. I studied molecular biology at Princeton and biomedical engineering at Oxford. Cancer imaging, machine learning, neuroscience. Six years of science taught me how to find answers. What came next taught me something harder: how to deliver them.

In Ghana, on a trip during Princeton, I watched children die from diseases we already knew how to prevent. The knowledge existed. The delivery mechanism was broken. That realization changed everything. I stopped asking 'what do we know?' and started asking 'how do we get it to the people who need it?'

Back at my Princeton dorm, I prototyped Piper, a DIY computer kit that teaches kids to code by building their own machine. It grew from a dorm-room side project to 100,000 units shipped across 70+ countries, endorsements from Steve Wozniak and Elon Musk, a Forbes 30 Under 30 feature, and an exit.

Then came Learn With Mochi, screenless coding toys for kids as young as three. 20,000 units across six continents, multiple awards, and a reminder that complex ideas become powerful when you strip away the complexity.

I arrived in New Zealand on an Edmund Hillary Fellowship, one day before the borders closed in 2020. I saw a tech ecosystem full of talented founders but missing something I'd always had: operators who'd built, shipped, and scaled physical products. People who could sit across the table and say 'I've been there.' So I co-founded NZVC, New Zealand's first operator-run venture fund. Fund I ranked in the top 5% globally. I believe the best returns come from backing great founders in overlooked markets with experience, not just capital.

From a kid who didn't speak the language to a founder shipping products in 70 countries to an investor backing the next generation of builders. Every chapter taught me the same thing: the biggest impact comes from making complex things accessible. That's what I build, and that's what I fund.

## Journey Chapters

### From Worms to Brains

Started in molecular biology at sixteen. C. elegans worms at the University of North Texas, then solar panels, ocean acidification, computational neuroscience, biomedical engineering. Princeton undergrad, an Oxford DPhil in machine learning and cancer imaging. Left the DPhil because academia was too slow to make a tangible impact.

### Games That Save Lives

In Humjibre, a village in western Ghana, children were dying from malaria and diarrhea — diseases we already knew how to prevent. Designed game-based health education lessons on a Princeton global health scholarship. The games improved retention, but the bigger lesson was structural: people are a function of their environment and habits, not just what they know.

### PiCreate

Started as a pedal-powered generator for off-grid communities in Africa. When the Raspberry Pi came out, pivoted to a rugged computer kit. Deployed in classrooms from Kenya to India, learning what worked before designing the product that would ship worldwide.

### Piper

PiCreate evolved into Piper, a DIY computer kit that teaches kids to build and code. Raised $15 million for a wooden computer. Built a 25-person team. 100,000 units shipped across 70+ countries. Forbes 30 Under 30. Exited.

### Learn With Mochi

After exiting Piper, co-founded Learn With Mochi: a wooden board, coding tiles, and a friendly bear that teaches kids as young as three to think in sequences. 20,000 units shipped across six continents, Forbes Top STEM Toys, multiple industry awards.

### NZVC

Arrived in New Zealand on an Edmund Hillary Fellowship, one day before the borders closed in 2020. Co-founded NZVC, New Zealand's first operator-run venture fund. Fund I ranked in the top 5% globally. 60+ companies backed, $25M+ deployed.

## Track Record

### NZVC

**Managing Partner & Co-Founder**: NZ's first operator-run venture fund. Fund I top 5% globally. (60+ companies, $25M+ deployed)
- Website: https://nzvc.co.nz

### PIPER

**Founder & CEO**: Computer kit teaching kids to code. Forbes 30 Under 30. Exited. (100K+ units, 70+ countries, $15M+ raised)
- Website: https://www.playpiper.com

### LEARN WITH MOCHI

**Co-Founder**: Screenless coding toys for ages 3+. Multiple awards. (20K+ units, 6 continents)
- Website: https://www.learnwithmochi.com

## Podcast

[TechMates](https://www.nzvc.co.nz/techmates): Conversations with founders and startups shaping Australasia's tech scene. Co-hosted with Hendrik Remigereau.

### Recent Episodes

- How to Deploy $5 Billion in New Zealand's New Wave of Tech Startups
- Anatomy of a 2,000x Return: Lightspeed Founder Barry Eggers on Spotting Outliers
- A Dynasty of Inventors: From the Photocopier to Orion

## Publications

- [Insulin-Like Signaling and Tissue-Specific Requirements of Anoxia Survival in Caenorhabditis elegans](https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1633167/) — UNT Digital Library, 2009
- [Methamphetamine oxidatively damages parkin and decreases the activity of 26S proteasome in vivo](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3610410/) — Acknowledged contributor, National Library of Medicine, 2011
- [Assessing the Impact of Game-Based Health Education on Malaria and Diarrhea Prevention in Ghana](https://dataspace.princeton.edu/handle/88435/dsp0102870v97j) — Princeton University, 2013

## Press

- [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/profile/mark-pavlyukovskyy/)
- [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2015/09/23/piper-lets-kids-design-circuits-using-minecraft-and-electricity/)
- [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2022/03/11/ukrainian-vc-employees-russia-surveys-damage-putin-war/)
- [NZ Herald](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/why-a-ukrainian-in-queenstown-is-raising-millions-for-nz-startups/ZHKFMKQ3KH5C2CCW4O4BFEYO6M/)
- [VentureBeat](https://venturebeat.com/entrepreneur/piper-raises-7-6-million-to-expand-its-diy-computer-kits-for-children/)

## Connect

- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/)
- [X](https://x.com/pavlyukovskyy)
- [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/pavlyukovskyy/)

## Education

- Princeton University
- University of Oxford

## Awards

- Forbes 30 Under 30
- Edmund Hillary Fellowship