SCOTT BELSKY
Founded Behance (sold to Adobe for $150M), became Adobe’s CPO, and runs one of the most prolific angel investing portfolios in tech
Scott Belsky built Behance into the world’s largest creative portfolio platform, sold it to Adobe for $150 million, then became Adobe’s Chief Product Officer. Oh, and he angel invested in Uber, Pinterest, Periscope, and about 100 other startups on the side. He wrote a bestselling book about making ideas happen. The man is basically the poster child for "what if a creative person also understood money" — and the answer is: they’d be worth $400 million.
Net Worth
$400 million
Nationality
American
Time Horizon
Long-Term
Risk Appetite
6 / 10
Net Worth Context
- · 400x the average American's lifetime earnings, stacked and waiting.
CAREER & BACKGROUND
Belsky studied at Cornell and then got his MBA from Harvard. He worked at Goldman Sachs briefly before founding Behance in 2006.
The platform became the default portfolio site for designers, photographers, and creatives worldwide.
Adobe acquired Behance in 2012 for $150 million. Belsky joined Adobe and eventually became Chief Product Officer, overseeing products like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Adobe Creative Cloud.
Simultaneously, he built one of the most impressive angel investing portfolios in Silicon Valley. He was an early investor in Uber, Pinterest, Periscope (acquired by Twitter), Cheddar, and dozens of other startups.
He also became a venture partner at Benchmark.
His book "Making Ideas Happen" became a bestseller in the creative and entrepreneurial space. He’s one of the few people who’s been a successful founder, operator, author, and investor.
COMPANIES & ROLES
Behance — founded in 2006, built into the world’s largest creative portfolio platform. Acquired by Adobe in 2012 for $150 million.
Adobe — served as Chief Product Officer, overseeing the entire Creative Cloud suite.
Angel portfolio includes Uber, Pinterest, Periscope, Cheddar, Airtable, Flexport, and 100+ others.
INVESTING STYLE & PHILOSOPHY
Belsky invests in products that feel inevitable — tools and platforms that solve obvious problems in elegant ways. His design background gives him an eye for product quality that most investors lack.
He gravitates toward creative tools, productivity platforms, and marketplaces. He’s particularly good at spotting consumer products that have viral design — things people want to share and show off.
As an angel, he invests early and small, relying on volume and quality to generate returns. His network in the creative and design community gives him deal flow that traditional VCs don’t see.
THE PLAYBOOK
Risk Approach
Moderate. Angel investing is high risk by definition, but Belsky’s diversified portfolio of 100+ investments means no single failure is catastrophic.
His operational roles at Behance and Adobe provide stable income that supports the risk-taking.
Money Habits
Belsky lives in New York and is deeply embedded in the creative and tech communities. He’s a regular speaker at design conferences and publishes frequently about creativity, product development, and investing.
His personal brand bridges the creative and business worlds in a way that few others manage.
BIGGEST WIN
His early angel investment in Uber is likely the largest financial return. Pinterest was another major win.
But the Behance exit to Adobe for $150 million — a company he built from scratch — might be the most personally meaningful. He created a platform that millions of creatives depend on daily.
BIGGEST MISTAKE
With 100+ angel investments, some inevitably failed. The specific misses aren’t headline news, but the law of angel investing means most investments return zero.
Belsky has spoken openly about the importance of accepting that most bets won’t work.
FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHY
Belsky believes that great design is an investment edge. Products that are beautifully designed and intuitively useful have a higher probability of viral adoption.
He invests in things he would personally use.
He also believes in the power of community. Behance succeeded because it became essential for the creative community.
His investments often target products that serve specific professional communities.
FAMILY & PERSONAL LIFE
Belsky lives in New York with his wife and children. He maintains a strong presence in both the NYC tech scene and the broader design community.
His social media presence is active and focused on product design, creativity, and investing.
EDUCATION
Cornell University for undergrad, then Harvard Business School for his MBA. Goldman Sachs before founding Behance.
The finance-to-creative-startup pipeline is unusual but worked perfectly for Belsky.
BOOKS & RESOURCES
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QUOTES (5)
Ideas are easy. Making them happen is everything. That’s why I wrote the book and that’s what I invest in.
The first mile of any product — the signup, the onboarding, the first five minutes — determines whether a billion people will use it.
I invested in Uber because the product felt like magic. You press a button and a car appears. That’s what I look for — magic.
Design isn’t decoration. It’s how it works. The best founders understand this. The rest add a nice font and call it design.
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