 is a pre-seed and seed-stage VC firm that partners with entrepreneurs from their earliest days to build category-defining companies. Pear has backed iconic companies such as Doordash, Guardant, Gusto, Branch, Vanta, Aurora Solar, Nobell Foods, and more at the earliest stages. We're company builders, having founded 12 companies: we help companies find product-market fit, recruit their first engineering hire, and overcome other critical business challenges.

GSB Partner Talks: Pear VC's Pejman Nozad's Life Story

GSB Partner Talks: Insights and Expertise in Biotech with Pear VC’s Eddie Eltouhky

with Jeffrey Katzenberg, Former CEO, Disney Founder, Dreamworks Studio. The 

is inclusive of prominent tech leaders and their insights on effective leadership, entrepreneurship, and lessons learned throughout their careers.

Jeffrey is an entrepreneur and entertainment industry executive who has reshaped the media landscape throughout his career. Today, he is a Founding Partner at WndrCo, an investment company focused on supporting founders who are building category-defining companies. Jeffrey works closely with WndrCo portfolio companies Aura, Airtable, Sparrow, Netomi, and Twingate on their enterprise GTM strategy.

Prior to WndrCo, Jeffrey co-founded DreamWorks SKG, serving as CEO of DreamWorks Animation, which he grew into the world’s largest animation studio. Before founding DreamWorks, Jeffrey was Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, and previously served as President of Production at Paramount Studios.

Jeffrey is a donor and board member to many civic organizations, including University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, The Simon Wiesenthal Center, California Institute of the Arts, and is on the Board of Directors for Olympics LA28. Among his many awards and recognitions, he has received the Palme d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival, the Motion Picture Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the National Medal of Arts, and the TIME100 Impact Award.

 is a pre-seed and seed stage VC firm that partners with entrepreneurs from their earliest days to build category defining companies. Pear has backed iconic companies such as Doordash, Guardant, Gusto, Branch, Vanta, Aurora Solar, Nobell Foods and more at the earliest stages. We're company builders, having founded 12 companies: we help companies find product-market fit, recruit their first engineering hire, and overcome other critical business challenges.

Pear VC Speaker Series: Fireside Chat with Jeffrey Katzenberg

GSB Partner Talks: What’s Happening in Fintech? With Pear VC’s Arpan Shah

GSB Partner Talks: Pear VC's Vivien Ho

Please join us for the kick-off event of our Pear's Founders in Motion series! We invite GSB founders to "take a hike" with us on Friday at the Stanford Dish Trail. Connect, network, and enjoy the outdoors as we kick off this exciting series.

Founders in Motion Kick-Off Hike

Join us for a deep dive into AI with Aparna Sinha (Pear Partner, Ex-Google Cloud Executive). Aparna will lay out our Pear Investment Thesis for AI including a vertical specific view. She will outline how we see the AI technical stack, innovations we saw in 2023, and emerging winners in each area. She will cover the broad set of startup opportunity areas and specific Pear VC portfolio companies that illustrate our thesis.

Aparna will discuss fine tuning open source models with enterprise data and the emerging architecture for AI applications that is more resilient to hallucination, and can help create a deeper technical moat. She will also attempt to look ahead and lead a brief discussion on predictions for 2024. If you're a interested in AI, join us to learn from our AI expert.  Please feel free to bring your own lunch. 

Startups and Opportunities in AI with Pear VC's Aparna Sinha

 is Pear’s Founding Managing Partner. After earning a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, Mar developed a groundbreaking technique of optimizing the design of analog semiconductors. Since then, she has accrued over 13 years of founder experience, co-founding three startups in mobile/ecommerce, enterprise software and semiconductor industries and has registered 14 separate patents.

She has been recognized by MIT Technology Review as a Top Innovator Under 35, named a Champion of Innovation by Fast Company, awarded the Digital Automation Conference’s Marie R. Pistil Achievement Award, and recognized on the 

One of the premier student entrepreneurship organizations in the world, 

 empowers the next generation of makers, designers, artists, engineers, and entrepreneurial leaders. We work with exceptional students, prominent professors, and thought leaders to unite the worlds of innovation, academia, and industry.

BASES x Pear VC: How to Raise Money with Mar Hershenson from Pear VC

Alfred Lin is a Partner at Sequoia Capital, working with founders from idea to IPO and beyond. He partners with companies across various industries, including consumer marketplaces, fintech, robotics, and healthcare. He sits on the boards of Airbnb, DoorDash, Houzz, Citadel Securities, Catch, Found, Kalshi, Collaborative Robotics, Cobalt Robotics, Zipline, and more.

Before joining Sequoia in 2010, Alfred served as Chairman & COO of 

 (AMZN), VP of Finance & Business Development of Tellme Networks (MSFT), and VP of Finance of LinkExchange (MSFT). Alfred also co-founded Venture Frogs, LLC, and invested in companies such as Ask Jeeves (IACI), MongoMusic (MSFT), and OpenTable (PCLN).

Alfred has a B.A. in Applied Mathematics from Harvard and an M.S. in Statistics from Stanford.

Pear Speaker Series: Fireside Chat with Alfred Lin of Sequoia Capital

with Co-founder and Head of EPD at Gusto, Edward Kim. The 

Edward's journey began with a foundation in electrical engineering at Stanford University. After co-founding a social networking startup called Picwing, Edward Kim's path led him to Gusto (formerly ZenPayroll). Here, he co-founded a platform that revolutionized human resources, payroll, and benefits administration for businesses of all sizes. Through his leadership, Gusto has become synonymous with user-friendly, efficient solutions that streamline HR tasks. Edward's dedication to leveraging technology for practical solutions has not only transformed how companies manage their workforce but also exemplified his commitment to improving workplace experiences. His story serves as an inspiration to those aiming to merge technology and business acumen to create lasting impact.

Pear Speaker Series: Fireside Chat with Edward Kim,  Co-founder and Head of EPD at Gusto

with Co-Founder and CPO of Doordash, Stanley Tang. The 

Stanley is the Chief Product Officer and co-founder of DoorDash, a technology company passionate about transforming local businesses and dedicated to enabling new ways of working, earning, and living. He founded DoorDash at the age of 20 while he was a student at Stanford and later graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science. Stanley was also named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30.

Pear Speaker Series: Fireside Chat with Stanley Tang, Co-Founder and CPO of Doordash

with Alex Pall of the Chainsmokers and Mantis VC! The 

Please note this event will only feature Alex Pall.

GRAMMY® Award-winning RIAA Diamond-certified duo The Chainsmokers—Drew Taggart and Alex Pall—have not only left an indelible mark on music, but they’ve also strived to better the world as entrepreneurs, innovators, and philanthropists. They founded their very own Mantis Venture Capital in 2020. It manages nearly $1 billion in assets with a focus on improving the world and inventing a brighter tomorrow. Other businesses under their purview include a stake in the popular JAJA Tequila and The Chainsmokers’ very own film, television, and podcast production company, Kick The Habit Productions—which boasts a full slate of projects in development.  At the same time, Drew and Alex give back at every turn. In the midst of the Global Pandemic, Drew and Alex funded the production and delivery of tens of thousands of PPE N95 masks to hospitals in New York and Las Vegas. The charity Youth Emerging Stronger recognized The Chainsmokers with the 

 for their commitment to philanthropy and underprivileged children.

Pear Speaker Series with the Chainsmokers! Fireside Chat with Alex Pall of Mantis VC

Virtual: Pear Speaker Series with the Chainsmokers! Fireside Chat with Alex Pall of Mantis VC

​Discover more about Pear Garage & the Pear Fellowship at Harvard by joining our virtual information session scheduled for September 15th, 2023, at 6:00pm ET. We'll start with an overview of the programs and leave time for Q&A. 

Pear Garage is a program for top entrepreneurial Harvard engineers to get access to a community of world-class peers, capital for any companies started during the program, and learnings from the Pear VC team. We provide members $10k in optional investment alongside dinners, workshops, credits, office space, talks, and a host of other benefits. 

Alumni include Nightfall, Affinity, Expedock, and many more successful startups. Apply and learn more at

The Pear Fellowship is a VC apprenticeship designed to supercharge your readiness for a career in venture. Fellows are granted unparalleled access to dealflow, along with immersive training at our fall kick-off summit in San Francisco (including coverage for travel and accommodations), complemented by ongoing educational sessions.

Fellows are empowered to design their own programming, build relationships with founders, conduct diligence, and formulate industry theses while at Pear. Apply and learn more at 

Pear VC x Harvard Garage & Fellowship Info Session

​Discover more about Pear Garage & the Pear Fellowship at MIT by joining our virtual information session scheduled for September 15th, 2023, at 3:00pm ET. We'll start with an overview of the programs and leave time for Q&A.

Pear Garage is a program for top entrepreneurial MIT engineers to get access to a community of world-class peers, capital for any companies started during the program, and learnings from the Pear VC team. We provide members $10k in optional investment alongside dinners, workshops, credits, office space, talks, and a host of other benefits. 

Pear VC x MIT Garage & Fellowship Info Session

​Discover more about Pear Garage & the Pear Fellowship at Berkeley by joining our virtual information session scheduled for September 6th, 2023, at 6:00pm Pacific Time. We'll start with an overview of the programs and leave time for Q&A. 

Pear Garage is a program for top entrepreneurial Berkeley engineers to get access to a community of world-class peers, capital for any companies started during the program, and learnings from the Pear VC team. We provide members $10k in optional investment alongside dinners, workshops, credits, office space, talks, and a host of other benefits. 

Pear VC x Berkeley Garage & Fellowship Info Session

Discover more about the Pear Fellowship by joining our virtual information session scheduled for September 5th, 2023, at 6:00pm Eastern Time. We'll start with an overview of the program and leave time for Q&A. 

Established in 2014, the Pear Fellowship represents an immersive apprenticeship designed to elevate your preparedness for a career in venture capital. Fellows are granted unparalleled access to dealflow, along with immersive training at our fall kick-off summit in San Francisco (including coverage for travel and accommodations), complemented by ongoing educational sessions.

Each fellow is empowered to take the lead in designing their own programming under the Pear umbrella, building strong relationships with founders, conducting diligence, and formulating specialized industry insights while at Pear. To gain further insight into Pear Fellows and the impressive accomplishments of our alumni, visit 

Naomi Band