Paige Finn DohertyFounding Partner, Behind Genius · Founding Partner at Behind Genius Ventures

investing in people first

3 Aug 2023 · 1 min

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In this interview excerpt, Speaker A asks Speaker B to elaborate on the ethos that underpins Pear’s investment approach. Speaker B explains that Pear’s high‑level philosophy is to invest in people—specifically, founders—earlier than most venture firms, aiming to be the first investor in the individual rather than the company. The goal is to be the most helpful investor possible. Speaker B notes that Pejman, a long‑time angel investor with strong taste in founders, recognized the need for an operational partner to effectively support these early founders. Consequently, Pejman partnered with Speaker B to launch the fund together, combining Pejman’s sourcing and judgment with operational expertise.

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It's interesting that it seems like you and Pejman had a very similar approach, maybe not in terms of the form of what Pear would be today, but in terms of the ethos. Can you explain a bit more about that ethos?
Yeah, you know, I think for Pear at a high level, a lot of venture folks would say that, but we wanted to invest first in people, in founders that we believed in really early. So be the first investor in those people, not companies. And, you know, be the most helpful investor. So Pejman, by himself, he had been an angel for many years. He was able to find these folks and he had really good taste. But then when it came time to help them, he really needed an operator on his side. So that's why he partnered. You know, he said, I want to do it. I want to do this fund with you. We need to do it together.