Pear VC was founded by an unlikely duo—Mar Hershenson, a PhD engineer and 3x deep-tech founder, and Pejman Nozad, an Iranian immigrant who started selling Persian rugs in Silicon Valley before becoming one of the most connected early-stage investors in the region. The firm is unusually student-centric for a mainstream institutional fund, with roughly 50% of its portfolio companies having student-founder origins through programs like Pear Dorm at universities and by giving student "fellows" real check-writing influence up to $25k.