Ajay Kamat
Partner
Pear VC
Ajay Kamat is a Partner at Pear VC and former founder of Wedding Party, which was acquired by Instacart.
Bio
Professional summary
Pejman Nozad is Co-Founder and Founding Managing Partner of Pear VC. His official Pear profile emphasizes two decades of seed investing and lists investments in companies such as DoorDash, Dropbox, AppLovin, Gusto, Guardant Health, Branch, Aurora Solar, SoundHound, and Course Hero. The profile describes his unconventional path from Iran to Silicon Valley, including work at a rug store in Palo Alto before building a reputation for identifying founders early. Pear also notes his Forbes Midas List recognition and #1 Forbes Midas Seed List ranking across 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Investment focus
Stage, sector, and overall fit
Stage
seedearly-stage startups
Sector
technology startupsconsumerenterprisefintechhealthcare technology
Thesis
Seed-stage technology companiesFounder talent and early idea development
Notable companies
Selected portfolio companies the partner has backed
DoorDashDropboxAppLovinGustoGuardant HealthBranchAurora SolarSoundHoundCourse HeroVantaNova CreditLocal Kitchens
How to approach
Framing and angles for outreach
Pitch framing
Lead with a clear seed-stage founder story, why now, and evidence that the team can turn an overlooked opportunity into a category-defining company.
Personalization hooks
- 1Immigrant founder or unconventional founder journey
- 2Seed investing and founder talent identification
- 3Soccer, World Cup, and Manchester United
Recent signals
What the partner has said or done recently
Official profile states Forbes Midas List recognition in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Official profile states #1 Forbes Midas Seed List ranking in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Background
Career, education, and skills
Career history
- Pear VCCo-Founder & Founding Managing Partner
- AmidzadCo-Founder & Managing Partner
- IndependentAngel Investor
- Medallion RugRug gallery / retail
- Iran (early career)Sports Journalist
Skills
Seed investingFounder identificationCommunity buildingEntrepreneurship
Languages
EnglishPersian/Farsi
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