# Mar Hershenson

> Mar Hershenson is a Spanish-American venture capitalist, electrical engineer, and serial entrepreneur who co-founded Pear VC (originally Pejman Mar Ventures) in 2013 with no prior VC experience - learning the trade from Amazon-purchased books. A Stanford PhD who holds 14 patents and founded three startups (two acquired), she has grown Pear VC to over $800M AUM with a portfolio that includes DoorDash, Guardant Health, Gusto, and Dropbox. A perennial Forbes Midas List honoree (#29 in 2021), she also teaches Stanford's Lean Launchpad course, champions women in VC through All Raise and her Female Founder Circles initiative, and is known for her conviction that great founders are made, not born.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Pear VC
- **Organizations:** Pear VC, Harvey Mudd College (Board of Trustees), Carnegie Mellon ECE Department (Advisory Board), All Raise (Founding Member), Female Founder Circles (Founder), Equity Summit (Founder), Broadway Angels (Member), Stanford University (Lecturer)
- **From:** Barcelona, Spain
- **Nationality:** Spanish-American
- **Education:** B.S. in Electrical Engineering (with honors), Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid, Spain, M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Forbes Midas List honoree multiple years (peak #29 in 2021), Co-founded Pear VC with $800M+ AUM and 7 unicorns in the portfolio, Early seed investor in DoorDash, Guardant Health, Gusto, and Dropbox

## Career timeline

- **~1995** — Heard lecture by MIT professor in Madrid; moved to the US for a summer internship and never left
- **~1997-1999** — Interned at Linear Technology Corporation; became the first woman hired on the circuit design team
- **~1999** — Brief role at Apple Computer
- **2000** — Earned Ph.D. from Stanford; dissertation on convex optimization for analog circuit design
- **2002** — Named MIT Technology Review TR100 Innovator Under 35; began teaching Analog Circuit Design at Stanford
- **~1999-2004** — Co-founded Barcelona Design, a startup from Stanford focused on convex optimization for analog circuits
- **2004** — Co-founded Sabio Labs as CEO, building software tools for analog-circuit designers
- **2007** — Sabio Labs acquired by Magma Design Automation
- **2008-2010** — VP of Product Development, Custom Design Business Unit at Magma Design Automation post-acquisition
- **2009** — Named Top 10 Women in Microelectronics by EE Times
- **2010** — Received Marie Pistilli Women in EDA Lifetime Achievement Award; Women of Influence Award (2011)
- **~2010-2013** — Co-founded Revel Touch, a mobile e-commerce platform; acquired by Yahoo
- **2013** — Co-founded Pejman Mar Ventures (PMVC) with Pejman Nozad; started investing pre-seed/seed
- **2016** — Pejman Mar Ventures rebranded as Pear VC; launched $75M Fund II
- **2021** — Ranked #29 on Forbes Midas List; DoorDash IPO (backed at seed); co-founded Female Founder Circles
- **2023** — Closed Pear VC's $432M oversubscribed fund; continued Forbes Midas List recognition
- **2024-2025** — Continued on Forbes Midas List; Female Founder Circles reached 6th cohort; Pear VC AUM surpasses $800M

## Achievements

- Forbes Midas List honoree multiple years (peak #29 in 2021)
- Co-founded Pear VC with $800M+ AUM and 7 unicorns in the portfolio
- Early seed investor in DoorDash, Guardant Health, Gusto, and Dropbox
- Holds 14 patents across three startup ventures
- MIT Technology Review TR100 Innovator Under 35 (2002)
- First woman hired on Linear Technology's circuit design team
- Marie Pistilli Women in EDA Lifetime Achievement Award (2010)
- Founded Female Founder Circles, a community for women founders now in its 6th cohort
- Founding member of All Raise, advancing women in VC
- Taught Analog Circuit Design at Stanford for nearly a decade
- Closed oversubscribed $432M Pear VC fund in 2023
- Co-founder of Equity Summit, connecting underrepresented VC GPs with LPs
- TED speaker: 'The Secret to Successfully Pitching an Idea'
- EE Times Top 10 Women in Microelectronics (2009)
- Women of Influence Award, Silicon Valley Business Journal (2011)
- Fast Company Champion of Innovation

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Named to Forbes Midas List for the fifth consecutive year
- **2024-01** — Female Founder Circles reached its 6th cohort with first retreat in early 2024
- **2023-05** — Pear VC closed oversubscribed $432M fund - largest in firm history
- **2023-01** — Named to Forbes Midas List; Pear VC AUM surpassed $800M

## Links

- Website: https://pear.vc/team/mar-hershenson/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mar-hershenson-b21395/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/MarHershenson

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/mar-hershenson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-05