Pejman Nozad

Pejman Nozad is an Iranian-American venture capitalist known for co-founding Pear VC and Amidzad Partners.[1] He is also a former radio host and professional soccer player.[2][3] He was ranked in the 15th spot in Forbes' annual Midas List in 2021 and also 2022.[4]

Pejman Nozad
NationalityAmerican, Iranian
Occupationventure capitalist
Years active1999–present

Early life and education

Nozad grew up during the Iranian Revolution.[2][3] He attended a German school in Tehran that eventually shut down because of the ongoing conflict.[2] Nozad wrote for a sports column when he was 16 and created and hosted a sports radio talk show when he was 18.[2][3][5]

Career

Nozad played soccer professionally in Iran for three years before eventually moving to Germany to play soccer on a scholarship in the 1980s.[2][6] He immigrated to the United States in 1992.[2][7] Before taking up investing, Nozad served as a car washer, yogurt shop employee, and rug salesman at the Medallion Rug Gallery.[6][8]

Nozad founded investment firm Amidzad Partners in 1999 with Rahim and Saeed Amidi, who also own the Medallion Rug Gallery and Plug and Play Tech Center.[6][8] With Amidzad Partners, Nozad invested in companies such as Qwiki.[9]

He also co-founded venture firm Pear VC with Mar Henshenson under the name Pejman Mar in 2013.[10]

For his work with Pear VC, he was also ranked in the 15th spot in Forbes' annual Midas List in 2021.[11] In 2022, he retained the number 15 rank in the Midas List[12] and was ranked number 2 on the Midas Seed List.[13]

References
  1. "Silicon Valley's Most Famous Rug Dealer Forms a New Fund". www.strictlyvc.com. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  2. Life, Kayhan (2021-04-07). "From Rug Dealing to Venture Capital: Meet Silicon Valley Superstar Pejman Nozad". KAYHAN LIFE. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  3. Gherini, Anne. "Pejman Nozad: From Rugs to Riches". www.affinity.co. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  4. "Pejman Nozad". forbes.com. 2022-02-01. Archived from the original on 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  5. "World's Best English Pronunciation App | Elsaspeak". ELSA Speak - Your 24/7 A.I English Speaking Companion. 2016-07-11. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  6. "Pejman Nozad's Rugs To Riches Story". Forbes India. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  7. Loizos, Connie (2017-08-28). "Why the rise of Iranian-Americans in tech is no surprise". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  8. Helft, Miguel (2007-09-14). "Rental Building's Good Karma Nurtures Success". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  9. "Qwiki closes $8M round led by Eduardo Saverin". VatorNews. 2011-01-20. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  10. Konrad, Alex. "Their Venture Fund Was 'A Sign Of A Bubble.' Then They Turned $1.9 Million In DoorDash Into $440 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  11. "Pejman Nozad". forbes.com. 2022-02-01. Archived from the original on 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  12. "The Midas List 2022". Forbes. 2022-10-15. Archived from the original on 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. "Midas Seed 2022". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
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