Shervin Pishevar

Background

Shervin Pishevar is an Iranian-American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and angel investor ¹². Born in Iran, his family immigrated to the United States with $35; his parents worked as a taxi driver and maid despite holding advanced degrees ²³.

Pishevar studied at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Labs, where he worked as a scientist, holding patents on malaria treatment and publications in JAMA and Neuroscience Letters ². At age 19, he was instrumental in creating the Istanbul Protocol, which bans physician participation in torture ².

Pishevar’s tech career began in the 2000s. He served as Managing Director at Menlo Ventures, where he built the firm’s consumer practice and led investments including Uber’s $26 million Series B in 2011 ²⁴. He became an Uber board observer through this investment ⁴.

In 2013, Pishevar left Menlo Ventures and co-founded Sherpa Capital with Scott Stanford, formerly co-head of Goldman Sachs’ Global Internet Investment Banking division ⁴. Sherpa Capital managed $650 million across three funds: Sherpa Ventures Fund I ($154 million), Sherpa Ventures Fund II, and Sherpa Everest Fund (the latter two totaling $470 million raised in 2016) ²³.

In 2014, Pishevar co-founded Virgin Hyperloop One and served as its first Executive Chairman ². He also co-founded Silicon Foundry (acquired by Kearney), Do.com (spun out of Salesforce, sold to Amazon), and Brandless ².

In December 2017, multiple women accused Pishevar of sexual misconduct, allegations he denied ⁴⁵. He departed Sherpa Capital in December 2017, though he was not charged with any crimes ⁴⁵. Since leaving Sherpa, Pishevar has continued investing through personal vehicles including Edison Fund, Edison Labs, and Sofreh Capital (his family office) ².

Pishevar has been named to the Forbes Midas List four consecutive years and received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor ². He was appointed to the Fulbright Board by President Obama ².

Stated Thesis

Pishevar has publicly articulated a “regulatory arbitrage” investment thesis — targeting companies that disrupt outdated regulations to unlock economic value and job creation ³. This philosophy is exemplified by his investments in Uber (versus taxi medallions) and Airbnb (versus hotel regulations) ³.

He has described himself as a contrarian investor, stating that he is “more curious and gets more excited about ideas that are being overlooked” and that “most investors and founders are distracted by buzzwords and shiny objects” ⁶.

Pishevar also espouses what he calls the “love principle” in investing: “If you’re going to invest in something, you have to love the product, the founders, the team, the company, the market” and “if you don’t love any one of those things, most likely, it’s not going to be a great investment” ⁷.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 30 verified investments (out of 200+ claimed), the following patterns emerge:

Sector breakdown: - On-demand/marketplace: 10 of 30 (33%) — Uber, Postmates, TaskRabbit, Getaround, Cherry, Hired, Wag Walking, Doctor on Demand, Shyp, Fair - Consumer brands/DTC: 6 of 30 (20%) — Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, Casper, Stance, Dirty Lemon, Ipsy - Fintech: 3 of 30 (10%) — Robinhood, Betterment, AngelList - Social/media: 3 of 30 (10%) — Tumblr, Socialcam, Replika - Enterprise/SaaS: 3 of 30 (10%) — Slack, OpenGov, Quip - Deep tech/frontier: 3 of 30 (10%) — SpaceX, Hyperloop One, Helion Energy - Other: 2 of 30 (7%) — Machine Zone, Rent the Runway

Stage distribution: Broad range from seed to growth. Angel investments (seed stage) represent the majority of deal count, but Pishevar has also made large growth-stage bets — notably Uber Series B ($26M through Menlo) and Helion Energy Series E ($375M personal check) ²³.

Geographic focus: Primarily San Francisco Bay Area, with some investments in New York-based companies (Warby Parker, Rent the Runway).

Founder patterns: Pishevar has publicly claimed to back “transformative founders” including Travis Kalanick (Uber), Brian Chesky (Airbnb), Elon Musk (SpaceX), and Vlad Tenev (Robinhood) ². He has described mentoring young entrepreneurs, including hiring Anthony Casalena (later Squarespace founder) at age 15 ².

Co-investor patterns: Frequently co-invested with other super-angels and early-stage VCs in the 2010-2017 era. Through Menlo Ventures, co-invested in deals alongside Benchmark, Sequoia, and other top-tier firms.

Notable gaps: Despite claiming to be contrarian, the portfolio is heavily weighted toward the 2012-2017 on-demand economy wave — a consensus trade at the time. Several portfolio companies in this category (Munchery, Shyp, Beepi, Brandless) shut down, suggesting less selectivity in this segment.

Note: Only 30 of 200+ claimed investments could be independently verified with sources. The inferred thesis may not be representative of the full portfolio.

Portfolio

Note: Many investment years are approximate (marked ~), inferred from company founding dates and known fundraising timelines. Only 30 of 200+ claimed investments are listed here.

In Their Own Words

On his investment philosophy: “If you’re going to invest in something, you have to love the product, the founders, the team, the company, the market” and “if you don’t love any one of those things, most likely, it’s not going to be a great investment” ⁷.

On founder support: “When founders and teams feel like they are supported and loved, guess what happens? They thrive. They work through their mistakes. They learn, they grow. Because they feel like they can take the risk to be vulnerable” ⁷.

On his contrarian approach: Pishevar has stated he is “more curious and gets more excited about ideas that are being overlooked” while “most investors and founders are distracted by buzzwords and shiny objects” ⁶.

On his commitment: “It’s not about having the willpower to go through it. It’s about the love” ⁷.

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials found. Pishevar’s own website and speaker bios describe his relationships with founders like Travis Kalanick, Brian Chesky, and Vlad Tenev, but these are self-reported characterizations rather than direct founder statements.

Sources