Shervin Pishevar

And she was a great mentor. And then I was selling SGN and she told me, Shervin, you should go on a venture. You'll be disruptive. And I was like, I just didn't think I had a seat at the table. But she sent an email to like five top VCs the next day without telling me.

And she was a great mentor. And then I was selling SGN and she told me, Shervin, you should go on a venture. You'll be disruptive. And I was like, I just didn't think I had a seat at the table. But she sent an email to like five top VCs the next day without telling me.

I haven't seen the email, but I heard it's really great because I started getting recruited and I had an offer from Kleiner Perkins and an offer from Menlo. And I ended up going with Menlo. That really was the beginning of my venture career. I had been an angel investor before that and been, you know, Invested in Facebook and other companies. But when I started at Menlo, I hit the ground running.

I haven't seen the email, but I heard it's really great because I started getting recruited and I had an offer from Kleiner Perkins and an offer from Menlo. And I ended up going with Menlo. That really was the beginning of my venture career. I had been an angel investor before that and been, you know, Invested in Facebook and other companies. But when I started at Menlo, I hit the ground running.

I haven't seen the email, but I heard it's really great because I started getting recruited and I had an offer from Kleiner Perkins and an offer from Menlo. And I ended up going with Menlo. That really was the beginning of my venture career. I had been an angel investor before that and been, you know, Invested in Facebook and other companies. But when I started at Menlo, I hit the ground running.

And in my first 90 days, I closed Uber, Warby Parker, Tumblr, and Machine Zone. It was a really fast start. On the whiteboard, I had a list of companies at the time. This is 2011, June 2011, when I started at Menlo. And Uber was the top of the list. Airbnb was on the list. Square was on the list.

And in my first 90 days, I closed Uber, Warby Parker, Tumblr, and Machine Zone. It was a really fast start. On the whiteboard, I had a list of companies at the time. This is 2011, June 2011, when I started at Menlo. And Uber was the top of the list. Airbnb was on the list. Square was on the list.

And in my first 90 days, I closed Uber, Warby Parker, Tumblr, and Machine Zone. It was a really fast start. On the whiteboard, I had a list of companies at the time. This is 2011, June 2011, when I started at Menlo. And Uber was the top of the list. Airbnb was on the list. Square was on the list.

And this was a particularly amazing time in Silicon Valley because these companies were just starting out. No one had heard of them. And so I was in lowercase as a seed investor and Naval Ravikant had introduced me to Travis over email. I went and used Uber for the first time. And this is when it was like hundreds of cars in San Francisco and him and Garrett Camp had started the company.

And this was a particularly amazing time in Silicon Valley because these companies were just starting out. No one had heard of them. And so I was in lowercase as a seed investor and Naval Ravikant had introduced me to Travis over email. I went and used Uber for the first time. And this is when it was like hundreds of cars in San Francisco and him and Garrett Camp had started the company.

And this was a particularly amazing time in Silicon Valley because these companies were just starting out. No one had heard of them. And so I was in lowercase as a seed investor and Naval Ravikant had introduced me to Travis over email. I went and used Uber for the first time. And this is when it was like hundreds of cars in San Francisco and him and Garrett Camp had started the company.

And then as a former son of a taxi driver in D.C., I knew a little bit about the taxi market. So full circle that actually helped me win the deal. And I chased Travis and even before Menlo for a year, I was trying to meet him and he was difficult to get to. And so I asked Matt Kohler, who was a longtime friend. And so Matt promised to say something to him, but you know, I waited for that.

And then as a former son of a taxi driver in D.C., I knew a little bit about the taxi market. So full circle that actually helped me win the deal. And I chased Travis and even before Menlo for a year, I was trying to meet him and he was difficult to get to. And so I asked Matt Kohler, who was a longtime friend. And so Matt promised to say something to him, but you know, I waited for that.

And then as a former son of a taxi driver in D.C., I knew a little bit about the taxi market. So full circle that actually helped me win the deal. And I chased Travis and even before Menlo for a year, I was trying to meet him and he was difficult to get to. And so I asked Matt Kohler, who was a longtime friend. And so Matt promised to say something to him, but you know, I waited for that.

But meanwhile, I decided, you know what? And this goes to one of my mantras, which is, you know, the answer is always no until you ask. And so I basically bombarded Travis with references. So I had like Drew Houston, who was a dear friend, Sheryl Sandberg, Julius Januszowski, all telling him you need to meet with Shervin.

But meanwhile, I decided, you know what? And this goes to one of my mantras, which is, you know, the answer is always no until you ask. And so I basically bombarded Travis with references. So I had like Drew Houston, who was a dear friend, Sheryl Sandberg, Julius Januszowski, all telling him you need to meet with Shervin.

But meanwhile, I decided, you know what? And this goes to one of my mantras, which is, you know, the answer is always no until you ask. And so I basically bombarded Travis with references. So I had like Drew Houston, who was a dear friend, Sheryl Sandberg, Julius Januszowski, all telling him you need to meet with Shervin.

And finally, Travis said, you know, he's publicly said this, that he met with me because he had no choice. He had so many people. Telling him you need to meet him. So Matt called me in August of 2011, six months after Benchmark did their Series A with Uber. And he said, hey, we just had our board meeting. We're going to raise the Series B. Can you meet with Travis tomorrow?

And finally, Travis said, you know, he's publicly said this, that he met with me because he had no choice. He had so many people. Telling him you need to meet him. So Matt called me in August of 2011, six months after Benchmark did their Series A with Uber. And he said, hey, we just had our board meeting. We're going to raise the Series B. Can you meet with Travis tomorrow?

And finally, Travis said, you know, he's publicly said this, that he met with me because he had no choice. He had so many people. Telling him you need to meet him. So Matt called me in August of 2011, six months after Benchmark did their Series A with Uber. And he said, hey, we just had our board meeting. We're going to raise the Series B. Can you meet with Travis tomorrow?