Underrepresented founders, apply for Include office hours with Pejman Mar and ffVC

TechCrunch Include Office Hours are happening on June 16th and startups have 48 hours left to apply! Pejman Nozad, Mar Hershenson, Ajay Kamat and Neda Blocho from Pejman Mar Ventures, along with Adam Plotkin from ffVC, will join TechCrunch to provide valuable advice and feedback to startups.

Launched in 2014, Include is TechCrunch’s diversity program, aimed at facilitating opportunities for underrepresented groups in tech to take their startups to the next level.

The Office Hours program is part of that effort. Once monthly, TechCrunch works with VC partners to provide mentorship to early-stage companies. To be considered for a meeting in our June session with Pejman Mar in San Francisco or ffVC in New York City, fill out the application here by Friday, June 10th at 9am PT.

Underrepresented groups in tech include, but are not limited to, Black, Latino, Native American, LGBT and female founders. Preference will be given to teams that can meet in person. Startups should at least be at the prototype stage.

Let’s learn more about our co-hosts.

Adam Plotkin, Partner ffVC

Adam Plotkin is a partner at ff Venture Capital. In this capacity he provides targeted strategic counsel to a range of ffVC investments, with a focus on technological innovation in logistics and manufacturing, insurance, e-commerce, financial services and media. Adam has experience serving on the boards of CardFlight, Drop Loyalty, Four Mine and Sure, to name a few. Prior to ffVC, Adam spent several years in business development, advisory and operational roles with several startups in New York and Los Angeles.

Pejman Nozad, Managing Partner Pejman Mar

Pejman Nozad is a co-founder and a managing partner of Pejman Mar Ventures. Pejman has been named by Forbes as “one of the most successful angel investors,” with over 15 years of experience investing in early-stage high-tech startups. He’s invested in over 100 startups and has seeded several multi-billion dollar companies, such as Dropbox, Lending Club, SoundHound and Gusto (formally Zenpayroll). He is also an investor in industry defying emerging startups, such as Doordash, Guardant Health and Branchmetrics. Pejman was a 2014 Ellis Island Medal of Honor Award recipient, given by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO), an award that pays homage to the immigrant experience and the contribution made to America by immigrants.

Mar Hershenson, Managing Partner Pejman Mar
Mar Hershenson has over 13 years of founder experience, having co-founded three startups in the mobile, e-commerce, enterprise software and semiconductor industries. Mar’s deep technical expertise led her to becoming an Assistant Professor in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University for almost nine years. Mar holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University with a combined hardware/software focus. Mar is currently the co-founder and a managing partner at Pejman Mar Ventures.

Ajay Kamat, Partner Pejman Mar

Ajay is a partner at Pejman Mar ventures, focusing on pre-seed and seed-stage investments. He currently sits on the boards of their portfolio companies Skyfit and Instaread. Prior to this role he was the founder and CEO of Wedding Party (another PMV portfolio company) where he raised capital, built a team and ultimately sold the company.

Neda Blocho, Partner Pejman Mar

Neda’s passion for education led her to the Stanford entrepreneurship ecosystem, where she helped develop programs and resources for student and alumni entrepreneurs working to build impactful companies. Neda is currently a partner at Pejman Mar Ventures, where she strives to partner with incredible founders to help them disrupt their industries using technology. Neda also serves on the Board of Directors for the Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students (BASES). Neda has her MBA from Notre Dame De Namur University, with a concentration in Finance.

If you’re interested in attending Office Hours with Pejman Mar or ffVC, apply here by Friday June 10th.