RALLY | Pegah Ebrahimi on Finding Her Voice

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Spotlight | Pegah Ebrahimi

We are honored to spotlight Pegah Ebrahimi, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of FPV Ventures. A former COO at Cisco and Morgan Stanley, and an advisor/ investor to Canva and Snyk, with over 10-years of experience in the C-Suite, Pegah brings her experience as an accomplished GTM leader and entrepreneur to her leadership at FPV Ventures. FPV is an early stage fund that backs and serves mission-driven founders, and the team recently closed their second fund with $525M to invest. Pegah also was appointed to the Board of Directors at the Enovix Corporation (Nasdaq: ENVX, ENVXW) in 2021.

Let’s dive in together:

How does your diverse background and culture influence the way you invest?

I was born during the Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq war. My earliest memories are shaped by upheaval. Watching my parents leave behind everything they knew to start over in a country where we didn’t speak the language or understand the culture.

We arrived in America with nothing. My parents were in their forties, learning English from scratch while figuring out how to rebuild our lives. I was thrown into school and had to catch up fast. That experience shaped everything. It gave me perspective. I learned that you can survive hard things. You can start over. You can solve problems.

That mindset became my north star. It made me adaptable. It made me comfortable with risk. And it’s why I’m drawn to founders who are the same - resilient, resourceful, unafraid to go against the grain and rebuild from first principles.

Starting a venture fund during a global pandemic and economic downturn would probably feel risky to most people but it was natural for me. I’d seen harder things up close. And growing up without a safety net made me want to be one for others. Today, I use that lens every time I meet a founder. It’s that gut-level instinct. Knowing what it feels like to start with nothing, to be underestimated, to fight your way forward.

That’s the kind of energy I back: people rewriting the rules, even when the odds are stacked against them.

What types of startups do you typically invest in, and what do you look for in a potential investment? How do you determine whether a startup is a good fit for your portfolio?

We invest in founders who have a unique insight, at the right moment, and the unshakable conviction to see it through.

Take Canva. Mel and Cliff weren’t just building another design tool; they were former educators who lived the frustration of trying to teach complicated design software. That perspective gave them a deceptively simple insight: design should be accessible to everyone. Most investors missed it. But because they were so close to the problem and so focused on the user they executed a go-to-market strategy that scaled in a way few others could.

We also gravitate toward founders who are creating entirely new categories, not just joining the latest trend parade. AI is a great example. Everyone’s suddenly “AI-powered,” but sticking a buzzword on a product doesn’t make it transformative. We care about what’s real: the technology edge, the wedge into a real problem, and whether the team has a roadmap that compounds over time. Our job is to tune out the noise and find the signal.

What inspired you to become a venture capitalist, and what motivates you to keep working in this field?

I got into venture by accident.

I’ve always loved operating, especially on the go-to-market side of building. That’s where I felt I could really move the needle. When I stepped away from operating to take a break during the pandemic, I found myself spending time with founders. What started as casual advice quickly evolved into something more profound. I realized how much I loved working with early-stage teams and more importantly, how much my network could help them.

It wasn’t just relevant to one company or category. My years of experience as CIO and COO, particularly at Morgan Stanley and Cisco, gave me access to a wide, high-leverage network that could unlock doors for lots of different founders.

Now, I get to support builders as they chase their wildest dreams. Sometimes it’s helping them craft their first GTM motion, other times it’s navigating messy inflection points. Being part of that journey and playing even a small role in helping something meaningful come to life is what keeps me in it.

What advice do you have for founders who are raising?

Don’t raise based on what you think investors want to hear.

The best founders I’ve backed weren’t chasing a trend or pitching a perfectly polished narrative. They were obsessed with the problem they were solving and were able to articulate a new version of the future with their product’s impact. That obsession and vision came through in every conversation. They had conviction, not just charisma.

My advice? Be real about what you’re building and why you care about it. Even if it’s messy. Even if it’s weird. Even if you’re not sure people will get it right away. The right investors will lean in. Not because you said all the right things, but because they can feel your clarity and drive. Fundraising is not a performance. It’s about finding people who see the world the way you do and want to help you build it.

What’s one habit you’d recommend a founder to adopt?

One habit I always recommend: protect your solo think time.

As a founder, you’re constantly in motion. Hiring, shipping, fundraising, reacting. It’s easy to confuse momentum with clarity. But real strategic insight? That comes when you take a step back.

I tell founders to block at least one day a month - no meetings, no group brainstorming, no Slack, no “quick syncs.” Just you, a notebook (or a whiteboard), and space to think. Focused time to revisit the big questions: Are we building the right thing? What’s the next compounding move? What do I know now that I didn’t three months ago?

The best founders aren’t just great at execution. They carve out time to zoom out. It’s a muscle you need to build and it pays off.

What advice would you give to aspiring VCs who are looking to break into the industry, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds?

Don’t worry if you’re the underdog. Just keep doing excellent work and surround yourself with people who can help you navigate the inevitable obstacles.

When I look back, I almost always worked for people who didn’t look like me. And for a long time, I censored myself without even realizing it, trying to fit in and avoid standing out too much. But the moment I worked for someone who did understand my lived experience, something shifted. I found my voice. I stopped second-guessing. I stepped into my power.

So my advice is this: build a personal board of directors. These are people who know your work, your judgment, your values, and will advocate for you even when you’re not in the room. Not mentors you catch up with once a year, but real allies who challenge you, vouch for you, and remind you who you are when you forget.

Breaking into VC isn’t easy, especially if your path looks different from the traditional one. But being different is an advantage. In this business, your edge is your perspective. So keep sharpening it, and find the people who see it too.

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