Keith Bender

Partner

Hidden between the VC-jargon bingo-board acronyms of MVP and PMF, there is a point of minimum indispensability – where you’ve built something that has become essential to someone, somewhere, and they are soon going to tell anyone and everyone about it.

Keith is a Partner at Pear. Previously, Keith was an early-stage investor at Bessemer Venture Partners and a consultant at BCG, where he advised consumer and energy companies on growth, strategy, and M&A.

At Pear, Keith focuses on vertical software, marketplace, and platform business models across industries, including enterprise, fintech, and consumer-facing sectors. He also leads Pear’s investments in Latin America across all industries.

Keith is originally from Arizona and is based in Palo Alto. He holds a BA in English from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

What is your most used emoji?

🌵

What’s your favorite book?

Two perennial fiction favorites: This Side of Paradise and East of Eden. And in non-fiction, I could endlessly re-read A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again.

What career path did you want to pursue when you were a kid?

I wanted to be Billy Beane: the pioneering, contrarian, analytics-obsessed Moneyball-famous general manager of the Oakland A’s – but of course, I wanted to be GM for my hometown Arizona Diamondbacks. I also simultaneously wanted to be the lead sportswriter covering the team.

What are your favorite sports teams?

Any pro team in Arizona.

What are your hobbies outside of work?

Keeping close with family and friends matters most to me, and even better if it’s while traveling, backpacking in the wilderness of the Western US, skiing, or seeing as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as my schedule allows.