Zach Perret
InvestorUnicorn founderCo-founder & CEO at Plaid · Managing Director at Mischief
San Francisco, CA
Writes $100K – $10M checks · typically $1M
FoundedPlaid$13.4B
30 Under 30 2022 · Hall of Fame30 Under 30 2015 · Enterprise Technology
Find your path to Zach
86 people in our graph share verified history with Zach — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Sundeep PeechuunlockedZach: together at Plaid (2013–2026)
×9Zach: together at Plaid
×2Zach: together at Bain
About
Zach Perret co-founded Plaid in 2013 and built the network that connects fintech apps to bank accounts — used by roughly half of US consumers, at about $546 million of ARR growing 40% a year. He kept the company independent after the Justice Department blocked Visa's $5.3 billion acquisition in 2021, absorbed a 54% valuation reset to $6.1 billion in 2025, and brought it back to an $8 billion tender-offer mark in February 2026 with a US IPO now under discussion. A Duke science major who served on its board of trustees as an undergraduate, he met co-founder William Hockey at Bain's Atlanta office; their bank-connectivity hack won TechCrunch Disrupt in 2013 and became the company. He also co-founded the seed fund Mischief.
Likely email· guessed from name + firm domain, not firm-published
- z•••@mischief.xyzreveal75% confident
Invests in
AI & Machine LearningCrypto & Web3FintechHealthtechSaaS
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Met co-founder William Hockey as a junior consultant at Bain's Atlanta office; their first idea was a consumer financial-planning app they couldn't connect to any bank. Won the 2013 TechCrunch Disrupt hackathon with Rambler, an app mapping consumers' banking activity — the connectivity layer beneath it became Plaid. Co-founded the seed fund Mischief with Lauren Farleigh in 2021 — and publicly argues that angel investing is bad for founders to do.
- Education
- Served on Duke University's board of trustees and was president of the Duke Student Union as an undergraduate, working as a research fellow on optical microscopy for cancer-cell ablation. Studied at Duke
- Awards
- Forbes 30 Under 30 in Enterprise Technology (2015), later named to its Hall of Fame; Fortune 40 Under 40 in Finance (2020).
- Hobbies
- Perret enjoys outdoor activities including surfing, cycling, and running. Perret spends time learning through reading, podcasts, lectures, and dinner conversations.
- Family
- Perret describes himself as a husband, dad, uncle, and friend.
- More
- Visa agreed to buy Plaid for $5.3B in January 2020; the Justice Department sued to block it in November 2020, and the deal was abandoned in January 2021.
Mentioned above: the Duke University mafia → · the Plaid mafia →
From published sources — common ground for a warm intro.
Co-founder & CEO at Plaid
Intro paths
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In turn, Zach can intro founders to Plaid's investors below.
Plaid's investors · 32
Acrew CapitalSan Francisco · $1M – $15M checks · since 2016Ambush CapitalNew York · since 2016Andreessen HorowitzMenlo Park · $500K – $50M checks · since 2016Base10 PartnersSan Francisco · $100K – $5M checks · since 2016BlackRockWilmington · since 2025BoxGroupNew York · $1M checks · since 2016ChemistrySan Francisco · since 2016Coatue ManagementNew York · $1M – $20M checks · since 2016EQUIAMSan Francisco · $1M – $10M checks · since 2016Felicis VenturesSan Francisco · $500K – $15M checks · since 2016Franklin TempletonSan Mateo · since 2025GV (Google Ventures)Mountain View · $250K – $50M checks · since 2016HDS CapitalNew York City · since 2016HomebrewBurlingame · $100K – $500K checks · since 2016Index VenturesSan Francisco · $540K – $10.8M checks · since 2016Kleiner PerkinsMenlo Park · $500K – $15M checks · since 2016Launchpad CapitalOakland · since 2016Manhattan Venture PartnersNew York · since 2016Manhattan WestLos Angeles · since 2016New Enterprise Associates (NEA)Menlo Park · $200K – $40M checks · since 2016NewView CapitalBurlingame · since 2016Norwest Venture PartnersMenlo Park · $10M – $30M checks · since 2016Omega Venture PartnersSilicon Valley · since 2016Pathlight VenturesOld Bridge · $500K – $5M checks · since 2016PruVen Capital PartnersLos Altos · $100K – $10M checks · since 2016Ribbit CapitalPalo Alto · $100K – $15M checks · since 2025RPS VenturesLos Altos · $5M – $20M checks · since 2016Runa CapitalSofia · $500K – $5M checks · since 2016Silver Lake PartnersMenlo Park · since 2016Spark CapitalSan Francisco · $500K – $25M checks · since 2016The Players' Impactsince 2016Type One VenturesLos Angeles · $100K – $5M checks · since 2016
Co-founders at Plaid
WH
William HockeyCo-founder & CTO
Experience
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Zach PerretColleagues at Plaid
Network2
Brian Balfour
Growth Leader, Entrepreneur, & Angel Investor
Gokul Rajaram
DoorDash, Coinbase, Square at Good AI Capital
Investors connected to Zach in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Zach Perret?
- Zach Perret co-founded Plaid in 2013 and built the network that connects fintech apps to bank accounts — used by roughly half of US consumers, at about $546 million of ARR growing 40% a year. He kept the company independent after the Justice Department blocked Visa's $5.3 billion acquisition in 2021, absorbed a 54% valuation reset to $6.1 billion in 2025, and brought it back to an $8 billion tender-offer mark in February 2026 with a US IPO now under discussion. A Duke science major who served on its board of trustees as an undergraduate, he met co-founder William Hockey at Bain's Atlanta office; their bank-connectivity hack won TechCrunch Disrupt in 2013 and became the company. He also co-founded the seed fund Mischief.
- Where does Zach Perret work?
- Zach Perret is Co-founder & CEO of Plaid and Co-Founder & CEO at Plaid.
- What does Zach Perret invest in?
- Zach Perret invests in AI & Machine Learning, Crypto & Web3, Fintech, Healthtech, SaaS.
- What check size does Zach Perret write?
- Zach Perret typically writes checks of $100K – $10M.
- What companies did Zach Perret found?
- Zach Perret founded Plaid.
- Where did Zach Perret go to school?
- Zach Perret studied at Duke University (BS, Chemistry, Biology).
- What awards has Zach Perret received?
- Forbes 30 Under 30 in Enterprise Technology (2015), later named to its Hall of Fame; Fortune 40 Under 40 in Finance (2020).
- What podcasts and interviews feature Zach Perret?
- Tracked appearances include "An Interview with Plaid CEO Zach Perret About Plumbing Trust", "Undoing a $5 Billion Acquisition and Building a Durable Standalone Plaid", "CNBC's full interview with Plaid CEO Zach Perret".
Founder mafias
Duke University mafia287
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Fred EhrsamB.S.Founded Nudge +1David CummingsBSFounded Undaunted +6George ChurchXray Crystallography 5 publications with Sung-Hou KimFounded Editas Medicine +5Ian PeikonBSEFounded Cajalneuro +2Romesh SubramanianM.S.Founded RaNA Therapeutics +2Chloe Marie SongerBachelor of ArtsFounded Thousand Fell +2
+ 280 more
Plaid mafia20
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
William HockeyCo-founder and Board DirectorFounded PlaidJeffrey WangSoftware EngineerFounded Exa Labs +1Marc AndruskoVertical Lead, Personal Financial ManagementFounded OpswareMatt HomerPolicyFounded The Venture DeptAlain MeierHead of Fraud & IdentityFounded CognitoJackson ChenSoftware EngineerFounded Alphawatch AI
+ 13 more
Bain mafia2
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Same school
Also attended Duke University820
Marc AndreessenCo-founder & General Partner at Andreessen HorowitzFred EhrsamCo-founder and Senior Advisor at Paradigm; founder of NudgeJeremy LevinePartner at Bessemer Venture PartnersJulie YangVice President at InvestcorpAyaan PatelInvestor at LightbankScott RaneyManaging Director at Redpoint Ventures
+ 814 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Bain1,094
Steve JurvetsonCo-founder of Future VenturesLaela SturdyManaging Partner at CapitalGTheresia GouwFounding Partner at Acrew CapitalDeepinder GoyalCo-founder & CEO of ZomatoWilliam HockeyCo-founder of Plaid; founder & CEO of ColumnJulie YangVice President at Investcorp
+ 1,088 more