Zach Perret
InvestorUnicorn founderManaging Director at Mischief · Co-founder & CEO at Plaid
San Francisco, CA
Writes $100K – $10M checks · typically $1M
FoundedPlaid$13.4B
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.
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 Zach's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Co-founder & CEO at Plaid
Intro paths
In turn, Zach can intro founders to Plaid's investors below.
Plaid's investors · 32
Co-founders at Plaid
Experience
Education
- Duke UniversityBS, Chemistry, Biology
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Zach PerretColleagues at Mischief
Network2
Investors connected to Zach in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Where does Zach Perret work?
- Zach Perret is Managing Director at Mischief 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.
Paths to reach Zach
People who overlapped with Zach at the same organization — a shared school or employer with one of them is a warm way in.
Together at PlaidZach: Co-founder & CEO
Founder mafias
Duke University mafia126
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 119 more
Plaid mafia10
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 3 more
Same school
Also attended Duke University500
+ 494 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Bain718
+ 712 more