Matt Birnbaum

Matt Birnbaum is an experienced Talent Partner at Pear VC, focusing on early-stage talent strategy. He collaborates closely with founders to help them secure critical early hires and overcome complex recruiting challenges, leveraging his extensive background in scaling high-growth tech companies. pear+1

Prior to Pear VC, Matt was instrumental in significant scaling efforts at Instacart, growing the company's workforce from 300 to 3,000 employees as Head of Talent Acquisition. He also built and led recruiting at Wildfire Interactive, expanding the team from 15 to 400 before its acquisition by Google. pear+2

Matt's entrepreneurial spirit is evident in his ownership of UpStart Talent, a boutique recruiting consultancy where he advised and partnered with numerous fast-growing startups, including notable names like Stripe, Thumbtack, Plaid, and Asana. pear+2

A Bay Area native, Matt holds dual degrees in Economics and Japanese from Gettysburg College. He lives in San Francisco with his family, reflecting his local ties and personal life beyond his professional achievements. pear+3