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Pia Desai

Pia Desai

Executive Director atSamvid VenturesNew York
Full bioFirm profile

Pia Desai is Executive Director at Samvid Ventures since 2019 and a Director at DS Advisors. She previously worked at McKinsey & Company, Microsoft, and The Honest Company, and holds degrees from Harvard.

What Pia can write

Writes checks of$100K to $500K
Comes in atPre-seed, SeedMostly follows a lead
Ownership target< 5%At first check
Best routeA warm introAsk a founder in their portfolio.

Samvid Ventures writes $100K to $500K checks, larger than 5% of firms in the atlas.

Bars: how many firms report each check band. Highlighted: Samvid Ventures.

Career

  1. McKinsey & Company
  2. Microsoft
  3. The Honest Company
  4. DS Advisors · Director
  5. Samvid Ventures · Executive Director
    Now
  6. McKinsey · consultant

Focus

educationhealth and wellnesseconomic mobility

Education

Harvard College, B.A. in EconomicsHarvard Business School, MBAHarvard, MBA

Also at Samvid Ventures

Gemma Lenowitz Picot
Gemma Lenowitz PicotProgram Director of Social Enterprise

Partners like Pia

At firms with a similar stage, sector and check size.

Brad Corona
Brad CoronaManaging Director, Vertical Venture Partners
Petra Stuhmeier GriffithManaging Director, Wedbush Ventures
Jacob RabinowitzManaging Director, Stand Together Ventures Lab
Clara BrennerManaging Partner, Urban Innovation Fund
Adriel Bercow
Adriel BercowGeneral Partner, Actions Capital
Blair Garrou
Blair GarrouManaging Partner, Mercury Fund

Alert me when Samvid Ventures is active

One email when Pia's firm raises a fund, adds a partner or shows new activity.

Founders and investors at a Mode VC gathering

Send Mode VC your deck

Raising a pre-seed or seed round? We write $1M to $5M first checks and help founders with distribution. A partner reads every deck.

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Questions

Who is Pia Desai?

Pia Desai is Executive Director at Samvid Ventures since 2019 and a Director at DS Advisors. She previously worked at McKinsey & Company, Microsoft, and The Honest Company, and holds degrees from Harvard.

How much does Pia Desai invest?

Pia Desai invests through Samvid Ventures, which writes checks of $100K to $500K at pre-seed, seed.

How do I pitch Pia Desai?

A warm intro from a founder Samvid Ventures backed works best.

What did Pia Desai do before Samvid Ventures?

McKinsey & Company; Microsoft; The Honest Company; Director at DS Advisors; consultant at McKinsey.

Last updated 2026-10-15. Is this you? Ask for a correction.