Dave Berkus Joins Peachscore as Chairman of the Advisory Board and Investor
Sarah Attaran
Peachscore
Oct 8, 2026
4 min read
Peachscore is honored to welcome Dave Berkus as Chairman of its Advisory Board and as an investor in the company. One of the country's most active angel investors, he joins the board as Peachscore scales past 2,000 startups across more than 100 countries.
Five Decades of Building and Investing
Since 1993, he has invested in more than 200 early-stage technology companies through Berkus Technology Ventures, Kodiak Ventures, and three ACE funds managed for Tech Coast Angels. He served as Chairman of Tech Coast Angels, now TCA Venture Group, one of the largest angel networks in the United States, where he holds the title of Chairman Emeritus. Over his career, he has served as chairman or board member of more than 40 companies.
Inc. magazine named him a "Super Angel" in 1996. He has since been recognized as Director of the Year for early-stage businesses by the Forum for Corporate Directors of Orange County, Technology Leader of the Year by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and US Early-Stage Venture Capitalist of the Year at the International Fund Awards. He is the author of the Berkonomics series and the creator of the Berkus Method, a framework used internationally to value pre-revenue companies.
From Strategic Advisor to Chairman of the Advisory Board
Berkus joined Peachscore as a Strategic Advisor in June 2025. In the period since, the company has grown from approximately 800 startups across 81 countries to more than 2,000 startups across over 100 countries.
As Chairman of the Advisory Board, he will work with the leadership team on strategy, governance, and the company's next stage of growth. He joins an advisory group that includes David Friedman and Richard Sudek, both Chairmen Emeritus of TCA Venture Group, and Nathan McDonald, CEO of Keiretsu Capital.
What This Means for Founders
Peachscore was built on the premise that roughly 97 percent of founders never gain access to a structured accelerator program. The evaluation standards, investor networks, and operating experience that determine which companies get funded have historically been concentrated within a small number of institutions.
Berkus has spent his career inside those institutions, and much of it making their methods public through the Berkus Method and the Berkonomics series. In his new role, his guidance will inform how Peachscore evaluates companies, how founders are prepared for investor conversations, and how the company expands access to capital across its ecosystem.
Alongside the appointment, Berkus has invested in Peachscore, placing him among the company's shareholders, a group that includes Plug and Play as a major shareholder. The investment follows a year of direct involvement with the leadership team. For founders, the signal is a practical one: an investor who has backed more than 200 early-stage companies has chosen to put his own capital behind the platform rather than behind a single portfolio company.
Looking Ahead
Peachscore's mission is to change the lives of one million founders by 2030. Reaching that scale requires both technology and judgment, and the company welcomes Dave Berkus as an advisor, a leader, and a shareholder in that effort.
Sixteen Books on Building and Funding Companies
Berkus is the author or co-author of 16 books on entrepreneurship, investing, leadership, and business growth. Drawing on decades of experience as an entrepreneur, investor, and board member, his books offer practical insight into starting a company, raising capital, building effective boards, and preparing for a successful exit.
His books include:
The Leader's Toolkit
Basic Berkonomics
Berkonomics
Advanced Berkonomics
Extending the Runway
Get Scrappy, co-authored with Kim Shepherd
Berkonomics Workbook
Starting Up!
Raising Money
Growing Your Business
Positioning for Success
Building Great Boards
Managing Your Workforce
Protecting Your Business
Cashing Out!
Better Than Money!, co-authored with Brian Kelley
Explore Dave's books at berkus.com/books.
About Peachscore
Peachscore is the world's first and largest data-driven startup accelerator, supporting more than 2,000 startups across 100+ countries. Through AI-powered business intelligence and benchmarking, investor readiness tools, more than 500 hours of mentorship through live office hours and 1:1 sessions, strategic partnerships, educational programming, and access to a global network of investors, Peachscore helps founders build stronger, investment-ready companies from ideation through Series A.
For more information, visit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Berkus
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveberkus/?isSelfProfile=false
