EARLY-STAGE INVESTOR & PRODUCT OPERATOR — SAN FRANCISCO
I invest in early-stage founders and help them build enduring companies.
01 / TRACK RECORD
Seven generational companies.
I invest in early-stage technology startups and partner with founders to help them build enduring companies. As a product leader, operator and board member, I’ve helped build seven generational technology companies (Alphabet, Block, Coinbase, DoorDash, Meta, Pinterest, and The Trade Desk).
Google (Alphabet)
Facebook (Meta)
Square (Block)
DoorDash
Coinbase
The Trade Desk
02 / PORTFOLIO
Selected investments.
Early investor in more than 300 technology companies, including:
03 / HOW I WORK
How I work.
I aim to be a founder’s most helpful and trusted partner on the things that matter: product, growth, people, culture, and capital. I do this in three interlocking ways, which together ensure that I’m here for you through the highs and lows, from the start.
01
Problem solving
Through 1:1 meetings every few weeks, we jointly dissect and tackle your toughest challenges, from product trade-offs to pricing strategy to performance reviews, and figure out solutions that work for your company, your context.
02
On-demand counsel
We stay in constant touch via WhatsApp / SMS. I’m always ready to jump on a call and tackle emergent situations such as a critical partner negotiation stalling or a top engineer giving notice.
03
Operator access
I help you tap into my network of world-class executives, from Product, Engineering, and Marketing to Sales, Finance, and Operations, to enlist them as customers or partners, or for informal advice, consulting, or full-time roles.
04 / EXAMPLE PROBLEMS
The problems founders bring me.
“How do we navigate simultaneous investments from multiple strategics?”
“How can we make our app more engaging to drive daily utility?”
“My CTO quit. What should I do?”
“How should we revamp our sales commission structure?”
“How do we streamline customer onboarding to improve conversion rate?”
“How might we think about lowering our price to grow market share?”
“How could we revamp our company’s goals to make them more actionable?”
05 / WRITING
Essays and threads for founders — on product, hiring, pricing, strategy, and everything in between. Browse by the problem you’re facing.
06 / FOUNDER FEEDBACK
What founders say.
“I’ve learned a ton from Gokul, both when I was working for him at Square and as an advisor to me at Faire. He’s an expert in the craft of building products and product strategy. A lot of what we’ve done at Faire was based on what I learnt from Gokul, from how to use OKRs to set goals to how to organize our teams as we’ve scaled.”
“Gokul works like a true partner, rolling up his sleeves and working side by side to help. He has the unique insights from being both an operator and an investor, which allows us to look at an issue both from an execution and a strategy perspective. His deep empathy for the startup journey makes him one of the most valuable partners as you scale your company.”
“Gokul was our default go-to resource as we worked through questions around fundraising and business strategy. His ability to view situations both as an operator and as an investor means he’s able to give practical guidance that yields tangible value. Simply put, if you have the opportunity to get him involved, do it.”
07 / CONNECT
If you’re building something enduring, say hello.
Email is the best way to reach me.
Founding Partner at Marathon Management Partners ↗. Also building usecoach.ai ↗ and usetranscribe.io ↗.