Consumer VC Gautam Gupta (M13) - The Thin Line Between Success and Failure, Board Construction, and Why He Offers Learnings, Not Advice
Gautam Gupta is a Partner at M13 and founded and previously was the CEO of Naturebox.
M13 is a venture fund headquartered in Los Angeles that has invested in some of the most innovative consumer companies like Pinterst, SnapChat, Lyft, Bird, and Ring.
Naturebox, a subscription online delivery service that home-delivers all-natural snack foods. Before that, he started his career as an early stage investor at General Catalyst when he was just 18.
If you would like to keep up to date on Gautam, you can follow him @gramblings.To follow along behind the scenes of the show, you can follow @mikegelb and @consumervc.
A book that inspired Gautam professionally is The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success by William N. Thorndike. A book that inspired Gautam personally is Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight.
In this episode you will learn -
- When did he know that he wanted to be an entrepreneur? What got him into Venture Capital? What made you want to leave venture capital to found NatureBox?
- I think you’re the first guest I’ve had on this show that started his or her career in VC, then became a founder/CEO then came back to VC. The learnings and takeaways when he founded his own company that impacted him as an investor? Why he decided to join M13? What’s his advice for founders that live in secondary and tertiary markets that are outside LA, SF and NYC? How should founders think about board construction for their companies? What are changes in consumer behavior that he is focused on? What’s one thing he would change when it came to venture capital?
- What is his most recent investment and what makes him excited about it? One company that he had the opportunity to invest in, didn’t and in retrospect wish he did?
- What is one learning that was impactful and could be helpful for founders of venture backable B2C consumer companies?