Gokul Rajaram

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). I’m proud to be an early investor in many exceptional companies, including Alation, Airtable, BetterUp, Cockroach Labs, Coda, Cohesity, CloudWalk, CRED, Curefit, Deel, Digital Ocean, Faire, FanDuel, Figma, Ironclad, Learneo, Pigment, Pipedrive, Printify, Poshmark, Postman, Quotient Technology, Rocket Money (fka Truebill), Rubrik, Shape Security, Taboola, Vercel and Vungle.

Email is the best way to reach me: gokulr at gmail dot com.

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.

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.
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.
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.

Example Problems I've helped Founders tackle

How do we navigate simultaneous investments from multiple strategics? (AI)
How can we make our app more engaging to drive daily utility? (Fintech)
My CTO quit. What should I do? (Vertical AI)
How should we revamp our sales commission structure? (Developer infrastructure)
How do we streamline customer onboarding to improve conversion rate? (SaaS)
How might we think about lowering our price to grow market share? (Vertical AI)
How could we revamp our company's goals to make them more actionable? (SaaS)

Founder Feedback

"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."

Max Rhodes, co-founder and CEO, Faire

"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."

Manish Chandra, co-founder and CEO, Poshmark

"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."

Yahya Mokhtarzada, co-founder and CRO, Rocket Money

Writing

I share my learnings on X and LinkedIn, and have authored long-form articles on Medium. Here's a curated selection of my writing, organized by topic:

Product Development

Self-serve first
Hiring your first Product Manager

The toughest product to build

The power of a small seasoned team

VP Eng as Recruiter

Culture

Titles

Building a performance oriented culture

Break rules, not laws