# Insights from a Founder Turned Investor

### An interview with Gautam Gupta, an early stage investor with an operator mindset.

Prior to [M13](http://www.m13.co/), Gautam was the founder/CEO of [NatureBox](http://www.naturebox.com/), a digitally native brand of snacks. He started the company because of his passion for nutrition. Earlier in life, learning about nutrition helped him lose 70 lbs in 6 months. While he was lucky to lose the weight, he believes the next generation of food has to be about change. The company has attracted millions of customers and has over 40% brand awareness across the country. They achieved a lot but had their fair share of bumps. This experience gave him many hard-earned lessons in management, scaling, raising capital, and dealing with “shit-hit-the-fan” moments.

Gautam started his career as an early stage investor at [General Catalyst](https://www.generalcatalyst.com/portfolio/naturebox/). He had the great fortune to join the firm when he was 18 years old and spent the first 8 years of his career as part of the team that scaled it from a small firm to one with a global reach. He helped open the west coast office.

As a professional and angel investor, Gautam has funded 25+ companies. This portfolio generates over $1.5B in annual sales and includes BigCommerce, GoodData, Honest Company, Grammarly, Imperfect Produce, Pilot, The Pill Club, Heap Analytics, Split.io, among others.

Outside of work, Gautam is passionate about enabling the next generation of entrepreneurs through education. He sits on the Board of Overseers at [Babson College](https://www.babson.edu/about/entrepreneurs-of-all-kinds/profiles/gautam-gupta.php), his alma mater who is consistently ranked #1 in entrepreneurship, and he co-created a class at [Santa Clara University](https://www.scu.edu/business/retail-management-institute/) on emerging retail models. Get in touch with him [here](http://www.gautamg.com/).

## Show Notes:

- [M13](https://m13.co/)
- [Naturebox](https://naturebox.com/)
- [GautamGupta (Linkedin)](https://www.linkedin.com/in/gautamgup)
- [Shoe Dog Phil Knight](https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Phil-Knight/dp/1508211809)

Insights from a Founder Turned Investor > The Future of Supply Chain Podcast

### [The Future of Supply Chain Podcast](https://fuseinventory.podbean.com/ "Podcast title:The Future of Supply Chain Podcast")

## [Insights from a Founder Turned Investor](https://fuseinventory.podbean.com/e/insights-from-a-founder-turned-investor/ "Episode title: Insights from a Founder Turned Investor")

[Download](https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/download/sxwrw6/Insights_from_a_Founder_Turned_Investor8oh4n.mp3 "Download")

In this episode, we speak with Gautam Gupta, an early stage investor and the former Founder and CEO of Naturebox. Gautam is currently a Partner at M13 where he focuses on early stage investments in companies fueled by changes in consumer behavior. Two decades of experience gave Gautam many hard-earned lessons in management, scaling, and raising capital. In this episode we’ll chat with Gautam about what he's learned over the years and what advice he has for growing a business.