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Gokul Rajaram
Profile of Gokul Rajaram
Gokul Rajaram is a prominent figure in product development, currently serving as the General Manager of Caviar at DoorDash. He previously held the position of Product Engineering Lead at Square from 2013 to 2019, where he played a crucial role in leading software development for various products, including Square Register, a comprehensive point-of-sale system designed for businesses.13
Education and Early Career
Rajaram has a strong academic background, holding a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, where he was awarded the President of India's Gold Medal for being the class valedictorian. He also earned a Master of Science in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management.23
Before his tenure at Square, Rajaram was the Product Director of Ads at Facebook, where he was instrumental in transitioning Facebook's advertising business to a mobile-first approach. He also worked at Google as a Product Management Director for AdSense, contributing significantly to its development and growth.237
Contributions and Current Role
At DoorDash, Rajaram leads Caviar, a premium food ordering service, and serves on the boards of several companies, including Pinterest and Coinbase. His expertise in product management and development has made him a sought-after advisor and investor in early-stage technology startups.245
Rajaram is recognized for his strategic insights and collaborative approach to product development, emphasizing the importance of understanding customer needs and fostering innovation within teams.67
Highlights
Saw the following in a startup update today:
"On some days this past month, we spent more on AI tokens than people".
Token Spend divided by Headcount Spend is a (if not THE) leading indicator of an AI-native company.
ANIWELL RECOMMENDATION
Two rounds of injections from the vet couldn't fix the rash on my dog's front foot.
A week of Aniwell did.
I went into this skeptical. The rash had been around for months. We'd done the antihistamines, the steroid shot, the topical creams. The rash on her foot remained stubbornly intact.
We switched her to Aniwell. Within a week, her foot was clear. The rsah hasn't come back since.
The Aniwell food itself is fresh, real, and my dog actually wants to eat it. That part is table stakes for any premium pet food brand. The BIGGEST difference: Aniwell is shelf stable, unlike every other "fresh" food brand (Farmer's Dog, Golden Child, etc) which ship frozen and have to be refrigerated.
Of course the existing brands minimize the negatives of refrigeration. But, IMO, frozen food brands are NOT fresh and in addition, are a massive pain logistically. You need freezer space. You need to thaw on a schedule. Travel becomes a logistics problem: cooler, dry ice, hotel mini-fridge that doesn't get cold enough, paying for last-minute kibble because the frozen brick didn't survive the flight. Aniwell ships shelf stable. Open the pouch, serve it. Travel is a non-issue. House-sitter handoff is a non-issue. The fridge is a non-issue.
Fresh plus shelf stable was the unlock. The category didn't have it. Now it does. Night and day on convenience (and apparently on whatever was driving my dog's foot rash).
Founders: when you're evaluating a product space that "everyone has solved", the right first principles question is what constraint the category has accepted as a given. For fresh dog food, the constraint was the freezer. Aniwell removed it. Kudos Karthik Vellanki for rethinking the "already solved" pet food category from first principles.
If you have a dog, try Aniwell. We aren't going back. And it's a big reason why I am proud to invest in the company.
(you can see the rash on her left front leg, this was pre-Aniwell).
(Link in comments)


