Gutter Capital Raises $25M to Build Companies of Consequence

Founding Partners Dan Teran and James Gettinger have a proven track record of rolling their sleeves up and taking an operator's approach to build strong founding teams

NEW YORK, March 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gutter Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on affordability, economic mobility and climate change, announced the close of its $25M Fund I. The firm is founded by Dan Teran, Founder of Managed by Q and former WeWork Executive, and James Gettinger, a computer scientist and former professional gambler. 

Gutter is backed by notable investors Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, Hunter Walk and Satya Patel of Homebrew, as well as Eileen Murray, former Co-CEO of Bridgewater Group. The fund's LPs include founders of Bark, Casper, Honor, Olo, Envoy, Honor and WeWork, joined by institutional investors Tiger Global, Bain Capital Ventures, FJ Labs and Kapor Center Investments, among others.

"Dan and I started our companies at the same time and came up together in the early days of New York tech. He has a hard earned reputation for being a strong operator and is a great partner to early-stage founders," said Phil Krim, Founder and CEO of Casper. "I am excited to back Dan and James in this next chapter at Gutter."

Gutter Capital makes investments on three critical mission areas:

• Improve accessibility and affordability of healthcare, housing and education
• Empower individuals, entrepreneurs and small businesses to thrive
• Reduce carbon emissions and prepare at-risk communities to cope with a changing climate

"We believe that the great companies of our time will be built in response to humanity's greatest challenges," said Dan Teran, Co-Founder of Gutter Capital. "We know that one company can't solve these massive, systemic problems, but a generation of entrepreneurs certainly can. We started Gutter Capital to make sure that they do."

The founders met on the rugby pitch at the Johns Hopkins University, where Teran studied International Relations, and Gettinger studied Economics and Computer Science. After college, Teran started his first company, Managed by Q, and was recognized by Forbes 30 under 30 and Crain's 40 under 40. In 2019, Teran sold the business to WeWork, where he went on to lead Global Corporate Development and Ventures following the acquisition. When Gettinger's first start-up failed, he supported himself by gambling online–first with poker and then daily fantasy sports. Gettinger developed a software-driven process to predict athlete performance and opponent behavior, and became one of the most successful gamblers in the world, winning multiple world competitions. In 2017, the pair began investing Gettinger's gambling winnings, and later Teran's Managed by Q proceeds, to build a portfolio of over 100 angel investments, which included Bowery Farming, Electric.ai and Ribbon Homes, realizing top quartile returns. When Teran and Gettinger set out to raise external capital, they quickly surpassed their initial fundraising goal of $15M as a result of avid investor demand.

"Dan and James have a track record of investing in and building successful businesses. Gutter Capital is well positioned to build a generation of great companies in response to real world problems and I am excited to support them in this process," said Eileen Murray, former co-CEO at Bridgewater Associates. "Dan is a smart, disciplined operator with a history of rolling up his sleeves and helping founders win. His experience building Managed by Q from the ground up sets him apart."

Teran and Gettinger are joined by Richard Hughes as Operating Partner. Prior to joining Gutter Capital, Hughes led talent acquisition at Primary Venture Partners, Alma and Managed by Q, where he worked under Teran for over three years. Gutter Capital focuses on building strong founding teams. In 2022, the firm supported 46 of the 89 hires made by the Gutter Capital portfolio. "Talent is destiny in startups," Teran said. "The most pain I felt as a founder came from bad hiring decisions, so we help our founders avoid those expensive mistakes."

Beyond a mission driven portfolio, Gutter Capital has invested in 38% women, 48% non-white founders, and 15% Black or Latinx founders. Gutter Capital is committed to building companies of consequence with initial $1.5M checks, with a focus on Software-as-a-service and Marketplace businesses. To learn more about Gutter Capital, visit https://gutter.cc/

About Gutter Capital: 

Gutter Capital is a hard working venture firm based in New York City. Gutter partners with mission driven founders to build companies of consequence, addressing the greatest challenges facing society – namely affordability, economic mobility, and climate change. For more information, visit https://gutter.cc/.

Media Contact: 
BAM for Gutter Capital
[email protected] 

SOURCE Gutter Capital