Suneel Gupta

Last updated

Suneel Gupta
Suneel Gupta.jpg
Born
Education University of Michigan, Dearborn (BS)
Northwestern University (MBA, JD)
Occupation(s) Entrepreneur, author, TV host, keynote speaker
Known for
  • Backable (2021)
  • Everyday Dharma (2023)
SpouseLeena Rao
Children2
Family Sanjay Gupta (brother)
Website www.suneelgupta.com

Suneel Gupta is an American entrepreneur, author, television host, and keynote speaker. He founded the healthcare company Rise Labs, and is the author of two books: Backable (2021) and Everyday Dharma (2023). He is the host of the television series, Business Class.

Contents

Early life and education

Gupta was born and raised in Novi, Michigan. [1] His parents, Damyanti and Subhash Gupta, had migrated from India to the United States in the 1960s and worked for Ford Motor Company as engineers. His mother was a refugee who became the first woman engineer at Ford having an advanced degree, as reported by Time . [2] [3] He is of Sindhi descent.

Gupta graduated from Novi High School where he was active in politics. [2] He obtained an undergraduate degree in computer science from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, and a Juris Doctor from Northwestern Law School. [4] [2] He is licensed to practice law in front of the United States Supreme Court and in California. [5] He had a brief stint as a speechwriter in the West Wing during the Clinton administration. [6]

Career

Gupta's career began at the consulting firm Accenture in the early 2000s. [7] He then worked for Mozilla Labs where he moved from legal domain to product design and went on to become director. In 2009, he joined the early-stage startup Groupon in Chicago as the company's first VP of Product Development. [8] [9] [10]

In 2013, Gupta founded Rise Labs, a wellness startup that provided nutrition coaching through a mobile app. The company raised $4 million in funding from Google Ventures and Greylock Partners among others, [11] before being acquired by One Medical in 2016 for an estimated $20 million. [12] Following the acquisition, Gupta became head of mobile business at One Medical, in addition to continuing in his existing role as CEO of Rise. Subsequently, Rise partnered with First Lady Michelle Obama's nonprofit initiative Partnership for a Healthier America. [13]

In 2017, Gupta joined venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins as an entrepreneur in residence, [4] and became a visiting scholar at Harvard Medical School, before moving back to Michigan. [14]

In late 2017, Gupta announced his candidacy for the 2018 House of Representatives elections in Michigan's 11th congressional district, raising over $1 million in funding for his campaign. [2] [15] [16] [17] Gupta came in third place in the Democratic primary with 21.4% of the votes, losing to Haley Stevens who received 27% of the votes. [18] [19]

In 2018, Gupta became an emissary for Gross National Happiness between the United States and Bhutan. [20]

In 2021, Gupta published his first book titled Backable, co-authored by journalist Carlye Adler. The book employs case studies and interviews to identify the qualities that make an individual "backable". [21] [22] [23]

After the release of Backable, Gupta became the host of the television series, Business Class, which features Gupta in conversation with notable entrepreneurs. The series entered its third season in 2023, streaming on Amazon Prime Video. [24] [25] [26]

His second book, Everyday Dharma, was released in 2023 and explores the theme of personal development centered around the Eastern philosophy concept of dharma. [27] [28]

Books

Personal life

Gupta is married to tech journalist Leena Rao who has written for TechCrunch and Fortune . [1] They have two daughters–Sammy and Serena. [29] [30]

References

  1. 1 2 "Tech entrepreneur running for Congress in Michigan". Axios . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rajendran, Pottayil. "Why Suneel Gupta is running for US Congress". Rediff.com . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  3. "Damyanti Gupta: The First Degreed Female Engineer at Ford Motor Company". Time . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Nagl, Kurt (December 4, 2017). "Entrepreneur Suneel Gupta to run for Trott's seat in Congress". Crain's Detroit Business . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  5. "Suneel Gupta and Farhan Latif to address grads at commencement ceremonies Dec. 16". umdearborn.edu. University of Michigan-Dearborn . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  6. "Suneel Gupta on The Surprising Truth Behind What Makes People Take a Chance". Something Ventured. May 6, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  7. Marans, Daniel (July 18, 2018). "Democratic Candidate Critical Of Trade Deals Advised Companies On Outsourcing". HuffPost . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  8. Arrington, Michael (December 3, 2009). "Our Star Writer Moves To Chicago Because Groupon Had To Hire A VP Product". TechCrunch . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  9. "Becoming Backable: Suneel Gupta on Learning from Failure". The Verse. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  10. Yohn, Denise Lee (October 11, 2012). "Suneel Gupta on What's up with Groupon". Denise Lee Yohn. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  11. MacMillan, Douglas. "One Medical Buys Virtual Nutritionist App Rise". Wall Street Journal . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  12. Lynley, Matthew (February 5, 2016). "One Medical Acquires Rise, A Nutrition Coaching App". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  13. Chang, Lulu (May 21, 2016). "One Medical and Michelle Obama's PHA have a new app to fight obesity". Digital Trends . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  14. Burke, Melissa Nann (January 5, 2018). "Democrat Gupta raises $501K in bid to replace Trott". The Detroit News . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  15. "Suneel Gupta, brother of CNN's Sanjay Gupta, running for Congress". Business Standard . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  16. Koerth, Maggie (August 6, 2018). "Can Science Save Politics? Or Will Politics Ruin Science?". FiveThirtyEight . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  17. "Indian-American running for US Congress to fight against growing corporate influence". The Economic Times . August 5, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  18. "Michigan Primary Election Results: 11th House District". The New York Times . September 24, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  19. "Indian-American entrepreneur Suneel Gupta loses primary elections in Michigan". The Economic Times. August 8, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  20. "Rising From Failure: Interview with Suneel Gupta, founder of Rise — Adam Mendler in the Media". Adam Mendler. February 23, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  21. Comerford, Ruth (November 6, 2020). "Endeavour bags Gupta's guide to becoming 'backable'". The Bookseller . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  22. "Suneel Gupta: 'People who change the world around them aren't just brilliant, they're backable'". Moneycontrol . July 17, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  23. Cohn, Alisa (July 23, 2021). "How To Be Backable By A Silicon Valley "Failure"". Forbes . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  24. "3 Things That Will Help You Become a Great Leader in 2022, According to 4 Well-Known Entrepreneurs". Inc. December 25, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  25. "Suneel Gupta | Entrepreneur, Author". Speakers Spotlight. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  26. "Business Class: The Series". American Express . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  27. Uda, Rachel (September 27, 2023). "Looking For More Joy in Your Job? "Everyday Dharma" Shows Us the Path". Katie Couric Media. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  28. "Suneel Gupta: Everyday Dharma". Commonwealth Club of California. September 25, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  29. "The Myth of the Midlife Crisis - Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta - Podcast on CNN Audio". CNN . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  30. "Meditative Story: Embrace every part of yourself, with Suneel Gupta". Meditative Story . Retrieved July 23, 2024.