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Gabriel ðŸ§
Entrepreneur, Advisor, and Investor
Gabriel Luna-Ostaseski, commonly known as Gabe, is a prominent entrepreneur and co-founder of Braintrust, a decentralized talent network that allows users to control their own job opportunities and compensation. Founded in June 2018, Braintrust aims to disrupt traditional freelance marketplaces by eliminating fees for talent and creating a user-owned model that aligns incentives between workers and clients.13
Background and Career
Before establishing Braintrust, Gabe co-founded Modernize.com, a home improvement marketplace that successfully scaled nationwide before being acquired. He has extensive experience advising and investing in over 50 startups in Silicon Valley, including notable companies like Thumbtack, Uber, and LendingHome. His advisory roles have helped these companies raise significant follow-on funding, with the first five companies he advised collectively raising over $300 million.124
In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, Gabe is actively involved in education as a guest lecturer at institutions like USC Marshall School of Business and Harvard Business School. He is also a board member of YPO and serves as a general partner at Upshift Capital, a seed fund focused on blockchain and marketplace businesses.24
Vision and Impact
Gabe's work with Braintrust is centered around the concept of the "Ownership economy," which leverages blockchain technology to create a marketplace that prioritizes the needs of its users. This innovative approach has attracted a diverse community of over 50,000 talent from more than 100 countries, making Braintrust a significant player in the freelance economy, particularly in the IT sector.34
Through his leadership, Braintrust has scaled rapidly, achieving a revenue milestone of $200 million and successfully launching its own token, BTRST, which incentivizes referrals and enhances trust within the network.45 Gabe's vision is to distribute economic opportunities more equitably, aiming to transform the way work is structured and compensated in the modern economy.34
Highlights
Appreciate the post and perspective from @gregisenberg.
I started at 18 selling house painting door to door then built a marketplace connecting contractors and homeowners.
I'd love to incubate + fund founders that want to build in the home services space.
Tech + hustle + massive underserved market.
