Gaurav Jain

Gaurav Jain is a prominent figure with over a decade of experience in the smartphone industry, transitioning from an Engineer to a Product Manager, Entrepreneur, and now Investor. Having started his career as an Embedded Software Engineer at BlackBerry in 2004, Gaurav played a pivotal role in developing essential components of the BlackBerry core system. In 2007, he co-founded Polar Mobile, a highly successful mobile media publishing company, where he secured deals with top publishers like TIME Inc., executed notable ad campaigns for brands like Pepsi, and secured substantial venture funding, propelling the company's growth to 30 employees within two years. Gaurav also made significant contributions as a Lead Product Manager for Android, a key player in its ascent to becoming the leading smartphone platform. His dedication was acknowledged with the prestigious Founders Award at Google, recognizing his instrumental role in the platform's triumph. Currently, Gaurav focuses on nurturing early-stage tech ventures through his pre-seed fund, Afore, which specializes in backing founders with a strong product focus at the nascent phases of their business. Notably, Forbes highlighted Gaurav in 2015 as one of the top 30 venture capitalists under 30, citing his successful investments in companies like Cruise and Firebase.