Team Spotlights: Deepa Talwar

On a bright Tuesday morning, Deepa and I (virtually) sat down to discuss her journey to Gauntlet. From her humble yet impressive beginnings in Chicago to her storied experience in the tech industry, her tenacity and hunger for growth rose to the forefront as we chatted. Deepa’s story is indicative of the go-getters we have working here at Gauntlet. In this inaugural spotlight, you’ll get a birds-eye view into the magic that makes our culture here: our team members.?

Noah Sanford: ?Cool. We're gonna go from the very beginning. So you grew up in Chicago?

Deepa Talwar: ?Yep.

Noah Sanford: ?How did growing up in Chicago influence who you are and what you do today?

Deepa Talwar: Good question. Yes — I grew up in the Chicago suburbs which is actually massive. It's called Chicagoland. What's interesting about Chicago is it's a really easy city. It's not New York, it's a lot simpler. And then the suburbs are like a whole different universe.?

I feel like I grew up in a very typical suburb. If you had to picture [a suburb], that's what it was. My town was called Schaumburg and is like the retail capital of Chicago. We have a massive mall and that's kind of what we're known for.?

I went to public schools. I didn't even know there was a non-public school option until I got to college. My high school had no windows, but it was a really good education.?

I think growing up in Chicago, you're sort of insular and so college for me was pretty eye-opening. I had a really comfortable, easy, sort of childhood — with great friends, good family around. My parents are immigrants and Schaumburg is a really good community for Indian immigrants. So, I grew up around a lot of family, friends, and cultural influences which is nice. But I was also part of a very diverse group of people as well.

Noah Sanford: You kind of said that there wasn't much going on, but I did my research and you did a ton of sports while you were in high school. Swimming, cross-country track, so many. I would love to know: You probably have an innate competitive spirit, I'm wondering does that factor into what you do at Gauntlet?

Deepa Talwar: Yeah, one hundred percent. I’ve spent most of my career in sales and business development is like a nice little subset of that. I think being competitive is pretty necessary.?

Sales is a process. Can you follow up when you're supposed to and can you develop rapport? The other exciting part is when you find and figure out a win-win sales structure. When you can get someone over the line, bring in new revenue, that's a thrill in itself and there are a lot of former athletes in sales for this reason. I would 100% say there's a very strong correlation between participating in sports and competitiveness in sales. That’s a big reason why I find this job really exciting.

Noah Sanford: I love that you kept the competitive spirit and that it still lives within you. Let’s change gears. From being a founder of a company to working at early-stage startups and building their sales teams from the ground up — and even working at some companies that are now behemoths of sorts — you have a rich background in the world of tech. What did you learn the most during your time at all of your previous companies?

Deepa Talwar: If you had to ask me about the best business model, Visa, in a heartbeat, takes the cake. My cohort was among the youngest by a good 10 years, and it was really interesting to see a company that was so financially secure.

Uber was my next stop and probably has had the biggest impact on how I work. I was in the right place at the right time. It was 2012, the iPhone had just come out, Uber was hitting this nice little sweet spot. The team was phenomenal and the motto was growth at all costs. So that, for me, was witnessing genuine startup hustle for the first time. I'd never seen anything like it, I'd never seen that pace before.?

Thumbtack was my favorite place I've ever worked. I was there early on and it was a really well-run company. I learned the most because I got to see it grow from a 40-person company that became a unicorn. It had a more deliberate, defined growth path and the team assembled was great. Working with high-quality people left a massive impression on me, I realized the type of people I wanted to surround myself with professionally.?

Then I started my own company, which was a huge kick in the butt. I went from being a part of large operations to thinking, “I'm 27, I can do this myself.”It was a healthy reality check — starting from zero is extremely hard. Having to rethink your business model every single day by yourself with no traction and nothing to show for is a difficult burden to shoulder.?

Fast forward to today: Gauntlet has been a really impressionable place as well to think about crypto as a space. It is the Wild West, I would say, and it's been gratifying to tackle in a business development-type role. It’s exciting to be in a space where there are no rules yet. So we can rethink how we do deals and partnerships and build products — it's been nice to have the creativity there.

I’ve had a different approach to my career looking back. From a portfolio investment approach, which is how I've always thought about tech jobs, you should be diversified. The benefit [of taking different opportunities] is I've seen good business practices and I've witnessed poor decision-making. I've been part of unicorns and part of failed projects. With this experience, I take the positive lessons I’ve learned and try to recreate them, while avoiding the negatives.?

Noah Sanford: You kind of mentioned Crypto being the Wild West. You stumbled, like many of the people at Gauntlet have stumbled, your way into your crypto. I don't know if anyone really intentionally sets out to begin this journey.?

Deepa Talwar: That's true.

Noah Sanford: Yeah, I don’t know how many people wake up and think “Crypto is something that I'm gonna just do now.” So, naturally, you fell into it. What did you think about the space when you first stumbled into it and how do you feel about it now that you've worked at a company like Gauntlet?

Deepa Talwar: I would say I was very much starting from zero and I was intrigued by the principles of the space — or the theory of decentralization. It made a lot of sense to think about the ownership economy — who owns what and who controls what, and who makes the rules. I was excited about the principles when I started off and now have a deeper understanding of the limitations and challenges of decentralization - we still have a long way to go, but it's been incredibly interesting to see things firsthand.

Noah Sanford: ?Thanks for that. Lastly, can you describe what it's like to work here? With all of that knowledge. I’d love to know how you perceive the culture here considering the culture of crypto and DeFi at large.

Deepa Talwar: Gauntlet is interesting because we index the market. which was a great fit for me given I didn't have a strong hunch about a project or chain coming in. We have variety in our clients and it’s in our model to support them as a service provider. It's been interesting to also see us build our own product [Aera, which we spun out last year] and start to launch that. I really appreciate how diverse the team is - we have folks from tradfi, academia, and tech, which leads to a great mix of perspectives and discussions.