Suneel Gupta with DJ Patil: Convincing Others to Back Your Dreams
Entrepreneur Suneel Gupta argues that it's more important than ever to be "backable," to get the support we need for re-entering the workforce, changing life direction after quarantine, and navigating a very different social scene. Gupta, who comes from a family of highly backable people—including his mother, Damyanti Hingorani, the first woman engineer for Ford Motor Company, and his brother Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent for CNN—will also share advice for how we can all find support, based on his own backing of such companies as Impossible Foods, Airbnb, 23&Me and SpaceX. He will further reveal secrets of success from producers of Oscar-winning films, members of Congress, military leaders, culinary stars, venture capitalists, founders of unicorn-status startups, and executives at iconic companies such as Lego, Method and Pixar.
Gupta says he went from being afraid to speak inside a room to running for public office. He went from being rejected by every major investor he pitched to raising millions of dollars of funding from the same investors that backed Google, Uber, and Airbnb. Come hear the advice and amazing personal story of a man who struggled to find his voice and now, among his other achievements, also serves as the emissary for Gross National Happiness between the United States and the Kingdom of Bhutan.
This is a free-for-members program. Members: Click on the "Buy Tickets" button above to order your tickets, and select the members link on the left side of the page. Your username is the email you used to sign up as a member. You can also request a password reset if needed. Discount will automatically be applied at checkout.
Copies of Backable are available for purchase during checkout. Purchased books will be sent to the address provided at checkout (domestic U.S. addresses only).
This is an online-only program; you must pre-register to receive a link to the live-stream event.
We can accommodate a limited amount of complimentary access for those for whom cost is a barrier. Please email programs@commonwealthclub.org.
United States
Suneel Gupta
J.D. M.B.A., Lecture on Innovation, Harvard University; Author, Backable: The Surprising Truth Behind What Makes People Take a Chance on You
DJ Patil
Ph.D., Former Chief Data Scientist, U.S. Office of Science and Technology; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors