Karan Gandhi

Karan Gandhi is the Head of Product Development at Essor, a company formed after Branded's acquisition of Heyday. In his current role, he is responsible for developing new products for a diverse portfolio of brands, including Boka, Zitsticka, Iron Flask, Num Num, Puracy, OTOTO, Fresh Cap and Moonshine Rods.

Prior to joining Essor, Karan led Operations and Product Development at Heyday starting in 2020, where he was one of the company's first employees. His responsibilities encompassed designing and scaling the company's global supply chain, fulfillment processes, sourcing, and overall operations for various brands.

From 2015 to 2020, he served as the Vice President of Operations at Boxed.com, overseeing operations, fulfillment, robotics, and delivery experience. Karan's expertise lies in operations management, supply chain optimization, and inventory control, having successfully designed scalable operating systems throughout his career.

Before his tenure at Boxed.com, Karan worked at McKinsey & Company (2009-2012) and Amazon (2012-2013). At McKinsey, he collaborated with companies across industries—from cruise lines to cable providers—to enhance their operational efficiency. As a Senior Product Manager at Amazon, he oversaw the development of a children's book subscription program.

Karan earned his MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School (2013-2015). He also holds a Master's degree in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University (2008-2009), as well as a Master's in Industrial Engineering and a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Outside of his professional pursuits, Karan is an avid photographer and has invested in several early-stage companies, including Wordsworth AI, Mable, Gorgias, Photon Commerce, and Movley.

Essor / Head of Innovation / Albany, NY

2024 - Present

Heyday merged with Branded to form Essor. I lead the Innovation organization for 22+ brands including Boka, Zitsticka, Iron Flask, Num Num, Puracy, OTOTO, Fresh Cap and Moonshine Rods.

Heyday / Head of Innovation & Operations / Albany, NY

2023 - 2024

In addition to Operations, led the Innovation team to transform the organization to rapidly launch new products that are contribution profit accretive. One-third of revenue was generated by new products.

Heyday / Head of Operations / Boston, MA

2020 - 2023

Managed all aspects of the supply chain, operations, global logistics, and fulfillment. 4th hire in the organization. Built an entire operations team from the ground-up; 50+ employees, 9 reporting teams, 3 global locations and managed over $250MM in sales in Year 1 of launch.

Boxed / Vice President of Operations / New York, NY

2019 - 2020

Promoted to Led all aspects of order fulfillment and launching a new end to end platform to serve B2B customers.

Boxed / Head of Merchandising and Supply Chain / New York, NY

2017 - 2019

Led complete transformation of the organization and improving margin to make the overall business sustainable and by achieving profitability at unit economics. Applied algorithms and data science to inform decisions for procurement, pricing, and assortment. No employee turnover.

Boxed / Head of B2B / New York, NY

2015 - 2017

Led a new growth initiative to launch a new B2B offering. Scaled the business from the ground up to account for 25% of overall company revenue. Established all functions including account management, sales, marketing, and commercial wholesale business. 

Boxed / Director of Operations / New York, NY

2014 - 2015

Implemented operational excellence in fulfillment operations and inventory control. Expanded fulfillment capacity by 300% and expanded same-day delivery business to five new markets. 

Amazon / Senior Product Manager / Seattle, WA

2012 - 2013

Ideated and launched new products to grow children’s books retail business. Led team of software developers, user-experience designers to develop and launch kids book club - new books subscription program that evolves recommendations based on changing reading level, age, and interests. 

McKinsey & Company / Senior Associate / Los Angeles, CA

2009 - 2012

Led transformations, conducted analyses developed, and presented recommendations to clients. Coached 10+ clients in all engagements. Rated distinctive in all review cycles and was promoted directly to senior associate.

Gifford Engineering / Product Development / Alpharetta, GA

Digitize control panel for company’s legacy product (silicon wafer cleaner). Independently found low-cost suppliers to reduce costs by 17%.

Harvard University  / 2013 - 2015

Master in Business Administration with distinction. Member: Hospitality & Travel Industry Club, Venture Capital & Private Equity Club, and Art Society.

Stanford University / 2008 - 2010

Master of Science degree, summa cum laude, in Management Science and Engineering. Graduate research assistant for Prof. Riitta Katila. Graduate teaching assistant for MS&E 311 - Optimization. GPA 4.0/4.0.

Georgia Institute of Technology / 2007 - 2008 

Master of Science degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering. Elected graduate student senator. Graduate research assistant at the Tennenbaum Institute. Selected for INNOVATE 2008 in Singapore & Vietnam. GPA 3.7/4.0.

Georgia Institute of Technology / 2004 - 2007

Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude, in Computer Engineering. Awarded most outstanding senior in Computer Engineering. Awarded $10K in scholarships per year by AT&T. Recipient of International Student Leadership Award, awarded to one student amongst all international students. President of Culture Tech – a student group that hosted two of the largest on-campus events. GPA 3.95/4.0.

Wordsworth / 2023 - Present

Investor; AI Powered Website Experimentation for the Modern Marketer. Company was started by a former employee.

Vrindavan Bungalows LLC / 2023 - Present

Real estate investments in Boston, MA in a condo that has seen 100% occupancy rate.

Movley / 2020 - Present

Investor and advisor; Movley makes managing product quality effortless for D2C brands.

Actively AI / 2020 - Present

Investor and advisor; AI agents to help GTM teams 10x outbound efficiency by telling them who to target, when, and what to say — so reps spend their entire day talking to prospects.

Mable / 2020 - Present

Advisor to the CEO; Mable enables direct distribution of innovative, emerging brands. Paired with the founding team through underscore.vc network.

Photon Commerce / 2020 - Present

Early investor; Document AI solutions to digitize invoices, bills, contracts, statements, receivables, payables, and financial PDFs with 99%+ accuracy.

Chetan Abrasives LLC / 2019 - Present

Real estate investments in Huntsville, AL. Portfolio consists of five single family homes that have had 90+ occupancy rates.

Gorgias / 2016 - Present

Early investor; Gorgias is the leading AI customer experience platform for ecommerce stores.