Ooshma Garg

Ooshma Garg describes how startup leadership changes as a company grows. Early on, she valued uninterrupted maker time and constant innovation, while later her days filled with meetings and dinners, making strategic time harder to protect. She recalls the lows of having few customers and finding a blank slate useful for thinking through what to do next. She says meeting customers keeps her connected to the work and argues that caring about their long-term experience will bring financial success.

Ooshma Garg describes how Gobble grew through several food business models before finding a meal kit service that could scale and retain customers. She explains how customer feedback, experimentation, and a clear mission guided decisions to shut down profitable lines of business that no longer fit her vision. The talk also covers bootstrapping, fundraising, hiring, and the value of trusted advisors and peers. Her main lessons are to keep iterating, stay close to customers, and persist through setbacks while remaining willing to change direction.