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Gutter Capital is a New York-based early-stage venture firm founded in 2021 by Dan Teran and James Gettinger. Teran is the former co-founder and CEO of Managed by Q, which he founded at age 24 and led to a $200M exit. Gettinger is a computer scientist and professional gambler turned investor. Together they made over 110 angel investments before launching the fund, building the firm around a deliberate, hands-on, low-volume model: few investments per year, deep operational involvement, and a strong preference for overlooked founders without typical Silicon Valley pedigree. Gutter has been recognized by Business Insider as a Top 100 Seed Investor in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Gutter backs mission-driven founders building companies of consequence across a range of sectors including B2B software, proptech, climate, consumer, agriculture, logistics, and workforce technology.
The firm is sector-agnostic at the stage level, conviction in the founder and problem is the primary filter. Gutter invests primarily in New York-based companies and companies that can benefit from being embedded in the New York ecosystem.
Gutter Capital Fund III closed at $75M in June 2026, tripling in size from the firm's inception across three funds in under three years.
Funds I and II are both in the top quartile of their respective vintages per Cambridge Associates benchmarks. Portfolio companies backed by Gutter are twice as likely to graduate from Seed to Series A, and from Series A to Series B, based on Carta data.
Alongside Fund III, Gutter opened applications for Elbow Grease II, its small-batch NYC-based accelerator, sponsored by Mercury and Orrick. Each Elbow Grease company receives a $300K initial investment and spends 10 weeks on-site at Gutter's Chinatown headquarters.
Leadership
Dan Teran is Co-Founder and Managing Partner, previously co-founder and CEO of Managed by Q (acquired for $200M).
James Gettinger is Co-Founder and Managing Partner, a computer scientist and former professional gambler who began investing alongside Teran before Fund I.
Richard Hughes is Head of Talent and Operating Partner, having recruited over 100 engineers, designers, sellers, and marketers to Gutter portfolio companies since the firm's founding.
Vince Li joined in 2026 as Head of Product and Operating Partner, accelerating product, engineering, and design work within portfolio companies.
Carli Casteel is a Partner at the firm.
Investment Strategy
Gutter writes seed-stage checks and takes an embedded, operational approach to early company building, supporting founders on recruiting, product, and early strategic decisions from the outset. The firm makes few investments per year by design, enabling direct involvement from the full partnership.
The Elbow Grease accelerator extends this model to pre-seed: up to 15 teams per cohort spend 10 weeks on-site at Gutter HQ, receiving a $300K check and working directly with the partnership and a curated set of founder mentors.
Companies that demonstrate strong progress receive follow-on investment from Gutter Capital.
Notable Investments
Fund I:
Fund II:
gutter.cc
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Dan Teran — Co-Founder & Managing Partner
dan@gutter.cc
James Gettinger — Co-Founder & Managing Partner
james@gutter.cc
Richard Hughes — Head of Talent & Operating Partner
richard@gutter.cc
Carli Casteel — Partner
carli@gutter.cc
Vince Li — Head of Product & Operating Partner
United States
