Kalon Gutierrez

Business Consultant

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I am a contributing editor to Entrepreneur magazine. Check out my articles here.

Professional Background

I am a managing director with Manatt’s digital and technology consulting practice in the firm’s San Francisco office. I guide next-generation consumer, retail, media and entertainment, financial services, and education companies through the full landscape of people, product, partnership, investment and growth opportunities.

My consulting strategies are informed in part by my experiences as an entrepreneur, having cofounded several consumer-focused companies. These companies include Nomadic, an immersive virtual reality entertainment company for which I hired and built the marketing, communications and development teams and led external partnerships and investment, and Bixbee, a children’s brand and B corporation that gives a backpack and school supplies to a child in need for every backpack sold.

In addition to my work at Manatt, I serve on the advisory teams of various academic institutions and growth companies. I am passionate about leading technology and innovation initiatives for top disrupters, speaking on emerging technology trends, and furthering diversity and inclusion in the venture industry.

Representative Experience With Emerging Companies

  • Investment strategy and materials development for emerging artificial intelligence (AI) and edtech companies in support of formal fundraising.
  • Market assessment for a bleeding-edge tech communications company focused on the entertainment industry.
  • Executive assessment and change management strategy for the board of a well-known medical nonprofit.
  • Executive search and placement for a leading mobile games company in support of its initial public offering.
  • Communications plan development for the reverse joint venture split of an international entity based in Asia.
  • Market assessment for a diversity-focused marketplace.

Areas of Focus

  • Industries: digital media and advertising, mobile gaming, adtech, AI, entertainment, retail, fintech, edtech
  • Human capital
    • Executive assessment
    • Executive search
    • Organizational design and development
    • Company culture alignment
    • Diversity and inclusion
    • Internal/external communications strategy and management
  • Strategy and growth
    • Go-to-market
    • Transaction readiness
    • M&A/due diligence
    • Fundraising materials/business plans
    • Marketing/public relations support
My Advice to Entrepreneurs
  • Know that entrepreneurship is a path of lifelong learning; being an entrepreneur means you are committed to the long game.
  • It’s imperative to develop a close inner circle of trusted advisors. The entrepreneur’s responsibility is to reach out to his or her advisors with honesty and humility when times are challenging and in turn include them when life is on track.
  • Important to the entrepreneur is to clearly identify what she or he wants to be known for; just as important is to determine what she or he does not want to be known for.