Ryan Gilbert

Overview

Ryan Gilbert is a venture capitalist and founder with over 20 years of experience in financial services and technology. He co-founded Propel Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in the financial services sector. At Propel, he served as a General Partner and represented the firm on the boards of several companies, including Guideline, Ease, Steady, Charlie Finance, and Grabango. He also served as the executive chairman of SmartBiz Loans, a small business lending marketplace he founded as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Venrock. Additionally, he was a director of bKash, Bangladesh’s leading remittance network, and a director of River City Bank in Sacramento. Prior to Propel, Gilbert co-founded and served as CEO of PropertyBridge, a real estate payments company acquired by MoneyGram International. He was also an early investor in Eventbrite and a founding advisor to Square. Gilbert graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is a member of the State Bar of California. In 2021, Gilbert founded Launchpad Capital, a venture capital firm focusing on pre-seed and seed-stage companies in the financial, insurance, and real estate technology sectors. The firm raised $35 million for its debut fund, with investments ranging from $100,000 to $2 million. Launchpad Capital operates out of offices in the United States and Lithuania, aiming to invest in and establish companies in the Baltic region seeking to enter the U.S. market. Gilbert's extensive experience in the financial services and technology sectors has enabled him to identify and support innovative companies at the intersection of technology and finance. His investment philosophy emphasizes early-stage, hands-on support, typically investing between $500,000 and $5 million in pre-seed and seed rounds. His portfolio includes companies in sectors such as fintech, web3/crypto, AI-driven financial infrastructure, and enterprise SaaS serving large institutions. Gilbert's global perspective and strategic approach have played a pivotal role in shaping the next generation of financial technology startups.