Hi, I’m Gaurav. Welcome to my personal website. I am best known as an investor. I have a broad array of interests including and significantly far afield of investing, so I thought I would create a space to share a broad array of recommendations and views.

My main endeavor is XN, an investing organization that invests across public and private investments. XN’s name is inspired by the power of compounding. I am also the founder of Totei, a soon to be launched magazine that celebrates craft and craftsmanship. 

I was born and raised in NYC, and until I went to college, I went exclusively to public schools. I was born in Greenwich Village, was raised in Queens and now live in Tribeca and work in the Meatpacking district. I really am a New Yorker. When I was 11, a teacher recommended I take a test for a place called Hunter. I ended up getting in, and it changed my life. Being in an environment with incredibly smart, curious, competitive and caring peers made me raise my own ambitions and I have been trying to create environments like that ever since I left. 

I am a big believer in the existence and the preservation of the American Dream. I feel like I was a big beneficiary of America’s unique gifts and entrepreneurial energy, and I want to make sure others have the same opportunity. My parents moved to the US in the 1970’s from Mumbai in India. My father was given a skills based immigration Green Card before he had ever been on a plane in his life. When he moved to America, he lived in a YMCA and soon after found a job. He brought my mother to the US, where she became an early data warehouse engineer. They had my sister and I and we did our best to climb the socioeconomic ladder. I think we did pretty well, even though it was a very bumpy ride. I don’t think there is another place in the world, other than America, where in one generation a family can move from poverty to where my family is today.

I believe in giving back to the country that has been so good to me, so I serve on a number of non-profit and civic boards: 

• The Mellon Foundation: The largest funder of humanities in America
• The Whitney Museum of American Art: The leading museum of American Art
• The Trust for Governors Island: The governing body for a jewel of an island minutes from NYC
• The Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection: An organization that uses litigation to preserve and enhance civil rights

The best way to learn about me is a few podcasts I’ve done:

• Conversations with Tyler – Gaurav Kapadia on New York City, Investing, and Contemporary Art
• Invest Like the Best: Gaurav Kapadia – Everything Compounds

Please explore and share any suggestions you may have.