# Gokul Rajaram

former product leader at Square, DoorDash, Meta & Google

## Outline

First Round Review has some of the best and most actionable content out there, period.

### Featured Articles

[Firsthand: Seven Years Inside Applied Intuition, the Quietly Dominant Physical AI Company](https://review.firstround.com/firsthand-applied-intuition/ "Firsthand: Seven Years Inside Applied Intuition, the Quietly Dominant Physical AI Company")  
  
_I joined Applied Intuition as a new-grad engineer back in early 2019, when it was just a handful of us working above a bar on Murphy Ave in Sunnyvale..._
_June 03, 2026_

[“AI-Powered” Isn’t a Position](https://review.firstround.com/positioning-playbook-for-ai-products/ "“AI-Powered” Isn’t a Position")  
  
_A playbook for building a distinctive brand when too many AI products sound the same, look the same and have the same positioning._
_May 14, 2026_

[Why founders should bet on first-time executives | Praveer Melwani (CFO, Figma)](https://review.firstround.com/why-founders-should-bet-on-first-time-executives-praveer-melwani-cfo-figma/ "Why founders should bet on first-time executives | Praveer Melwani (CFO, Figma)")  
  
_In this latest episode of Executive Function, Brett sits down with Praveer Melwani, CFO at Figma. Praveer joined Figma in 2017 as the company's first..._
_May 14, 2026_

[Guideline's Path to Product-Market Fit — The Early Decisions That Powered Its Acquisition by Gusto](https://review.firstround.com/guidelines-path-to-product-market-fit/ "Guideline's Path to Product-Market Fit — The Early Decisions That Powered Its Acquisition by Gusto")  
  
_Ten years after shaking up the retirement fund industry for SMBs, Guideline has been acquired by Gusto. Here, co-founder Kevin Busque shares the early..._
_March 24, 2026_

[The Minimum Viable Testing Process for Evaluating Startup Ideas](https://review.firstround.com/the-minimum-viable-testing-process-for-evaluating-startup-ideas/ "The Minimum Viable Testing Process for Evaluating Startup Ideas")  
  
_The traditional approach is to do some customer research, throw an MVP out there as fast as possible, and hope it hits. After being early at three..._
_September 14, 2021_

[The 25 Micro-Habits of High-Impact Managers](https://review.firstround.com/the-25-micro-habits-of-high-impact-managers/ "The 25 Micro-Habits of High-Impact Managers")  
  
_Sharp folks from across the First Round community share the small habits that great managers do, including delivering feedback with care, opening up..._
_June 14, 2021_

[The 6 Decision-Making Frameworks That Help Startup Leaders Tackle Tough Calls](https://review.firstround.com/the-6-decision-making-frameworks-that-help-startup-leaders-tackle-tough-calls/ "The 6 Decision-Making Frameworks That Help Startup Leaders Tackle Tough Calls")  
  
_Startup leaders make tough calls every day. We spoke with 6 top operators to gather the tactics and strategies they use to make smart decisions under..._
_August 01, 2019_

[‘Give Away Your Legos’ and Other Commandments for Scaling Startups](https://review.firstround.com/give-away-your-legos-and-other-commandments-for-scaling-startups/ "‘Give Away Your Legos’ and Other Commandments for Scaling Startups")  
  
_Molly Graham helped forge a work culture at Facebook that's withstood huge amounts of growth. Today, she's something of a rapid scaling expert. Here's..._
_September 10, 2015_