# Gagan Levy

> Gagan Levy is the San Francisco Bay Area founder and CEO of Guru, a creative agency established in 2008 around a mission to increase joy and reduce suffering. His career connects purpose-led brand strategy, natural-products marketing, environmental campaigns, nonprofit board service and movement building. In 2026 he published Start Your Own Damn Cult: A Founder's Field Guide, a provocative but carefully bounded argument that durable organizations are built through trust, shared meaning and accountable leadership rather than purchased attention.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Guru
- **Organizations:** Guru, MAHA Global, Love Serve Remember Foundation, Conscious Alliance, Social Venture Network
- **Education:** Management and Advertising, University of Colorado Boulder - Leeds School of Business
- **Known for:** Founded Guru in 2008 and built its practice around purpose-led brands, organizations and social movements., Guru's publicly listed work includes Patagonia, Clif Bar, Traditional Medicinals, 1% for the Planet, The Nature Conservancy, The Non-GMO Project, NASA and MoveOn., Former co-chair of the Social Venture Network board of directors.

## Career timeline

- **1999-2004** — Studied Management and Advertising at the University of Colorado Boulder - Leeds School of Business.
- **Before 2008** — Worked in management and marketing roles in entertainment, launched digital media platforms for emerging musicians through Subset M, and owned Neighbor Agency.
- **2008** — Founded Guru Media Solutions; Guru also worked on the MoveOn campaign during Barack Obama's 2008 presidential run.
- **2013** — Joined the Social Venture Network board, later serving two years as co-chair.
- **2018** — Began serving as Chief Evangelist at MAHA Global and held board roles with the Love Serve Remember Foundation and Conscious Alliance.
- **2019** — Led a consumer-engagement workshop at One Step Closer's Future of Food: Crossing the Climate Chasm gathering.
- **2022** — Helped produce Dragon's Dream: The Roger Dean Experience in San Francisco as part of the Chambers Obscura collaboration.
- **2023** — Received MLIFE Foundation's Outstanding Leadership Award for work supporting coordinated community action.
- **2026** — Published Start Your Own Damn Cult: A Founder's Field Guide and spoke at Expo West's Forum for Naturals about scaling brands without losing their core conviction.

## Achievements

- Founded Guru in 2008 and built its practice around purpose-led brands, organizations and social movements.
- Guru's publicly listed work includes Patagonia, Clif Bar, Traditional Medicinals, 1% for the Planet, The Nature Conservancy, The Non-GMO Project, NASA and MoveOn.
- Former co-chair of the Social Venture Network board of directors.
- Board service with the Love Serve Remember Foundation and Conscious Alliance.
- Received the MLIFE Foundation Outstanding Leadership Award in 2023.
- Published the 112-page Start Your Own Damn Cult: A Founder's Field Guide on May 26, 2026.
- Co-founded MAHA Global and has served as its Chief Evangelist.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Appeared on The Human Beauty Movement podcast to discuss belief, belonging, responsible influence and Start Your Own Damn Cult.
- **2026-07** — Joined MAHA Global co-founder Haider Nazar for a conversation on trust and brand gravity in an AI-saturated media environment.
- **2026-06** — Spoke at Expo West's Forum for Naturals on using customer and cultural intelligence to scale natural brands without losing their identity.
- **2026-05** — Published Start Your Own Damn Cult: A Founder's Field Guide.

## Links

- Website: https://weareguru.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaganjlevy
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/weareguru
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weareguru/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/weareguru

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gagan-levy
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-22