James Gutierrez

I am a serial entrepreneur focused on innovative financial services and technologies. Leveraging my pertinent professional experience in the fintech industry, I share my thoughts and insights via various platforms.

I am a Founding Partner of Insikt Ventures, a $5 million Venture Capital fund focused on seed and Series A investments in fintech and consumer products.

I also co-founded Progreso Financiero (later rebranded as Oportun) to provide unsecured loans to families that may not have excellent credit scores or credit histories. Oportun has provided more than $1.5 billion in loans to more than 500,000 U.S. borrowers.

Understanding the importance of evolving the finance industry, I have served on the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council and the Centennial Advisory Committee.

Committed to philanthropy and leadership groups, I also serve as Vice Chair of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and have co-authored and drove the passage of federal and state laws designed to increase the availability of affordable, safe small-dollar loans.

Prior to my entrepreneurial endeavors, I worked at Morgan Stanley and Bain & Co. I also worked in Europe alongside business leader Martin Varsavsky, founder of Medicorp Sciences, Urban Capital and Viatel.

Together with Great Oaks Ventures, I was an early investor in leading start-up companies including Icon Aircraft, Jumpcut, OkCupid, StubHub, Symphony Commerce, Trulia, and Zimbio.