Elian Pres-Gurwits

Elian is an LA-based entrepreneur with extensive experience launching and scaling ventures across the globe.

Elian’s biggest success so far has been building Glossybox in the US, EU and Asia as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Rocket Internet. He raised $72m of funding for the company, serving as President and Managing Director. After leaving Glossybox in 2015 to pursue an MBA at Harvard Business School, it was acquired by The Hut Group in 2017.

After graduating, Elian joined Ray Dalio’s investment management firm Bridgewater Associates as a senior manager. He helped Dalio launch his new venture, Principles, and oversaw trading and account management departments. He has also served as a senior advisor to businesses such as Dr Smile, the venture capital firm Entrepreneur First, and Schoeller Group.

Gently is Elian’s newest venture, a disruptive logistics company he co-founded with Harvard classmate Anas Aljumaily in January 2023.

Born and raised in Germany, Elian has lived and worked in nine different countries and is fluent in German, Russian, and English. He currently splits his time between Los Angeles and Berlin.