Speaker · Founder · Creative Director
Transformational
Speaker, Coach
& Experience Designer
Helping leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, and organizations unlock deeper presence, creativity, connection, and impact.
Watch Speaking Reel
Featured & Presented At
SXSW
Burning Man
Summit Series
Who Is Gagan
Entrepreneur, Speaker,
Creative Leader
Gagan has spent two decades at the intersection of leadership, creativity, and human connection. From founding companies to designing immersive experiences at Burning Man, from coaching Fortune 500 executives to speaking at global stages, his work is a living testament to what becomes possible when we lead with presence.
He believes the greatest competitive advantage any leader, organization, or creative can develop is the capacity for deep presence the ability to be fully here, fully alive, and fully connected to what matters most.
Leadership
Presence
Creativity
Transformation
Human Connection
The Journey
Founder
2008
Creator
2012
Speaker
2015
Coach
2018
Facilitator
2021
The Philosophy
Presence
Changes Everything
In a world of infinite distraction, the most radical act is to be fully here. Presence is not passive. It is the most powerful force available to any leader, creator, or human being committed to genuine transformation.
"Authenticity is not a brand strategy.
It is the courageous act of showing up as you are and trusting that is enough."
Start your own dam cult
Most founders chase growth. The great ones create gravity.
Here is Gagan's latest book, Start Your Own Damn Cult: A Founder's Field Guide. The inspiration behind it comes from two decades of watching what actually makes movements and brands stick. Gagan has seen firsthand, through his work with names like Patagonia, Clif Bar, NASA, and the MoveOn campaign, that organizations only scale when people truly believe in them.
That belief is what he calls "gravity," and when a brand builds enough of it, it starts to function like a cult in the best sense of the word: devotion, shared meaning, and care, not control. The book distills that insight into the Cultiv8 Codex, eight practical codes for leaders who want to build culture with clarity and courage, without losing their humanity along the way.
Polish the mirror. Find the frequency. Catalyze the cult.
Signature Talks
Speaking Topics
01
Start Your Own Damn Cult
Culture doesn't shift all at once it shifts through subcultures. Gagan reclaims the word "cult" on purpose, showing why movements are born through belonging and trust, not marketing tricks.
Audience Outcomes
◆
Cult-brand vocabulary
◆
Language for belonging
◆
Clarity on founding movements
02
Scale Your Cult
Growth doesn't have to mean dilution. Gagan breaks down why brands that scale without going hollow rely on myth, ritual, symbol, and evangelists, not marketing, to grow the movement.
Audience Outcomes
◆
Five-principle scaling framework
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Evangelists over customers
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Soul-line for growth
03
Culture-Centered Design
Traditional marketing asks what consumers want. Culture-centered design asks what's resonant in the subcultures that matter. Gagan reveals five culture signals that move people from anxiety to action.
Audience Outcomes
◆
Five culture signals
◆
Human resonance
◆
Momentum over messaging
04
Building the Movement
Gagan shows founders and leaders that business doesn't have to be soulless to succeed, mapping out the path from a flicker to a movement that catches fire.
Audience Outcomes
◆
Purpose-driven brand clarity
◆
Mission-aligned leadership team
◆
Movement momentum
05
The Brand's Soul
Values and purpose aren't separate workstreams, they're one platform. Gagan shows how to get real clarity on what a brand stands for, weaving purpose into a single, coherent, lasting story.
Audience Outcomes
◆
Unified brand platform
◆
Shared leadership language
◆
Coherent decisions
06
Puhpowee Breakthrough
Puhpowee is a Potawatomi word for "the force that causes mushrooms to push up overnight." Gagan shows teams how ideas, like mushrooms, sprout wildly from the fertile creative soil.
Audience Outcomes
◆
Repeatable breakthrough method
◆
Bolder creative risk-taking
◆
Ongoing creative output
Event Formats
How Gagan Shows Up
Keynote Speaking
A single, high-impact talk designed to move an audience intellectually, emotionally, and experientially. Fully customized to your conference theme, audience, and desired outcomes.
45–90 min
Workshops
Interactive, immersive sessions where participants don't just listen — they experience the material firsthand. Ideal for teams seeking tangible, immediately applicable insights.
Half or Full Day
Executive Retreats
Multi-day transformational retreats for senior leadership teams. Set in extraordinary environments, these experiences create the conditions for deep reflection, bold strategy, and genuine reconnection.
2–5 Days
Leadership Intensives
Concentrated deep-dives for emerging and established leaders. Combines Gagan's frameworks with experiential practice, peer reflection, and personalized guidance.
1–2 Days
Experiential Activations
Custom-designed experiences for conferences, festivals, and corporate events. Gagan creates immersive environments that spark genuine conversation, connection, and insight.
Custom
Custom Conference Experiences
Full conference design partnerships from opening ceremonies to closing rituals, breakout experiences to speaker coaching. Gagan shapes the entire arc of transformation.
Multi-Day Event
The Experience Layer
Beyond
the Stage
Gagan doesn't just speak at events — he transforms them. Drawing from years of designing experiences at Burning Man, executive retreats, and global conferences, he creates environments where genuine transformation is not a metaphor but a lived reality.
"Experiences that create connection, reflection,
transformation, and meaningful conversations."
Coaching
Work With
Gagan
One-on-One
As founder of Guru and a spiritual strategist behind two decades of movement-building, Gagan works with a select few clients and collaborators each year. Every engagement is bespoke, deeply personal, and rooted in transformation.
Executive Coaching
Ideal for: C-suite leaders and senior executives
As founder of Guru, Gagan has coached leaders through complexity and reinvention, working at the intersection of strategy, mythos, and true presence.
Outcomes
◆
Clarity in defining moments
◆
Gravitas that commands rooms
◆
Sustainable, mythic performance
Creative Breakthrough Coaching
Ideal for: Artists, entrepreneurs, and creative leaders
For creators who know they're capable of more but feel stuck. Puhpowee is the force that makes mushrooms push up overnight we excavate that same sacred force in you.
Outcomes
◆
Break through creative blocks
◆
Rekindle creative fire
◆
Launch meaningful work
Leadership Development
Ideal for: Emerging leaders and high-potentials
Accelerated development for leaders asked to step up before they ever feel ready. We build the inner mythos that makes outer leadership sustainable.
Outcomes
◆
Own your leadership identity
◆
Navigate team complexity
◆
Lead through uncertainty
Personal Transformation
Ideal for: Anyone at a crossroads or major life transition
Sometimes the most important development is deeply personal. Gagan draws on two decades of spiritual practice to hold space for transformation.
Outcomes
◆
Clarity on values and direction
◆
Release limiting patterns
◆
Create life on your terms
Entrepreneur Coaching
Ideal for: Founders and solopreneurs
Building a business is one of the most intense creative acts. As founder of Guru, Gagan works on both the brand and the human founder behind it.
Outcomes
◆
Aligned business vision
◆
Founder resilience
◆
Impact beyond revenue
Media Kit
Everything You Need to Promote the Event
All assets are approved and ready to use. Download what you need or request a customized package.
Book Gagan
Let's Create
Something
Meaningful
Whether you're planning a conference, building a coaching practice, or designing a retreat, Gagan's work begins with a genuine conversation about what you're creating and why it matters.
A Final Word
"You don't need to be fixed.
You need to be remembered,
to yourself."
Presence
Connection
Creativity
Transformation
