I build brands
that get acquired.

First marketing hire at Viviscal, RXBAR, and QuillBot. Three companies acquired for a combined $1.15B+. Now building Awesome Sleep in public and sharing wins, fails, lessons.

The everything I know — delivered once a week.

As seen on

“One of the sharpest operators in DTC brand building.”

The Huffington PostEntrepreneurGQThe Los Angeles TimesAOL

What founders say

Trusted by top CEOs

Kaivan built our brand from zero to acquisition-ready in under 18 months. His instinct for positioning is unmatched — he knows exactly what will land with buyers and what will not.
MH

Mark Holland

Former CEO, Viviscal

When you need someone who can operate at the founder level but execute like a growth lead, Kaivan is the only name on the list. He sees around corners most people do not even know exist.
MG

Michael Guan

Co-Founder, Final Round AI

Kaivan joined us when we were 12 people and no brand. He left us with a playbook, a team, and a narrative that made our acquisition a foregone conclusion. Rare talent.
RG

Rohan Gupta

CEO, QuillBot

Kaivan Dave

About

Kaivan Dave

In 2013 I took a bet on a brand nobody had heard of. I was the first marketing hire. No team. No playbook. No guarantee it would work. It worked. Viviscal sold to Church & Dwight for $250 million under 3 years.

At RXBAR, I joined early as Director of Ecommerce — one of the first go-to-market contributors helping build what became one of the most recognizable food brands in America. I was part of that journey for two years. Kellogg's eventually paid $600 million for it.

Then QuillBot. I built the marketing team from zero to 50 people in three years. Learneo acquired it for $300 million under 3 years.

Three companies. Three acquisitions. $1.15 billion combined. I wasn't the founder. I was the person the founders trusted to figure out how to make the world care.

Now building Awesome Sleep to help you breathe better, sleep better, so you can wake up ready.

Outside of building companies I'm training for HYROX, reading ancient philosophy, and chasing experiences that remind me what I'm actually alive for.

Life's an adventure. Make it an awesome one.

Work with me →

Selected Work

A look at what I've shipped

Billboards, articles ranking at the top of Google, promo videos, and banners — a sample of campaigns, content, and creative I've shipped across brands.

  • Times Square billboard — Viviscal

    Out-of-home · New York

    Times Square billboard — Viviscal

  • Sunset Strip billboard — RXBAR

    Out-of-home · Los Angeles

    Sunset Strip billboard — RXBAR

  • Transit takeover — Quillbot

    Out-of-home · SF Bay Area

    Transit takeover — Quillbot

  • Launch billboard — Awesome Sleep

    Out-of-home · Mumbai

    Launch billboard — Awesome Sleep

Newsletter

One email a week. Worth reading.

What I'm building, reading, and learning — as it happens. Brand strategy, operator lessons, sleep insights, and book takeaways from someone with skin in the game.

The everything I know — delivered once a week.

As seen on

“One of the sharpest operators in DTC brand building.”

The Huffington PostEntrepreneurGQThe Los Angeles TimesAOL

Join founders, operators, and brand builders who read this every week.

Reading list

Books That Rewired My Brain

I've read a lot of these books starting 2021. Entrepreneurship, spirituality, psychology, growth, and human potential — filtered through the real experience of building companies.

  • Happy Pocket Full of Money cover
  • Brand is Everything cover
  • A Happy Pocket Full of Money cover
  • Don't Believe Everything You Think cover
  • How to Live an Extraordinary Life cover
  • My Hanuman Chalisa cover
  • Think and Grow Rich cover
  • Don't Worry: 48 Lessons on Achieving Calm cover
  • Buy Back Your Time cover
  • Never Finished cover
  • The Quantum Leap Strategy cover
  • As A Man Thinketh cover
  • The Surrender Experiment cover
  • What's in it for Them? cover
  • The Magic of Thinking Big cover
  • Hidden Genius

    2023
  • When Breath Becomes Air cover
  • 7 Powers cover
  • The Business Playbook cover
  • Attached cover
  • Sapiens cover
  • The Cold Start Problem cover
  • Ready, Fire, Aim cover
  • The Big Leap cover
  • $100M Offers cover
  • The Motive cover
  • A Guide to the Good Life cover
  • The Storyteller cover
  • Turning Pro cover
  • A Return to Love cover
  • The Coaching Habit cover
  • Zero to One cover
  • The Hard Thing About Hard Things cover
  • The Almanack of Naval Ravikant cover
  • Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! cover
  • No Rules Rules cover
  • The Rhythm of Business

    2021
  • I Will Teach You to Be Rich cover
  • Dying to Be Me cover
  • The Checklist Manifesto cover
  • Limitless cover
  • The Secret of Secrets cover
  • 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think cover
  • Blue Ocean Shift cover
  • Greenlights cover
  • Born a Crime cover
  • The Innovation Stack

    2021
  • Selling Naked

    2021
  • Unfu*k Yourself cover
  • Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 9 cover
  • Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter cover