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Laela Sturdy

Laela Sturdy

Managing Partner·CapitalG

San Francisco, California

Bio

Professional summary

Laela Sturdy is Managing Partner at CapitalG, Alphabet’s growth investment fund. CapitalG’s official profile credits her with investments in major technology companies including Stripe, Duolingo, Gusto, Isomorphic Labs, Lovable, UiPath, and Whatnot. She joined CapitalG shortly after its inception in 2013 after a career at Google, where she served as managing director of emerging businesses, launched and scaled several high-growth businesses, and held leadership roles on YouTube and Google Search. Earlier, she was a consultant at Bain & Company advising media, retail, CPG, and private equity clients. She holds an AB in Biochemistry from Harvard College, an MSc in Multimedia Systems from Trinity College Dublin, and an MBA from Stanford GSB. Her official profile states that she lives in San Francisco with her wife and kids.

Investment focus

Stage, sector, and overall fit

Stage

growth stagescale-uplate-stage private technology

Sector

cross-sector technologyenterprise softwareconsumer internetfintecheducation technologyautomationAI

Thesis

Growth-stage technology companies with room to scaleCross-sector investments in high-growth technology businessesCompanies with compelling vision and strong teams

Notable companies

Selected portfolio companies the partner has backed

StripeDuolingoGustoIsomorphic LabsLovableUiPathWhatnot

How to approach

Framing and angles for outreach

Pitch framing

Position the company as a growth-stage business with a clear scaling inflection, strong leadership, and areas where CapitalG’s operating expertise can accelerate expansion.

Personalization hooks

  1. 1Former Google operator who launched and scaled emerging businesses.
  2. 2Explicit interest in helping founders navigate the growth-stage shift from finding what works to scaling what works.
  3. 3Portfolio spans Stripe, Duolingo, Gusto, UiPath, Whatnot, and AI-related companies.

Recent signals

What the partner has said or done recently

  • CapitalG profile includes 2025 posts on Lovable and Whatnot.

  • CapitalG profile emphasizes growth-stage scaling, founder partnership, and hands-on operational expertise.

Background

Career, education, and skills

Career history

  • CapitalGManaging PartnerOct 2013 – Present (promoted to Managing Partner 2023)
  • GoogleManaging Director, Emerging BusinessesJan 2007 – Oct 2013
  • Bain & CompanyCase Team Leader2004 – 2006
  • Amnesty InternationalDirector, Art for AmnestySep 2001 – Aug 2002

Education

  • Stanford Graduate School of BusinessMBA
  • Trinity College DublinMSc, Multimedia Systems
  • Harvard UniversityAB, Biochemistry

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