Fundraising Fox

Erin Drooks

Investor

Talent (Head of Talent) at Gradient Ventures

San Francisco

About

Erin Drooks leads Talent at Gradient Ventures, working with early-stage founders on hiring strategy, org design, and key searches. Before Gradient, she was Head of Talent at Candid Health, and earlier built and ran Business Recruiting at Plaid, including launching its EMEA recruiting function. She began her career at Uber, growing with the company during its expansion.

LinkedIn ↗

Experience

  1. GradientTalent Partnercurrent2026 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  2. Drooks Talent ConsultingFractional Head of Talent / Recruiting Consultant2025 — 2026San Francisco Bay Area
  3. Candid HealthHead of Talent2023 — 2025San Francisco Bay Area
  4. PlaidHead of Business Recruiting2017 — 2022San Francisco Bay Area
  5. Forward, Inc.Head of Recruiting2016 — 2017San Francisco Bay Area
  6. Uber TechnologiesCorporate Recruiter2015 — 2016San Francisco Bay Area
  7. Uber TechnologiesOperations Recruiter (Latin America & West Coast)2013 — 2015San Francisco Bay Area
  8. Uber TechnologiesOperations Coordinator2013San Francisco Bay Area
  9. Career Group Inc.Recruiter2012Los Angeles
  10. Montage Hotels & ResortsHuman Resources2011Beverly Hills, CA
  11. Venice Family ClinicVolunteer2006 — 2008Los Angeles, CA
  12. Sotheby'sIntern2007Beverly Hills, CA

Education

  1. Southern Methodist UniversityBachelor of Arts, Sociology
  2. SMU in Paris, France

Same school

Also attended Southern Methodist University63

Minh DoAnalyst at Golden Gate VenturesJim DoehrmanAdvisor at Sierra VenturesTroy A. LeMaile-StovallCEO at Maryland TEDCOThomas MallakSenior Financial Analyst at AlleyCorpAlex GrasPrincipal at Mercury FundBeau BarnesCFO at JStar Capital Investments

+ 57 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Candid Health2

Billy DeitchPartner at Oak HC/FTAlexander KatzManaging Director at Sixth Street

Also worked at Plaid28

Sundeep PeechuGeneral Partner at Felicis VenturesDave MunichielloInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Santo PolitiInvestor at Spark CapitalArpan ShahInvestor at Spark CapitalHelen MinEarly-stage investor and marketing advisor to startupsPhil VenablesVenture Partner at Ballistic Ventures

+ 22 more

Also worked at Uber Technologies210

Bill GurleyGeneral Partner Emeritus at BenchmarkJason CalacanisFounder of LAUNCH; host of This Week in StartupsAndrew ChenGeneral Partner at Andreessen HorowitzFrédérique DameInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Nic LowdenInvestor at Moonfire VenturesAnnie KadavyVenture Partner at Redpoint Ventures

+ 204 more

Also worked at Sotheby's7

Joanna Skoler GilmanChief Marketing and Communications Officer at .406 VenturesSelby DrummondSenior Strategic Officer at Plum Alley InvestmentsAmanda LukofSpecial Needs Advocate at AIFBrandon LeeAssociate at Dreamit VenturesFiona HindmarshGeneral Partner at Significant VenturesBrian StuckeyPrincipal at CoVenture

+ 1 more

Colleagues at Gradient Ventures

Andrew Brackin
Partner at Gradient Ventures
Anna Patterson
Founder and Managing Partner at Gradient Ventures
Clayton Petty
Partner at Gradient Ventures
Darian Shirazi
General Partner at Gradient Ventures
Denise Teng
Partner at Gradient Ventures
Devon Buford
Operations Manager at Gradient Ventures
Eylul Kayin
Partner at Gradient Ventures
Jackie Eicholz
Public Relations & Communications at Gradient Ventures