Hi, I’m Gabriel.

In 2016 I started a software company called Halla, with two friends from high school. Over the next several years, we built Halla into an AI-powered platform serving some of the largest grocery retailers in the world. Along the way, we raised $10 million in venture capital, built a world-class team, sold enterprise software, and built a business that ultimately led to an acquisition by Instacart in 2025.

Like many founders, I wore a lot of hats. I worked across fundraising, product strategy, enterprise sales, partnerships, customer success, finance, operations, and go-to-market. I translated complex technology into stories investors believed in, customers understood, and teams could rally around.

What I learned is simple: Great companies rarely struggle because of a lack of ambition. More often, they struggle because their story, strategy, and execution aren’t fully aligned.

That’s why I started Willowcrest. We work with founders and leadership teams on fundraising, positioning, growth, and influence — helping ambitious companies clarify what makes them special and bring it to market effectively.