The character arc of Scott Galloway
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 3 November 1964 in San Diego. Between then and now sit a UCLA degree in 1987, a Berkeley MBA in 1992, Prophet in the same year, RedEnvelope in 1997, its public listing in 2003 and its bankruptcy in 2008, L2 in 2010 and its sale to Gartner in 2017, a chair of podcasts from 2018 and six books. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Scott Galloway?
He kept starting them after one failed publicly.
He took his first degree at UCLA in 1987 and an MBA at Berkeley's Haas School in 1992, and founded the brand and marketing consultancy Prophet that same year. In 1997 he founded RedEnvelope, an online retailer. The World Economic Forum named him a Global Leader of Tomorrow in 1999.
RedEnvelope went public in 2003. In 2008 it filed for bankruptcy. That is the moment on this line that most founders would leave out of their biography, and it is the reason the rest of the line reads the way it does. Two years later, in 2010, he founded L2, a research firm ranking the digital performance of brands. Gartner acquired it in March 2017 for one hundred and fifty five million dollars.
He teaches marketing at the Stern School of Business at New York University and founded the executive education company Section in 2019. From September 2018 he has co-hosted the Pivot podcast with Kara Swisher, and from February 2020 The Prof G Show. His books run from The Four in 2017 through The Algebra of Happiness in 2019, Post Corona in 2020, Adrift in 2022, The Algebra of Wealth in 2024 and Notes on Being a Man in 2025. His newsletter No Mercy No Malice won Webby Awards in 2022.
The moments
Scott Galloway's timeline.
The 1980s
UCLA
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A degree from a public university, in his own state.
The 1990s
Berkeley, and Prophet
Milestone, and it changed everything. A business degree and a business, in the same year.
RedEnvelope
Milestone, and it changed everything. The second company, in the first internet boom.
A leader of tomorrow
Milestone. Named by Davos, at thirty four.
The 2000s
RedEnvelope goes public
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A listing, which is the outcome the whole thing was built for.
The bankruptcy
Setback, and it changed everything. The moment most founders leave out of the biography. It is the reason the rest of this line reads the way it does.
Take a job, or start again
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: found another company, taken, or take a salaried role. Gartner bought L2 in March 2017 for one hundred and fifty five million dollars.
The 2010s
He started L2
Milestone, and it changed everything. Two years after the bankruptcy, another company from nothing.
Gartner buys L2
Milestone, and it changed everything. One hundred and fifty five million, nine years after the failure.
The Four
Milestone, and it changed his direction. The first book, on the four companies that reshaped the decade.
Pivot begins
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A second audience, built entirely in his fifties.
Section, and Happiness
Milestone. A company about teaching, and a book that was not about business.
The 2020s
The Algebra of Wealth
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Six books, and the two most recent about how to live rather than what to buy.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is a working demonstration that a public failure is a dip in a line rather than the end of one, which is easier to believe when you can see it drawn.
What he wrote
Books by Scott Galloway
- 2017
The Four
On Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, and what their dominance actually rests on.
- 2019
The Algebra of Happiness
Short notes on love, work and money, written for people at the start of a career.
- 2020
Post Corona
What the pandemic accelerated rather than caused.
- 2022
Adrift
America told in one hundred charts.
- 2024
The Algebra of Wealth
A simple formula for financial security, aimed at people who were not handed one.
- 2025
Notes on Being a Man
His most personal book, on what young men are and are not being told.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His had a company go bankrupt in public and then started two more. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Scott Galloway: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
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More character arcs
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Sources
- Scott Galloway, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- Gartner, acquisition of L2 Inc, March 2017.
- Publisher records for The Four, The Algebra of Happiness, Post Corona, Adrift, The Algebra of Wealth and Notes on Being a Man.