Gardner Nash

Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

“Builder turned backer, investing in those shaping what’s next.”

Hometown: Carlisle, MA

Fun Fact About Yourself: I love building things, from custom gear for VR photography to small apps that fix daily problems.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Richmond, Business Administration (Finance concentration) and Political Science

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: CarGurus, Group Product Manager

What has been your first impression of the Tuck MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best Tuck story so far. During my early career, I worked with several Tuck alumni, but I did not fully understand how rare this community is until I started the MBA process. When I reached out to students and alumni at Tuck, almost everyone replied and most people introduced me to two or three more Tuckies. At Tuck your community becomes exponential.

I chalk that up to what people here call “Tuck nice,” a culture where people make an intentional investment in each other. You see it in warm greetings during cold winters, in classmates showing up for Band Party (shoutout to the class of 2027 band, the Grateful Debt), and in how quickly people step up to help. It is a community that builds you up before you even get to Hanover.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Dartmouth Tuck’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Traditional MBA career journeys into fields such as consulting and investment banking are known for their well-defined structures. However, alternative paths into careers in venture capital and growth equity are defined by their ambiguity.

Coming from tech, what drew me to Tuck was that the school solves for this ambiguity with a full “stack” of support that enables you to pave your own path.

Tuck pairs world class career services with the Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital, which helps you find the right people and timing. On top of that, I can shape a First-Year Project around a live diligence or portfolio need, so I can show firms I already know how to work their problems.

What excites you the most about coming to live in Hanover? What is the one activity you can’t wait to do? I grew up in Massachusetts and love winter, so I can’t wait for the first snow. Only at Tuck can you ski freshly groomed trails in the morning, practice negotiation skills with classmates in the afternoon, and then grab dinner with a visiting executive in your target field in the same day. My ski gear is ready to go.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Dartmouth Tuck? The Early Stage Venture Capital Practicum provides a unique opportunity to work directly with founders and venture capital practitioners on a series of live deals from Seed to Series B. It is a chance to get real reps on the investment skills that are part of my career journey and to keep building my network in the industry. After several years launching marketplace and wholesale products, I am excited to apply the operator and product manager view to the discussion.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At CarGurus, I helped the company move beyond its core listings marketplace into the dealer wholesale market and consumer seller market. Dealers needed inventory to replace what they sold on our marketplace and consumers wanted real offers at home, so we built products for both sides. I led cross functional teams that launched and scaled these products to thousands of customers and meaningful revenue. What I am proudest of is the operating model we built with engineering and sales, which let us keep shipping fast in a complex two-sided market.

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)? I plan to join the investment team in a venture capital or growth equity firm that backs consumer and enterprise technology. I want to use my product and operator experience to help source and evaluate companies, then partner with founders on the decisions that drive adoption and revenue growth.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Dartmouth Tuck’s MBA program? Tuck is a unique community in a unique location. We have outstanding professors, an unrivaled alumni network, and great career outcomes.

We are also only around 300 people per class, two hours from the nearest international airport, and 45 minutes from the nearest Chipotle (I checked).

When you write your essay about “Why Tuck,” take extra time to reflect on what this experience means to you. Beyond showing that you did the research, the admissions team wants to see how you will contribute to the community. Talk to students, faculty, and alumni, and if you can, come visit Hanover. Tuck is an incredible place because people come ready to actively and authentically invest in the experience.

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