Osman Khan

Osman Khan is a seasoned entrepreneur and executive with over 20 years of experience building and scaling consumer businesses. Born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Jordan, Khan attended Northwestern University for his undergraduate degree and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School (Class of 2009). He began his career in finance and professional services, working at Goldman Sachs and then as a Principal at Perella Weinberg Partners (2009-2011), where he focused on M&A and private capital raising. He also held a position as Principal at Towers Perrin earlier in his career.

In 2011, Khan co-founded Paddle8, an online art auction platform, alongside Alexander Gilkes (a former LVMH executive and Phillips auctioneer) and Aditya Julka. Under Khan's leadership as CEO, Paddle8 raised over $44 million from investors across the art, luxury, media, and technology industries, and connected buyers and sellers of fine art, collectibles, design, jewelry, and watches. Khan was recognized as one of Fast Company's Most Creative Entrepreneurs in 2017 and was listed among the 100 Most Powerful People in the Art World by Art + Auction in 2015 and 2016. After departing Paddle8, Khan advised over 50 companies in the consumer space on strategic and transformational matters and served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Nike (January 2019 - September 2022), supporting their innovation team on the launch of new consumer-facing businesses.

In 2019, Khan co-founded Squared Circles alongside Alexander Gilkes and Lukas Derksen (former managing partner and co-founder of creative agency Sid Lee). Squared Circles is a venture studio that incubates science-backed consumer brands in the health, wellness, food, and beverage sectors. Khan also serves as a Director at Beyond Capital Fund, was formerly Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Youngtimers AG, and is a board member of ArteEast. He is affiliated with 10X CEO and the Forbes Coaches Council.

Khan's investment and venture-building thesis centers on turning breakthrough science into accessible consumer brands across health, wellness, and food. Through Squared Circles, he incubates and launches brands that are grounded in clinical research and scientific innovation, targeting categories where legacy incumbents have not kept pace with emerging science. His approach as a venture studio operator (rather than a passive investor) means he is deeply involved in brand creation, product development, and go-to-market strategy. As an angel investor, Khan focuses on seed-stage consumer companies, with a particular interest in educational technology, direct-to-consumer models, and businesses at the intersection of culture and commerce. He has advised and invested across food, wellness, beauty, fashion, and lifestyle verticals.