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ENCORE: From Educator to VC Partner: Shruti Shah’s Entrepreneurial Journey, Building Confidence, and Scaling Success
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Welcome to the DO GOOD X podcast. Today, hosts Kimberly Daniel and Stephen Lewis want to close out 2024 by highlighting their interview with Shruti Shah, Partner at Symphonic Capital. In this insightful conversation Shruti discusses her journey from educator to entrepreneur and the lessons she's learned along the way. Shruti opens up about the challenges and triumphs of scaling a business, building confidence as a founder, and the importance of empathy in the investor-founder relationship. From her experiences navigating a failed exit strategy to the essential resources she recommends for startup entrepreneurs, Shruti shares invaluable insights that will inspire and empower any founder. This episode offers reflection and key takeaways to help you start strong in your 2025 entrepreneurial journey.
IN THIS EPISODE:
(00:00) Introduction
(04:13) Shruti transitions from teacher to entrepreneur
(06:24) How Shruti built her confidence to be successful
(09:18) A failed exit strategy
(21:07) Identifying with an entrepreneur from the investor's side
(26:18) Resources that Shruti would recommend to start up entrepreneurs
(37:42) Shruti answers questions in the “Off the Cuff’ segment
(43:13) The hosts bring it all together
TAKEAWAYS:
- Building confidence as an entrepreneur comes from navigating challenges and reflecting on how you overcome them. When you're starting, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by how much you don't know. But through that process, you develop self-awareness and learn to lean on others' expertise, recognizing that your role is to hold the vision and learn from your team.
- In the early stages of building a business, founders should prioritize generalists—flexible, adaptable team members who can jump in and help figure things out. As the startup scales, however, bringing on specialists with deep industry expertise who can provide insights and solutions quickly is crucial to success.
- The best type of investor for an entrepreneur is one who brings deep empathy and understands the challenges of building a company. Entrepreneurs face constant uncertainty, making decisions with limited information and juggling many responsibilities. A supportive investor doesn't just provide capital—they help founders navigate challenges and offer guidance.
RESOURCES:
GUEST BIO:
Shruti Shah is a partner at Symphonic Capital, a pre-seed investment fund, and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, advisor, and investor. She was previously an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Nike and Silicon Valley Bank. She co-founded Move Loot, a Y Combinator-backed marketplace for buying and selling used furniture that raised $22 million. Forbes has recognized Shruti as a 2016 30 Under 30 honoree in Retail and E-Commerce and by the Aspen Institute as an Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of North Carolina and an MS in Education from Johns Hopkins University.
Chapters
1. Introduction (00:00:00)
2. Shruti transitions from teacher to entrepreneur (00:04:13)
3. How Shruti built her confidence to be successful (00:06:24)
4. A failed exit strategy (00:09:18)
5. Identifying with an entrepreneur from the investor's side (00:21:07)
6. Resources that Shruti would recommend to start up entrepreneurs (00:26:18)
7. Shruti answers questions in the “Off the Cuff’ segment (00:37:42)
8. The hosts bring it all together (00:43:13)
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