DO GOOD X Podcast

ENCORE: From Educator to VC Partner: Shruti Shah’s Entrepreneurial Journey, Building Confidence, and Scaling Success

• Shruti Shah, Kimberly R Daniel & Stephen Lewis

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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:  

Symphonic Capital - Website

Shruti Shah - LinkedIn

DO GOOD X - Website

DO GOOD X - LinkedIn

DO GOOD X - YouTube

DO GOOD X - Spotify

DO GOOD X -  Instagram

Kimberly Daniel - LinkedIn

Stephen Lewis - LinkedIn

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.

Narrator: [00:00:00] Welcome to the do good X podcast, a sanctuary from the entrepreneur grind host Kimberly, Danielle, and Steven Lewis advocates for impactful entrepreneurship guide you on the path where purpose meets business. Join us to slow down, reconnect, and explore the challenges of under resourced entrepreneurs, uncovering the unique journey of building businesses that make a difference.
Now you're hosts.
Stephen Lewis: Well, welcome to the do good X podcast. My name is Stephen Lewis and I am a catalyst for positive change. For communities and businesses. And for more than two decades, I've inspired leaders, uh, and entrepreneurs to live and work on purpose. And I am delighted to be joined here with my colleague, Kimberly.
Hey, Kimberly. 
Kimberly Daniel: Hey, Steven. [00:01:00] And hello everyone. My name is Kimberly Danielle, and I am a communication strategist, a coach, and a community builder who comes from generations of faith driven leaders. And entrepreneurs who believe that our work should contribute. Contribute to the positive change and common good that we want to see in the world.
And I look forward to this conversation that we are going to have today with our guest Shruti Shah. Shruti is a partner at Symphonic Capital, a pre seed investment fund for early stage startups. And previously, she was an entrepreneur in residence at Nike and an advisor, investor, and consultant to a number of startups.
She also worked as entrepreneur in residence at Silicon Valley Bank, where she supported the early stage practice team on strategic partnerships. And she also coached entrepreneurs there. Now, she was previously the co founder and COO of Y [00:02:00] Combinator backed MoveLoot, an online full service marketplace for buying and selling used furniture.
And you may have heard of MoveLoot. Because it was covered in many different news outlets. And over the course of three, three years, the team raised 22 million and was highlighted, as I said, in TechCrunch, Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, CNN, Time. Fortune and more. So Shruti has been in this game for for a bit of time.
Shruti has been honored by Forbes as the 2016 30 under 30 recipient in retail and e commerce specifically, and the Aspen Institute as an Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar in Reimagining Capital. Now, Shruti has a fascinating journey. She and I connected a little bit ago, and she has a fascinating journey with once being a public school teacher, launching a [00:03:00] recognized business, raising a significant amount of money, working at Nike, with which most of us Nike, she has been an advisor consultant to now being a partner at a fund.
So she has a wealth of experience and knowledge in different areas and aspects of business and entrepreneurship and even connecting with people in communities as a partner. As a school teacher. So I can't wait for us to dive into her story and to hear her insights. And I hope you all glean something valuable from this episode today.
So thank you so much for joining us, Shruti. 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. 
Kimberly Daniel: Of course. Now you have made such a significant impact in various aspects of your work. I want to hear about. Your move from being a public school teacher to launching a business when people, well, first of all, thank you for being a public school teachers.
Teachers [00:04:00] aren't recognized enough, aren't paid enough for the work that they're doing each day. I want to hear about what made, what made you shift from that career to launching a business? 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: Great question. So when I was teaching, I was a public school teacher in Baltimore just out of college, and I, as a teacher, got really interested in the role that technology was playing in the classroom.
So I started using a lot of ed tech tools. In my classroom, helping other teachers use those same tools. And many of those tools were emerging startups. They were run by entrepreneurs, many of whom were based on the West coast. And so, um, these were very small companies and I was able to build relationships with many of these founders, um, and give them product feedback.
You know, I tell them what was working and what wasn't working in my classroom. And so that helps me build a network in kind of the ed tech space. And Um, [00:05:00] you know, uh, I would say maybe six months into my second year of teaching, I got introduced to a large fund based in California that was looking to bring somebody on who could really support, um, in their diligence process as they were making investments and help them think about, you know, the teacher perspective in investing.
That is how I ended up, um, in the world of tech and venture capital. I ended up moving to San Francisco and joining this small fund, um, to be able to support their team as they thought about what investments to make. Um, that the fund is now a very large fund, as I mentioned. Um, and it is. Um, investing across education and workplace and healthcare.
So they've expanded their reach since, but, um, but really got their start in, in ed tech. 
Stephen Lewis: So I've read in previous interviews that you've done that, you know, one of the [00:06:00] toughest things that you had to do as a founder was really feeling comfortable in your own skin, trusting yourself, building confidence.
And this is not anything new that we've heard from other founders. And so I'm curious about. How'd you face this challenge and build your confidence and wherewithal to, to do what it is that you've done today and be as successful as you have been? 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: It's a really good question. You know, I think, um, when you're in your early twenties and you take a big risk, uh, and hope, hope it works out, there is a lot of learning, um, that you do, I guess, from, from a technical perspective, but I think even more, you learn about yourself and what you're capable of.
And I actually think that a lot of confidence is built through navigating through hard things because when you look back, you're able to reflect on what did occur and how you made it through. [00:07:00] And, um, and if you're able to kind of do that kind of active reflection, it does help you See how, how those experiences have made you who you are and made you a stronger version of yourself.
And so, you know, I still think that we are all on a journey of, of becoming who we are. Um, and I think that, um, What starting a company at that age taught me was first, I mean, I think I developed awareness around how much I didn't know and how, um, how in over my head I actually was. And so there was an element of being able to.
You know, really try to get out of the way, um, and hire people with a lot of expertise and realize that, you know, in that moment, my job was to be one of the holders. I had three co founders of the vision for this organization, but that I [00:08:00] also needed to spend as much time learning as I possibly could. Um, and then I think, Yeah.
Over time you start to develop confidence because you're learning a lot and you're learning a lot from the people that you bring on your team and figuring out how to support them. And, you know, fast forward 10 years later, I think that is an experience that kind of forced me To get really clear about who I am and what I value and, um, and what I'm capable of.
And I think that's kind of, uh, that was a big piece for me and in becoming really comfortable with who I am and, and, um, what's possible for my life. 
Kimberly Daniel: So clearly you gain some level of confidence in being able to raise such a significant amount of money for the company that you co founded Moot Loot. And I do know [00:09:00] that, you know, some years later it was acquired and you exited from that business.
So can you talk a little bit about what led to that business decision, that strategic decision, and what was most important in you negotiating your exit? 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: Those are great questions. And I should first start by saying that Moot Loot did have an exit, but it was not a great exit. And part of that was that we ended up changing our business model, um, pretty late into building the business.
We'd already raised a lot of money and the hope I think was that we would be able to grow faster. By getting out of the warehousing business and instead, um, basically providing a digital platform to help people buy and sell their used furniture and then connecting them to people that would do the pickup and delivery.
Um, the challenge with that pivot is that we had built. A [00:10:00] product that people really loved. And we had an incredibly loyal customer base, about half of our buyers are repeat buyers, about 60 percent of our sellers are repeat sellers. And so when we presented all of these customers with a new experience, as you might imagine, many of them felt alienated.
And so we needed to have a better strategy in place to acquire new customers. And we made this pivot around the same time as some really large competitors entered the space with huge marketing budgets and a lot of opportunity, including, I should add, we predated Facebook Marketplace. So Facebook Marketplace is You know, now fairly mainstream, but at the time it had either just launched or was kind of in, in the beta phase of, of being rolled out.
And so, um, I think it was a lesson in perhaps, you know, I think in startups we move very fast. Um, [00:11:00] and I think, uh, Sometimes you figured something out and what you really just need is time and space to get the unit economics right, to be able to scale sustainably and thoughtfully. And I think we didn't feel like we had that luxury.
Um, And the exit ultimately was, you know, uh, effectively a fire sale. We sold pieces of the business. Um, and we did that because we didn't have the right strategy for acquiring that new customer. I think if, if we could do it again, I think there would have been some more thoughtfulness around, did we actually just need to raise a small bridge round to get the business to overall profitability?
We were unit profitable in a lot of, in all of our. Our individual markets, but needed to become overall profitable as a business. Um, I also think there's some lessons around, um, you know, how [00:12:00] much venture capital you raise in the first place. Like, I think we see raising money as the goal. We were fortunate to have raised quite a bit of capital to scale our business.
And I, I say this from a place of incredible privilege, but I think that, um, There are many ways to build a business and venture capital is not always the right way or the only option. And so considering different paths for kind of the types of financing you might need to really scale is incredibly important.
Um, and then I think ultimately, you know, if you are thinking about an exit, there's, there should always be multiple paths that you're running towards. So, In our case, we could have been thinking about that bridge financing. We could have also been thinking about, okay, well, maybe we get the bridge financing, but who are the people that would look at our business today and be excited about it and be potential acquirers?
And how do we start building relationships with them now so that we can get term sheets and [00:13:00] have multiple options on the table for us to consider? Um, And, you know, and I think I say hindsight's 2020, um, you know, these were all decisions that we were making while we were running a million miles an hour, and we were also incredibly young.
I was 24 when I started this company and all of this happened, I think, between the time I turned 24 until I was 27 or 28. So really young, um, obviously not a ton of experience and I learned a lot by doing it and so, um, Now I look back and I think there are so many things we could have done differently.
Um, but, uh, I hope to be able to use that experience to support a lot of the founders that we work with. Um, and you know, to not, not because, you know, they're going to have the same experience that I did, but, but more because I think there were a lot of lessons that I think can be valuable in helping them think about if they end up in a position like we did, [00:14:00] how do they optimize for the biggest chance of success.
Stephen Lewis: So let me just ask you a follow up question because we've heard this from other founders and investors that we've also, um, interviewed on the podcast around venture capital. I'm curious, you know, what experience would you give to entrepreneurs who are developing an exit strategy and when should they even exit?
So you've talked about, you know, having multiple options, but I'm just wondering if you could tease that out a little bit more and say what you're doing with the founders that you're working with or what advice that you would offer in general in thinking about exits and when to exit. 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: It's a great question.
And I, I think exit strategies are to some extent personal. Um, what do you want for your life and, um, what is it going to take for you to get there? There are people that want to start companies and they want to run those companies for 30 years and their exit [00:15:00] might be selling the business 30 years from now, but ultimately they're going to generate a lot of their wealth through the dividends or profits from the business.
There are people who are building for the purpose of being able to sell to a larger company. Um, and often, you know, that is a 10 to 15 year timeline. Sometimes it can happen sooner than that, but Um, to really be kind of in that sweet spot, it's going to take time to get the business to a place where it becomes interesting to a potential acquirer, depending on what it is.
And if the business is much younger, maybe it's, um, you know, you're working on some new technology that might be interesting to a large corporation. Sometimes, you know, you get acquired sooner and then you become part of that new or that larger corporation. But in those cases, the exit doesn't necessarily look good.
Particularly large for the founder. And oftentimes the founder ends up working for that company with golden [00:16:00] handcuffs. So you don't earn, um, the return on that investment until, until the founder sticks around for a certain period of time. Um, there's also the option of, I mean, I say the option, but there's also the opportunity to go public, right.
And to, to be in it, to ultimately take a company. Yeah. Um, or to raise money on the public market and build a, uh, a big corporation. Um, and that is also something that is hard to do. And that takes a long time, oftentimes, you know, 10, 12, 14 years of, of really building and growing, um, at a, at a fairly fast rate, but, um, but doing it in a way that, um, Um, is going to be interesting to public market investors.
So I think when you're thinking about exit strategy, you want to think about who is your, who are your potential audiences for an exit? Who are the people that could be acquirers of your business? If you want to go to public, what will it take [00:17:00] for you to get there? Um, or if you want to be aqua hired, what, you know, what are the things that people who are making those kinds of acquisitions, um, look for, or, you know, the, the fourth option is I want to run this business for a long time.
And I want to make a lot of money and, and I want to do it without. Having a lot of investors, um, who are, are part of the cap table. And so I say all of those things because there's not a one size fits all. I think every person who is building a startup has a different approach to, uh, what their vision is for the organization and what they see as.
I think we're in a fortunate position at Symphonic. We, um, we want to back companies that will have big exits, but those exits don't have to be billion dollar exits, which I think is the case for a lot of venture capital funds. Um, and part of that is we invest so early. We invest at the precede stage. So we're saying.[00:18:00] 
Okay. You know, can this company get a 250 to 500 million exit, um, somewhere down the line now we hope obviously that some of them go public, um, and that some of them get acquired, but we know that that won't be the case for all of, all of our startups, um, that said, you know, we are in a very specific business.
Venture capital is rocket fuel for a company and our expectations are that our companies are going to get very big. And there's other types of financing out there to help companies grow where the expectations are different because the return on investment comes back through a revenue share, a dividend, um, it's a loan.
So people get paid interest, you know. So there's many different ways to think about the type of financing you need to grow your business and then ultimately how that leads you down a path toward the type of acquisition that you might be interested in long term. 
Stephen Lewis: That's good. That's very helpful. 
Kimberly Daniel: I [00:19:00] want to just back up just for a moment to just reflect back, especially to our listeners, some of the things that you shared in in some of your responses so far that really stuck out to me, especially for entrepreneurs who are building their business.
But I appreciate your, your transparency around the pivot before the exit and sharing that. And knowing that, you know, if you have a loyal customer base to really be intentional about the strategy before diving into what the idea is. And then also you noted around, you know, you were really, you and the team, um, and the, your fellow co founders were really moving fast, moving fast.
And, you know, May have missed some things that should have been thought about, and it's so easy in entrepreneurship to just be on the go and to not take moments of reflection to truly discern and determine if the way [00:20:00] forward is is the best. The third thing that you mentioned that that we've heard from other guests, but I want to emphasize again is that.
Venture capital isn't the only form of financing for businesses, and it may not be best based on your business model. So really taking that into consideration as you all are looking for funding for your businesses. And this piece around exit strategy, every exit is different, every exit looks different.
So having that also that internal conversation with yourself and reflection on what do you desire in addition to what's best for the business. But I just want to make sure that if you're tuning in, you're not missing these, these kinds of nuggets that, that Shruti is, is sharing with us. Uh, and given your reflection and what you have shared Shruti about what you've learned on the journey.
I want to hear more about what you're taking into [00:21:00] your role as partner at Symphonic, given your experience as an entrepreneur. 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: You know, this is something I think a lot about because I think that I see my role and, and becoming an investor sitting on the other side of the table in so many ways has been a.
A shift for me because I still very much identify as a founder. Um, and I think for me, a lot of what I, uh, want to be for our portfolio is to be kind of, uh, The type of investor who really shows up for the entrepreneurs that we back, um, and does so from a place of really deep empathy, building a company is hard.
It is really hard. It's hard to scale. Um, you've met. You're managing a lot of people. You're managing a lot of [00:22:00] personalities and, um, You're not going to show up perfectly all the time and you're not going to make all of the right decisions and, um, and sometimes I think, uh, you're not sometimes I think oftentimes you're making decisions about what to do.
With limited information, um, you don't have all of the data or all the information. And so you, you basically have to piece together, you know, what you think might be possible, um, especially in the early stages of a company, because you, you just don't know the company hasn't been around a long enough. You don't have enough data.
And, um, and then you start to get a lot of advice, right? Founders. Talk to other founders, they talk to investors, they talk to customers, they talk to so many people. And I think the hardest part about being an entrepreneur is separating the signal from the noise. So how do you tune everybody else [00:23:00] out?
Don't, and I'm not saying don't ask people for advice, right? But, but how do you find the stuff that That sticks and, and make sure that you're staying true to your vision and what you believe is possible and what you know about your customer. And so I think as an investor, those are kind of the values that I try to lead with.
Um, I try not to be the kind of investor that says you need to do this or else, right? I think I ask a lot of questions. I want to listen. Well, I want to brainstorm, you know, What are three or four possible different paths we could consider here? Um, what are the things we need to test? Because I think the other thing that is really cool about the early stages of a business is that it's like an experiment.
You have this opportunity to try a bunch of things and see what sticks. And so, um, there's this other element of, and I've talked to a number of our founders about this, like holding everything [00:24:00] loosely. Um, Because what you believe might be the case today, you may discover a year from now is actually not what helped you get the business to where it is a year from now.
Um, and so you have to have an openness to understanding, uh, the customer and the market and adapting, um, to try to, to meet those needs. And so that's another thing we talk a lot about with our, with our founders is just how do you, um, keep building, but do it from a place of knowing that things change, markets change, you know, you could be in the middle of a global pandemic and, and are you able to adapt?
Um, so I think, you know, to answer your question, I really feel my role is to be, um, is to be a cheerleader for a lot of our entrepreneurs and a supporter and a thought partner. Um, and then also, you know, holding the idea that like, [00:25:00] of, of, of being accountable, being an accountability partner, um, because as an investor, right, my job is to, to return capital, um, to our LPs.
It's a financial services job and, um, We have to be thoughtful about the way that we do that. And so we've been fortunate. We have an amazing group of portfolio companies who I think are very aligned with that approach. But, um, I think the other thing I'd say that I really appreciate is that they, they let us be in the weeds with them, um, and, you know, get into the details and work through the challenges.
And, um, and I hope that that some of that is because we lead with an incredible amount of empathy for the work that they're doing. 
Kimberly Daniel: Thank you so much. We are going to now talk about some resources and our resource roundup and here we explore various resources and tools and tips. In addition to what you may have already heard to equip and support underrepresented entrepreneurs [00:26:00] as you are building your business.
And so our first question for you, Shruti, is what are one to three key resources that are valuable for entrepreneurs who are building business and validating their product or service? 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: Oh, great question. Um, I think there's a few resources that I would point you to. The first is there's a platform called outset AI.
Um, it's really valuable for helping you, uh, develop consumer insights and understand your customer. So I would highly recommend that to a lot of founders. Um, I think the other thing, um, in terms of stuff that I read, I would say the first round review, first round capital is a seed stage venture capital fund.
Um, they have a publication, have had a publication for the last decade that talks about all sorts of startup related. Um, [00:27:00] everything from how to find your first customer to how to scale your team to, you know, how to get acquired. Um, and they have a pot. They also have a podcast, but they have a, um, they have a, a lengthy blog that has many of these different posts that are categorized by topic area.
And so. Um, I highly recommend that too, as well. Um, and then the third thing I would say is I'm a Y Combinator alum. As you mentioned kind of early on, um, YC Startup School has tons of video resources for founders that I think particularly in the early stages are really valuable around getting really clear about who your customer is.
Um, and, uh, what they want and need, not because they're going to tell you what to build, but because those insights will help you figure out what you need to build. Um, and I think that's a really important distinction. I think often when people say, talk to your customers, the assumption is that your customers have the answer for what needs to be [00:28:00] built.
Actually like your magic as the entrepreneur is to take the information that customers are giving you or potential customers are giving you about their pain points and turn that into. Okay. 
Stephen Lewis: So you were able to raise 20 million, uh, for the business that you co founded. And so my question is, if a founder was exploring funding options for their early stage startup, where should they begin and what resources should they explore?
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: Yes. Great question. I think, um, there's a, there's a ton of resources out there. I mean, I think step one is to get really clear about how you want to build your business. Is this a venture backed business that has the ability to scale quickly into a multi hundred million dollar business in 10 years? If you raise venture capital, or is this a business that's going to run It's going to grow more slowly.
Um, that I think will help you figure out, you know, do I go down a [00:29:00] path for venture or do I go down a different path where I might explore debt financing or revenue based financing, or some of these kind of other structures. Crowdfunding is another example of this, um, where you could potentially get.
Just individuals who might be excited about your business and structure, maybe a dividend or revenue share with them. Um, I think, you know, in terms of where to start, there's, there's a lot happening in kind of the fundraising environment, but I think if you've never built a company before, but you have kind of expertise in, What it is that you're building or kind of a unique understanding of your customer.
I think there's huge value in some accelerator programs, not all accelerator programs, but I think the YCs or the tech stars or kind of insert. Um, you know, accelerator program here that might be also providing you investment for your business, um, which will give you some time to start to understand your customer, [00:30:00] give you some of that initial capital infusion.
Um, And hopefully connect you to some folks that will be valuable as you scale your business, whether that's customers or, um, potential investors, all of those things. Um, so I think that's often a really good place to start. I find that, um, Um, particularly if you don't have a network of folks that can, can provide capital, um, in the short term that often that gets you at least, at least sort of on a, a playing field, um, with your business, at least initially.
Um, and then I would also say, um, thinking through, uh, are there low cost ways or low cost tests, right? You know, because the cost of starting a business. 30 years ago was really high. Today, it's, it's relatively inexpensive to get a website set up to do some initial user testing. I think my challenge to a lot of founders [00:31:00] is what can you do with very limited resources to just test the product and see if people are willing to pay for what you're building?
Because there's another way to grow, which is maybe getting some of that initial capital through an accelerator program. But can you grow with the revenue that you're earning? Because you're being really thoughtful about the pain points of the customer and you're able to start charging for the product immediately.
I think we have entered a new era of, of company building the last cycle, the cycle that I think I built a company in was very focused on raising a lot of money and worrying about profits later. And I actually think we've swung back now in the other direction. Um, even venture capitalists are more interested in businesses that have solid unit economics where you understand kind of profitability and, um, You're not just spending ahead of growth at, [00:32:00] um, at all costs, kind of.
And so all I can say is that I, you know, I think funding, the funding environment is not accessible to everyone and it is deeply unfair. And it's something that, you know, we talk about, think about all the time at Symphonic and also want to do something about, you know, I think 80 percent of our portfolio are women and people of color.
Um, Founders and, and we think that will continue to be the case because the people we're backing are proximate to the problems they're solving. Um, but I really believe strongly that I think thinking about how you can get something off the ground for, uh, a small amount of money and start charging people, because that's ultimately the test, right?
In business, will somebody buy what you are selling? And if the answer is no, um, putting off that revenue for five years, isn't going to give you the answer that you need about whether this is a sustainable long term business. [00:33:00] 
Stephen Lewis: Do you have a rule of thumb in terms of how much you should spend on a prototype to test whether or not customers?
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: I think a lot of folks can get away with spending less than 10, 000. And sometimes you can spend way less than that, right? It might be 2, 500 bucks on a prototype. Um, there's, there's, I have to think about the, there's a number of, um, software tools you can use now to just build, to build mockups of apps that you can, you know, test the product with.
Um, to get a really low code website up and running if you're not technical, like, um, if you're building a marketplace, you can build it on Shopify and it's like 99 a month. I mean, it's, there's a lot of ways to test what you're doing and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. 
Kimberly Daniel: So you have been a part of a startup team.
You are working with startups as an investor. I am curious to [00:34:00] hear what should founders who are positioned to employ others look for in team members as they are building their, their business? 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: I think this is like such an important question because I think we, Uh, I think in the early days of a startup, when it's just you and a co founder or you and a, you know, a couple of people, you don't really think about the team, but ultimately the people that you hire are your business.
They're, they're what's going to allow you to be successful in the long run. And you know, I really, really think that in the early days of the startup, oftentimes what you need is a good general, is good generalist. You need people that can. Jump on board and help you figure things out and be part of that kind of team mentality of we're all in this together and we're all going to figure it out.
I think very quickly as a startup starts to scale, you really do have to find people who are specialists, [00:35:00] people who know an industry and not know an industry from a standpoint of this is how we've always done things. But perhaps they have experience in a specific industry. And they can bring that experience to your company with an openness around either doing things a different way or seeing the opportunity.
Um, and I say that because when you hire people that have specialist expertise, you are able to get answers to your questions so much faster because they're not figuring it out. They know they understand the market. They understand who the customer might be, and they can speak that language. And that is often incredibly valuable for a startup that is looking to scale quickly.
And I'm not saying like, okay, at some point you fire all the generalists and then you just bring in specialists. You still need generalists, right? You still need a balance on your team. But, um, But hiring really skilled people who have maybe done this a few times [00:36:00] before, who've seen, you know, what might be possible is super valuable as the company gets bigger.
And I will say, you know, these also still have to be people who are willing to get their hands dirty, right? Because it's a startup and people are still figuring, you know, you're still figuring things, a lot of things out. And, um, so you definitely want to look for people with that mindset and mentality.
But. But I think that that is a really important distinction that a lot of founders forget to make. I think You know, you don't know what you don't know about people's expertise and experience. If, if you're new, for example, to this market or this industry. And so I think being really thoughtful about hiring folks that know more than you do, um, will really propel the company.
Kimberly Daniel: That's good. Well, we hope that you all are enjoying listening to this conversation with Shruti. And if you are inspired and are looking for additional resources, be sure [00:37:00] to check out DoGetX. org. Join our LinkedIn community where you can, you can connect with other entrepreneurs and change makers. And you can also take a look at our tools and tips and other resources to support you on your journey.
But now we are going to shift to our next area of this episode, 
Stephen Lewis: which is called off the cuff. So we have a series of questions that we have not shared with Shruti that we will ask at a fast pace. And we just want to hear what comes to the top of your mind as we ask these questions. 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: Great. 
Stephen Lewis: All right. So the first one is what has been the greatest lesson so far on your entrepreneurial journey?
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: The greatest lesson, trust your gut. I think all too often, especially when I was young, I, I had a hard time separating the signal from the noise and often my gut was probably right. And um, I found ways [00:38:00] to not follow it. And I think, I think, you know, I don't think we have to follow our guts for everything, but I think particularly when you're building.
A business early on your, your gut instinct is usually the right one. 
Kimberly Daniel: What is one daily, weekly, or monthly practice sets that sets you up well for success? 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: I, um, I have a weekly or I guess multiple days a week. Um, I do yoga and that has really, I started doing it when we were building Move LÜT. Um, and that has continued to be, um, a consistent force in my life that just helps me, um, calm my brain down, think a lot about, um, how I feel in my body and also, um, help me build strength.
Um, and so I, I just, I think it's an incredible, um, thing to be able to do a couple of times a week, just in terms of, [00:39:00] of managing all of the chaos, um, that's going on around you. 
Stephen Lewis: What is one piece of technology that has been a game changer for your own business? 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: Ooh, I mean, this is probably such a cliche answer, but I would say AI, I think chat GPT and Claude and all of these tools.
I mean, they just help. I don't, I don't think, I don't think they should ever be used as the answer. Right. But they can be good prompts for helping frame an answer or frame a process, or I use it sometimes to build financial models. Um, so I would say that's been really game changing. 
Kimberly Daniel: How much of your success do you attribute to your faith versus your own grit, will, and hustle?
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: Oh, man. Um, I would say, I don't, I don't know that I necessarily attribute it to either. I think that, I think I have, um, I [00:40:00] was, I was raised Jewish and I think spiritually very much identify Um, with a lot of the values that Judaism has around social justice. But I think, um, I think I do have a lot of grit and I think I am very strong willed and I think half the battle and a lot of this stuff is luck and timing.
And, um, you know, I think I've heard, I heard somebody say once, if you're wildly successful, you're going to attribute it to your own ability. And if You know, um, and then if you, if you fail, then, you know, it had nothing to do with you. And, and I just think that I just think in my case that like, I think having all those qualities is important.
And I think we underestimate the role that timing and luck plays in so many things. Um, and that's not something any of us have control over. And so, um, I think when things have gone well in my career, I [00:41:00] try not to attribute that to like me as a person and, and how, you know, valuable or, or how, what I bring to the table is valuable.
Um, as much as I think like the timing of this worked out and I've learned a series of things that have led me to this point. 
Stephen Lewis: So complete this sentence for me. Because of my entrepreneurial endeavors. Communities or my customers will be more able to do what? 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: Ooh. Um, well, when I was building a company, I would say, um, because of my entrepreneurial endeavors, it would have been, it was, it was really helping people recycle their stuff, which I think was really valuable.
Um, so that their things were not ending up in landfills. I think now when I think about the entrepreneurs, we back, um, My hope is that our support, so sorry. Um, my hope is that our support of these. Um, [00:42:00] of these companies is ultimately going to lead to better access to health and health care. Um, uh, an opportunity to build wealth in many cases.
And then, um, hopefully also, uh, in improvement and how we bounce back in the face of climate change. 
Kimberly Daniel: Well, thank you so much, Rudy, for joining us and for the work that you're doing at Symphonic Capital and really supporting founders, especially women and. Rudy. people of color who are building businesses and want to do good in the world.
So we appreciate you taking the time to connect with us here on this podcast and to share your wisdom with our listeners. 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: Of course. Thank you both so much for having me. 
Stephen Lewis: Yeah. It's great to listen to your story and seeing how you have evolved in. Now you on the other side of the table, investing in people, um, that are trying to do what you have done successfully.
So 
Shruti Shah, Partner, Symphonic Capital: Thank you so much.[00:43:00] 
Kimberly Daniel: Well, that was a great episode with Trudy. It was. Yeah. I appreciated that conversation so much. Yeah. So today, Stephen, I want to ask you, how do you bounce back from what you might perceive as failure? Hmm.
Do we need to play? What is it? JC 
Stephen Lewis: lean back, lean back, brush the dirt off your shoulder. Yes, yes, yes. No, but seriously, um, I think part of, part of what I think about this question makes me think about is how, [00:44:00] um, failures or maybe what we perceive to be losses. how we can shift our perspective around them, that really they are lessons for how we can improve or they're lessons for What we do not yet know what we have not yet figured out what we haven't established a solution for.
And I think if we can hold a posture of being in a learning mode in that regards, then that can shift maybe the way in which the failure may sit or may feel, um, maybe not in the moment. But maybe have a little bit of hindsight to say, Oh, well, you know what, this was really a lesson in an opportunity, but I think, you know, again, to bounce back from it, I think you gotta be able to have a little bit of space to get perspective.
And I think if you can shift your perspective of how you view it. Not as something that you've actually failed in, but it [00:45:00] actually is a lesson for you to learn and to grow from and to maybe figure out what you need to do different than I think it can be really instructive for how you move forward and you encounter the next.
Opportunity to move into a classroom and your entrepreneur journey of learning from your losses or your failure. So that's why that's what I immediately would say. What would you say? 
Kimberly Daniel: Well, I completely agree with that. Uh, for, for me, it's very much similar in that I'm looking at what is it that I need to learn to get me on the path that I'm supposed to be on, whatever that thing is that I, you know.
Think I failed at, and I also allow myself to feel my feelings, whatever those feelings are, but to not sit in that. So whether that's okay, the next 10 minutes, let me just get all of this out in whatever way. I choose to do [00:46:00] so or whatever that is, but it's not going to be days of sitting in that because that is not beneficial to my mental wellbeing or to movie moving beyond that perceived failure to really get on the path that I'm supposed to be.
So, but there is, there is. a release that can happen in allowing myself to feel those feelings for a moment, and then to be more, to have a more deeper reflection of, okay, this happened. What is the wisdom that I can gain from this? What are the insights that I can gain from this? And what is my plan of action now moving forward?
What is the next solution? And hopefully, you know, in each, well, let me say this. I have found that in each perceived failure or failure that I've experienced, I think I do become more resilient and better at [00:47:00] navigating failure with each experience. And so for me, it's not about avoiding it because it's going to happen.
Things happen in life. It's about how do I manage myself and my way forward. When it does, 
Narrator: thank you for listening to the do good X podcast to continue the conversation or access our resources, visit www. doogoodx. org. Join us again for conversations that will nourish your soul, ignite your dreams, and empower you to build an impactful business.
One intentional step at a time until then keep striving, thriving, and doing good.