Ritu Narayan
San Carlos, California, United States
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Websites
- Data Driven Product Management
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http://prezi.com/rydhwfp2mnwy/ten-metrics-every-product-manager-should…
- My Team in Training Website
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http://www.active.com/donate/tntsvmb/tntsvmbRitu
About
Founder of Zūm - a mission to build the world's largest and most trusted platform for…
Articles by Ritu
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California Energy Commission — Exciting New Ruling
California Energy Commission — Exciting New Ruling
Earlier this year, the California Energy Commission (CEC) unanimously approved a new way of making decisions about the…
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SEC Climate Disclosures — A Good Step, but Not EnoughApr 17, 2024
SEC Climate Disclosures — A Good Step, but Not Enough
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a rule that will mandate climate disclosures for…
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V2G — Exciting New Charging StandardsApr 2, 2024
V2G — Exciting New Charging Standards
Earlier this year, the standards organization @SAE International made critical additions to its electric vehicle…
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Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) — What Are They, and Why Should You Care?Mar 12, 2024
Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) — What Are They, and Why Should You Care?
A week ago, I shared a piece about vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging. I wanted to demystify this technological…
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A Visit from the White House!Mar 5, 2024
A Visit from the White House!
Yesterday, I was honored to host Heather Boushey , Chief Economist for the Invest in America Cabinet, at Zum’s bus yard…
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Vehicle to Grid (V2G) Charging — What Is It, and Why Is It So Important?Feb 22, 2024
Vehicle to Grid (V2G) Charging — What Is It, and Why Is It So Important?
Electrified transportation is the future. According to the International Energy Agency, electric vehicles will…
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Zum announces $140M Series E led by GIC!Jan 31, 2024
Zum announces $140M Series E led by GIC!
Today, I’m thrilled to announce that Zum has raised a Series E round of $140M. The round was led by GIC, a leading…
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We Need to Do Better — Fighting Climate Change Across the GlobeNov 16, 2023
We Need to Do Better — Fighting Climate Change Across the Globe
On Friday, November 3rd, toxic smog covered my home region of Delhi, India. Residents suffered itchy eyes, sore…
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3 Hurdles to Electrified Urban Transportation —and What We Can Do About ThemAug 9, 2023
3 Hurdles to Electrified Urban Transportation —and What We Can Do About Them
Last month, the Department of Energy (DOE) released the Urban Electric Mobility Toolkit, a comprehensive document aimed…
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Where I’m From — Climate Problems & Solutions in IndiaJul 25, 2023
Where I’m From — Climate Problems & Solutions in India
Last week, I called my mom on the phone. In Delhi, where she lives, there’s been severe flooding.
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Activity
14K followers
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Ritu Narayan shared thisRitu Narayan shared this
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Ritu Narayan shared thisThrilled to share that Zūm is announcing today a $100M Series F investment from TPG to accelerate our expansion of Zum Connected Mobility Experience (Zum CMX) to schools and districts across the country! steve ellis, Managing Partner at TPG, is joining our current board (Bryan Schreier, Nabeel Hyatt, Mike Guo, Arif Lakhani, Mitesh Dhruv, Vivek Garg). We are deeply committed to removing the Transportation Anxiety Crisis impacting our students, families, and school districts. Read full announcement here - https://lnkd.in/gw4q9cfJ #StudentMobility #ZumCMX #AI #Innovation #Zum #ConnectedMobilityExperienceRitu Narayan shared thisToday, we’re proud to announce a $100 million investment from TPG, bringing total funding raised to $430 million and valuing Zūm at $1.7 billion. — to accelerate Zum CMX deployment across school districts nationwide. This is a testament to what Zum CMX delivers. "Every day, millions of students depend on systems that were never designed to work in real time," said Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO of Zum. "Zum CMX is our answer — a system we have been building and refining across 4,500 schools that brings visibility, coordination, and reliability to daily mobility. This funding allows us to accelerate what we know works and bring it to every student in America." “TPG invested in Zum because it’s the leading innovator in one of the largest and most underserved critical transportation markets in the country,” said TPG’s steve ellis. “By fundamentally redesigning how student mobility is managed in real time, Zum’s fully integrated AI-powered system is delivering measurable gains in reliability, efficiency, and outcomes for students, their families, and school districts across the country." This is a category-defining movement. Zum is not just improving student mobility —it is fundamentally redesigning how people, vehicles, and operations are coordinated in real time. Read the research and announcement: https://lnkd.in/gqW6yH7x #StudentMobility #ZumCMX #AI #Innovation #Zum
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Ritu Narayan shared thisThis has to be one of the most important announcements Zūm has made in a while!! So proud of our team, investors, customers, and partners for getting us here! The morning commute to school is not just logistics — it is the on-ramp to learning. A child who arrives late and anxious is not ready to learn. New national research shows 54% of parents report their child has expressed worry or concern about school transportation — adding up to $15 billion in wasted educational spending every year. This is a learning problem. And it's why we built Zum CMX (Connected Mobility Experience). Zum CMX replaces disconnected workflows with a unified, real-time system that delivers a delightful experience to stakeholders. Read the full announcement: https://lnkd.in/gbJ2ihPq #StudentMobility #TransportationAnxiety #ZumCMX #AI #Innovation #ZumRitu Narayan shared thisToday, we are releasing new national research results — revealing a widespread but under-recognized problem affecting students across the country - what Zūm calls: the Transportation Anxiety Crisis. According to a nationally representative survey, 54% of parents say their child has expressed worry or concern about school transportation. That anxiety can show up in the classroom and make learning harder. It ripples through families and school communities every single day. According to Zum, the impact reaches approximately 55 billion lost instructional minutes and $15 billion in wasted educational spending every year. To address these issues, Zum has rolled out Connected Mobility Experience (CMX™) —a fully integrated system designed to eliminate the uncertainty, lack of visibility, and disruption that cause the Transportation Anxiety Crisis. Zum CMX is already delivering results across 4,500+ schools in 17 states. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gVvZz6yG
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Ritu Narayan shared thisExcited to see Zūm on the Financial Times list of fastest growing companies (#47 out of top 300) for the fourth year in a row!! Kudos to the team and our customers for believing in us!Ritu Narayan shared thisToday the Financial Times announced that Zūm has been named to its Americas’ Fastest Growing Companies 2026 list, a recognition that underscores Zum’s position as a leader in the $50 billion student mobility market. Zum ranks No. 47 on this year’s list of the top 300 companies and is the highest-ranking company in the Logistics & Transportation category. This is the fourth year in a row that Zum has been named to this esteemed list of innovative leaders across North, South, and Latin America. “Zum is transforming student mobility by replacing outdated operations with a modern, technology-enabled platform that increases safety, reliability and communication for students, families and schools,” said Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO at Zum. “We are proud to partner with a growing number of school districts nationwide and honored to be named to the Financial Times Americas’ Fastest Growing Companies list for the fourth year in a row.” Zum is pioneering a mobility experience that is redefining how students go to and from school each day. The company’s rapid expansion is driving strong financial momentum, with the company generating record revenue of $333 million in 2025 (up 35% year-over-year). Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gZSD353P
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Ritu Narayan shared thisProud of the Zūm team and honored to serve LEAD Public Schools in Nashville, Tennessee!Ritu Narayan shared thisWe’re excited to announce that LEAD Public Schools, a leading Nashville-area charter school network, has selected Zūm to modernize student transportation beginning in the 2026–2027 school year. The partnership reflects a shared commitment to delivering reliable, transparent service for students and families, while underscoring Zum’s strong national growth. Zum will serve LEAD Public Schools, including seven charter schools serving students and families across the Metro-Nashville community, with strong interest from other charter network leaders across Nashville. “In LEAD Public Schools, we prioritize the academic, social, and emotional success of our students—and that starts with a safe and reliable ride to school every day,” said Dr. Ricki Gibbs II, Ed.D II, CEO of LEAD Public Schools. “We are committed to ensuring every student has access to school each day, and Zum’s track record of on-time performance, seamless communication, and modern technology stood out. We are confident their strong operational performance will bring meaningful improvements for our students and families, and we look forward to partnering together.” “Each day, more than 26 million students rely on student mobility, making it the largest mass mobility system in the country,” said Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO of Zum. “We founded Zum to bring reliability, transparency, and modern technology to these systems, ensuring every student has a dependable ride to school every day. We are excited to partner with LEAD to build a strong team in Tennessee.” Zum will host driver hiring events on Tuesday, March 31 and Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at SpringHill Suites (7109 Town Center Way, Brentwood, TN) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. All existing and new drivers are encouraged to attend, with Zum providing training for those new to the profession. Competitive wages, benefits, and professional development opportunities are offered, along with modern buses and advanced safety systems. Learn more about our partnership with LEAD Public Schools and upcoming hiring events here: https://lnkd.in/g3NcCjn4
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Ritu Narayan shared thisSo proud of the Zūm team for our new partnership with Rockford Public Schools in Illinois!!Ritu Narayan shared thisReliable student transportation is foundational to student success. Today, we are excited to share that Rockford Public Schools has selected Zūm to modernize student mobility for more than 27,000 students beginning in the 2026–2027 school year. This partnership reflects a growing shift across the country: school districts are moving away from fragmented, outdated systems toward modern, technology-driven platforms that deliver safety, reliability, and transparency for students and families. Through Zum, Rockford Public Schools will benefit from what is possible when operations are reimagined end-to-end: *Average of 98% on-time performance, helping ensure students arrive ready to learn *Real-time visibility for families, with tracking, notifications, and communication built into every ride *Stronger workforce models, addressing driver shortages through recruiting, training, and an employee-first culture *Modern buses and safety systems, improving the daily experience for both students and drivers *A 4.9 out of 5-star parent satisfaction rating, reflecting trust and reliability at scale This work is about more than transportation—it’s about access to education. When transportation works, attendance improves, families have peace of mind, and students are set up for success. “Every student deserves a dependable ride to school each day,” said Ritu Narayan. “By combining advanced technology with disciplined operations and a strong driver workforce, we are proud to partner with Rockford Public Schools to deliver safe, more reliable experience for students and families.” Zum partners with school districts nationwide to deliver a fully integrated, technology-led platform that improves reliability, visibility, and operational performance at scale. Today, Zum serves more than 4,000 schools across 15 states—and is backed by leading global investors including Sequoia, SoftBank, and GIC—positioning Zum to continue scaling its impact nationwide.
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Ritu Narayan shared thisZūm just announced its unaudited 2025 financial highlights! I am so proud of the entire team for achieving these milestones as we continue to scale our technology-driven student mobility platform nationwide. By replacing legacy infrastructure with a connected, intelligent system, we are proving that mass mobility can be safer, more reliable, and more equitable for the students and families we serve. We are just getting started!Ritu Narayan shared this2025 was a transformative year for student mobility. Today, we are sharing how Zūm is delivering measurable impact for students, families, and school districts—and building a sustainable business that will bring these benefits to communities nationwide. The results speak to what is possible when modern technology replaces decades-old systems: At San Francisco Unified School District, the district is saving 10% on transportation costs and reinvesting those dollars in classrooms. At Kansas City Public Schools, transportation-related absences dropped from 25% to 5.6%. Through intelligent routing at Oakland Unified School District, the district has cut one‑hour or longer commutes from 70% to under 10%. Across our network, we're delivering on average 98% on-time performance and 4.9 out of five-star ratings from parents— safely completing 68.5 million student rides in 2025 alone. We are now serving more than 4,000 schools across 15 states with our AI-powered platform, a testament to the impact we are already having and a reminder of the opportunity ahead to transform student transportation for every community. The unaudited financial highlights demonstrate that we are building a strong, sustainable business capable of scaling this impact. Our 2025 results include record revenue of $333 million, up 35% year-over-year with over $2 billion in total contract value (TCV). We also achieved adjusted EBITDA breakeven and steadily improving contribution margin. “We are redefining mobility by moving far beyond legacy models to create a connected, intelligent system for the communities we serve,” said Ritu Narayan, Zum Founder and CEO. “In student transportation, that means replacing legacy infrastructure with a dynamic, technology-enabled platform — transforming what was once a standalone service into a responsive ecosystem that anticipates and adapts to the needs of districts and families.” Thank you to our employees, customers, and partners for supporting our mission to deliver student transportation that is safer, more reliable, and more equitable for students and families. Read the full announcement: https://lnkd.in/d6_kyJE2 #StudentMobility #CleanTech #AI #Innovation #Growth #Zūm
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Ritu Narayan shared thisSo proud of the Zūm team for this incredible partnership with the Shawnee Mission School District in Kansas!! This is our 15th state in the country and growing..Ritu Narayan shared thisSome exciting news: Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD) has selected Zūm to modernize district-wide transportation services beginning in the 2026–2027 school year. With this 7-year contract, Kansas becomes Zum’s 15th state, marking a major milestone in the company’s national expansion and growing momentum across the country. Following a rigorous procurement process, SMSD selected Zum to replace legacy operating models with a modern, technology-led transportation experience. “We treat student transportation as an extension of the classroom here in Shawnee Mission School District. It is a foundational component of educational access,” said Dr. David Stubblefield, Deputy Superintendent at Shawnee Mission School District. “Zum's mission goes beyond simply moving students from Point A to Point B, and their commitment to keeping students at the center of their service aligns seamlessly with Shawnee Mission’s guiding theme. This is the modern, safe, and transparent experience our community deserves.” “For decades, student transportation has relied on systems that were never designed for the expectations of today’s families,” said Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO of Zum. “We built Zum to reimagine what’s possible by combining technology, operational excellence, and a relentless focus on safety. With Shawnee Mission joining us, Kansas becomes our 15th state, underscoring the growing demand from districts nationwide for a better, more modern transportation model.” Welcome, Shawnee Mission! Learn more about this partnership and how it will positively impact the school community: https://lnkd.in/gFTxTf-a
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Ritu Narayan shared thisI’m delighted to announce the appointment of Joseph Chong as Chief Marketing Officer at Zūm. Chong will lead Zum’s marketing strategy and execution as Zum accelerates national expansion and continues to scale its technology-led, data-driven student transportation platform. Joseph’s experience building and scaling trusted brands aligns perfectly with where Zum is today. Most recently, he served as Chief Marketing Officer at Incode and has also held senior leadership roles at Zoom, Salesforce, and Twitter.Ritu Narayan shared thisZūm today announced the appointment of Joseph Chong as Chief Marketing Officer. Chong will lead Zum’s marketing strategy and execution as the company accelerates national expansion, deepens adoption across major school districts, and continues to scale its technology-led, data-driven student transportation platform. Chong brings more than 25 years of marketing leadership experience across high-growth and category-defining technology companies. Most recently, he served as Chief Marketing Officer at Incode, where he helped scale the company through a period of rapid growth. Chong has also held senior leadership roles at Zoom, Salesforce, and Twitter. “Zum is setting a new standard in student transportation with technology that reduces commute times, increases visibility and transparency, and ensures students arrive at school ready to learn,” said Chong. “I’m excited to join the team at a moment of significant momentum, and to help bring Zum’s world-class technology and operations to even more communities nationwide.” “We’re delighted to welcome Joseph to Zum at a pivotal stage in our growth,” said Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO of Zum. “Joseph’s experience building and scaling trusted brands aligns perfectly with where Zum is today. As more districts turn to Zum to modernize student transportation, Joseph’s leadership will help us deepen impact and continue raising the bar for how student transportation is delivered.” Join us in welcoming Joseph to Zum’s team! https://lnkd.in/gDr6WNUS
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Ritu Narayan reacted on thisRitu Narayan reacted on thisThese 10 Sequoia Capital-backed female-founded startups are all actively hiring: 🚀 Kalshi (Founded by Luana Lopes Lara) – A regulated prediction market where users trade event-based contracts tied to real-world outcomes. 🚀 Chainguard (Founded by Kim Lewandowski) – A cloud-native development platform providing secure, low-to-zero CVE container images. 🚀 Anthropic (Founded by Daniela Amodei) – An AI safety and research company building reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. 🚀 Zūm (Founded by Ritu Narayan) – Providing modernized, efficient child transportation for school districts and busy families. 🚀 Fireworks AI (Founded by Lin Qiao) – An advanced platform for building, tuning, and scaling AI applications using open-source models. 🚀 Ayar Labs (Founded by Alex Wright-Gladstein) – Developing optical I/O solutions for AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. 🚀 Hex (Founded by Caitlin Colgrove) – A unified, AI-powered workspace for collaborative data science and analytics. 🚀 Kumo (Founded by Hema Raghavan) – A SaaS AI platform that empowers organizations to tackle complex predictive business problems. 🚀 Zafran Security (Founded by Sanaz Yashar) – A cybersecurity platform that identifies and automatically mitigates exploitable vulnerabilities. 🚀 Mutiny (Founded by Jaleh Rezaei) – An AI-powered platform helping B2B companies turn their website into their top revenue channel through personalization. 👋 Follow Keren Hod for more lists like this every week
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Ritu Narayan liked thisRitu Narayan liked thisZūm is excited to share the latest installation in the Driving America Forward blog series, with Beth Haley: "In HR, we're looking at every part of the employee experience. Zum, as a company, is thinking about every person and community we touch along the way, not just the students who are riding the bus." It's a great look into how Zum considers innovation holistically, including at every step of the employee experience. Give it a read on our blog: https://lnkd.in/giGDKzU5
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Ritu Narayan liked thisRitu Narayan liked thisMy high school math teacher, Susan Bauer, was the first advocate for women in tech I ever knew—and I wouldn’t be where I am without her. When Mrs. Bauer saw Apple II+ computers at a math conference right before my senior year, she didn’t just convince the nuns at our all-girls Catholic high school to buy five of them—she went back to school to study computer science so she could teach us how to use them. This was a big deal—it was the early 1980s in Dallas, and most of us had never even touched a personal computer, let alone programmed them. Mrs. Bauer not only taught us how to code, but her dedication and encouragement changed what I imagined was possible for my future. Teachers shape far more than what we learn in class. They spark our curiosity, inspire us to dream bigger, and help us unlock our potential. Today on #NationalTeachersDay, I want to say thank you to Mrs. Bauer and to every teacher who gives so much of themselves to help their students soar. What teacher made a big impact on you?
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Ritu Narayan liked thisRitu Narayan liked thisLast week at AI INFRA SUMMIT, Bobby Napiltonia hosted Rahul Kar in a fireside chat, discussing the challenge we see every day in data centers: stranded power. In this video, Rahul shares exactly what that is. With speed-to-power being the defining constraint for #AI growth, accessing stranded power through orchestration is the fastest path to deploying AI infrastructure and inference workloads.
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Ritu Narayan reacted on thisRitu Narayan reacted on thisSuch a cool experience to see our announcement of #ZumCMX, Connected Mobility Experience, showcased at Nasdaq Tower in Times Square, the most visited spot in America! It was extra special to be with Melissa Shiu and GAURAV K SAINI, two of my partners who helped make it all happen! #studentmobility Zūm #NYC #TimesSquare Dan Angius
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Ritu Narayan reacted on thisRitu Narayan reacted on thisThrilled for the opportunity to experience #zum’s presence in Times Square alongside Joseph Chong and GAURAV K SAINI with our recent launch of Connected Moblity Experience #zumcmx #cmx
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Ritu Narayan reacted on thisRitu Narayan reacted on thisWe’re hiring a Director of Growth Marketing on my team! Here’s what I’m looking for. I value a demand generation expert with the ability to start from ground zero to build up a growth system for a targeted set of buyers in major US school districts. You deeply understand the B2B ABM motion, from strategy to mechanics, including the latest AI tools. You have a passion and a knack for driving growth across multiple surface areas, including paid as well organic SEO and GEO. Moving with agility within and across third party media as well as owned channels like our website and email excites you. You're equally stimulated by quantitative metrics and optimization as well creative content building to persuade your audiences with compelling new messages. You want to turbocharge growth; Zum's 2025 revenue was $333M, up 35% YoY, with a four year revenue CAGR of greater than 40%, with over $2BN in total contract value. If you’re inspired by the combination of (1) an impressive business, (2) a truly purpose-driven mission to improve educational outcomes of America’s kids and (3) the opportunity to market an awesome, differentiated solution called Zūm Connected Mobility Experience (#ZumCMX), apply to our new req! And please repost to your friends! https://lnkd.in/gb8iTtAZ cc Devin Schroeder
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Ritu Narayan reacted on thisRitu Narayan reacted on thisWe’re hiring a Director of Product and Customer Marketing on my team! Here’s what I’m looking for: I really value a player-coach who brings tremendous energy and a startup-mentality to the role. I need a gifted storyteller who deeply understands the B2B enterprise motion, where it starts and ends with the customer needs. You’ve led some amazing product launches and product adoption wins at scale, so you know what amazing positioning and full-funnel marketing looks like. You deeply understand what it means to be rigorous about driving pipeline. You want to turbocharge growth; Zum's 2025 revenue was $333M, up 35% YoY, with a four year revenue CAGR of greater than 40%, with over $2BN in total contract value. If you’re inspired by the combination of (1) an impressive business, (2) a truly purpose-driven mission to improve educational outcomes of America’s kids and (3) the opportunity to market an awesome, differentiated solution called Zūm Connected Mobility Experience (#ZumCMX), apply to our new req! And please repost to your friends! https://lnkd.in/gkFkSA_N cc Devin Schroeder
Experience
Education
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Stanford Graduate School of Business
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Activities and Societies: Founder of TechX, an initiative to connect ideas and people in Technology to Stanford community, High Tech Club, Entrepreneurship Club, Stanford Venture Studio, Women in Management (WIM), GSB WIM Conference
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Licenses & Certifications
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Andrew Kintum
Rubyk • 4K followers
Building a startup is hard. It is especially hard in a country like Nigeria, where the ecosystem is yet to mature, and there are still many challenges to navigate. It is confusing, lonely, and full of uncertain decisions. Founders, especially early-stage founders, need as much support as they can get. Not “inspire to perspire” posts, but practical support on hiring, operations, funding, customer research, and navigating the regulatory landscape. Too many founders are surrounded by noise, surface-level advice, and generic content that does not reflect their current realities. What they need is a community that understands exactly what they are going through and can offer context that is immediately useful. Sierra Collective exists to be that community. A space where founders learn from one another’s live experiences and shorten the painful trial and error that usually defines the early stages of building. At Sierra, we believe that the most valuable support comes from those who are active in the trenches, navigating the same obstacles. If you are an early-stage founder, you should join the Sierra Collective. You do not have to figure everything out alone. As the African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Join Sierra: https://lnkd.in/d-Nzmtkq
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Farooq A Oomerbhoy
Trillium Venture Capital • 4K followers
In an ecosystem flooded with service-first startups chasing scale through funding, Urban Company stands out by doing the hard (and right) thing—building a real business. Their recent shift from being a pure-play service marketplace to developing tangible, monetizable products is a playbook more entrepreneurs should study. Too many service startups stop at aggregation—thinking scale alone will drive defensibility. Urban Company went a step further: ✅ Leveraging deep consumer insights ✅ Creating integrated solutions ✅ Building new revenue lines rooted in real-world usage This is what scaling with purpose looks like. Instead of chasing round after round of capital to keep the engine running, they’re creating sustainable value by aligning product innovation with the trust and access they’ve already earned through services. For founders building in services: 💡 Don’t just deliver the service. Understand the gaps around it. Own the value chain. Monetize where others overlook. Urban Company is showing what it means to evolve with intent. A solid reminder that great businesses aren’t built on burn—they’re built on depth. #Entrepreneurship #Startups #Innovation #BusinessStrategy #ServiceBusiness https://lnkd.in/dzNHtpBS
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Swapnil Jain
Observe.AI • 19K followers
🔥 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻 “𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀” Had an incredible evening hosting a fireside chat with Matt Kraning (𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 & 𝗖𝗧𝗢 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗲, 𝗲𝘅 𝗖𝗧𝗢 𝗣𝗮𝗹𝗼 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀) and a group of technology and product leaders from some of the world’s biggest 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 in the Bay Area. We discussed one of the most urgent questions facing every product and engineering organization today: building 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀, and 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲. 𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸. The companies that win won’t be the ones waiting for others to define it - they’ll be the ones learning, experimenting, evolving, and writing it themselves. Because the reality is: Your competition is already re-architecting their business around AI agents - driving higher efficiency, faster iteration, and reinvesting those gains to build better products. The next era of product leadership isn’t about adopting AI. It’s about adopting an 𝗔𝗜-𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁. Grateful to everyone who joined and contributed such sharp perspectives and open conversations. Deepak Kumar P Vache Moroyan DB Banerjee
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Ruchira Shukla
Green Marble • 19K followers
What a joy to speak with this brilliant cohort of innovators in the The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) ENTICE (Energy Transitions Innovation Challenge) 2.0 program and taking on their sharp questions at the investor bootcamp. 80% of global GHG emission reduction goals for 2050 can be met through energy system decarbonization, efficiency and electrification. This represents a US $100 trillion opportunity according to the IEA. A stronger, more stable grid is at the heart of building a #resilient #energy future. This year’s program challenges innovators to tackle: 1) Behind-the-meter digital twins: #AI tools to analyse consumption and create appliance-level insights 2) Industrial flexibility at scale: AI solutions using smart meter data to identify flexible assets and operational inefficiencies Kudos to the entrepreneurs and the GEAPP team for curating and executing such a thoughtful program. Looking forward to seeing how these #innovations scale #impact. Synapses Dalberg Media Vaishali (Vish) Mishra Anukul Tripathi (He/Him) Jayant Sinha Saurabh Kumar
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Mar Hershenson
29K followers
From our PearX S25 cohort, meet Pravāh, the AI-native operating system for the electric grid When Mohak Mangal, Dhruv Suri, and Aman Gupta looked at the strain on the U.S. electric grid, they saw a system pushed to its limits. Exploding demand and unpredictable supply have made blackouts increasingly common. This costs the economy more than $150B a year, a number that could 10x in the next five years. Mohak Mangal and team founded Pravāh to help fix it. Their platform helps utilities and grid operators make real-time decisions on load, generation, and congestion, reducing blackout risks, optimizing power procurement, and bringing much-needed stability to the backbone of modern life. We’re proud to support the Pravāh team as they take on one of the toughest and most important infrastructure challenges of our time.
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