In this episode, Shruti Gandhi (Founder & Managing Partner @Array Ventures), joins our host Digjay, to talk about her path leading up to venture capital, the evolution of Array’s enterprise tech thesis, how engaging with potential customers can help early stage startups to validate their product & help VCs to support their investment decision, what founders should focus on before thinking about going global, differentiating oneself as an emerging VC, staying ahead of the curve in enterprise tech & more.

Array Ventures is an early stage VC fund that invests in enterprise tech startups solving problems using big data, AI & ML for large industries. Shruti has a strong mix of operating and investing experience. Prior to founding Array, Shruti was a tech investor at True Ventures, Samsung Electronics, Lightbank, HighBAR Partners, and the i2A Fund. Shruti started her career with IBM as a software engineer & later founded her own BigData company Penseev in 2010. She also has an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth Business School and completed her engineering in CS from Columbia University. You can connect with her here on Linkedin/Twitter

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Show notes:

(01:44) Shruti’s background & path leading up to Array Ventures
(02:56) About Array Ventures; Evolution of Array’s enterprise tech thesis
(06:04) How engaging with potential customers can help a) early stage startups to validate their product & b) VCs to support their investment decision
(09:40) Building a global enterprise - What should founders focus on before thinking about going global?
(14:34) How can emerging VC funds differentiate themselves & build a strong brand?
(16:44) Staying relevant & ahead of the curve as an enterprise tech VC
(20:15) How has being a VC influenced Shruti’s personality over the years

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