Founder Spotlight | EP04: An Insightful Conversation with Shruti Kapoor, Wingman’s Founder & CEO

**[YouTube Video Title]**: Founder Forward: Anjali Sosale from WaterBridge Ventures interviews Shruti Kapoor, Founder and CEO of Wingman

**[YouTube Video Description]**:

Welcome to Founder Forward, a series of conversations with successful founders who have gone beyond seed and scaled their companies. In this episode, Anjali Sosale from WaterBridge Ventures interviews Shruti Kapoor, the Founder and CEO of Wingman. Shruti shares her journey of founding Wingman, discussing the challenges, learnings, and experiences she encountered along the way.

As a VC for most of her career, Shruti’s decision to start Wingman resonated strongly with her co-founders, Murali and Srikar, who quit their jobs in Silicon Valley to join forces. Together, they built a high-trust and candid culture at Wingman, gathering a founding team with impressive backgrounds that led to early funding before even incorporating the company.

Shruti’s unconventional path involved multiple product iterations and learnings from various stakeholders, including VCs and her own product, Wingman. Her resilience and grit led to the achievement of product-market fit and less than 24-hour sales cycles. Shruti’s insights and wisdom will enable early-stage founders to make more informed decisions on their journey.

To learn more about WaterBridge Ventures, visit their [website](https://www.waterbridge.vc/). For those interested in joining the Fast Forward program, fill out the [application form](https://form.jotform.com/223383276868469). Visit the [Fast Forward website](https://waterbridge.vc/fastforward/) for more information.

Connect with Anjali Sosale on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/pinkamma/) and learn more about WaterBridge Ventures on their [LinkedIn page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/waterbridge-ventures/). Follow Shruti Kapoor on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrutikapoor/) to read her compelling startup journey and experiences.

Keywords/Tags: venture capital, startups, tech, wingman, investing, zerotoone

*This video transcript has been edited for clarity and readability*

In this episode of Founder Foreward, we have Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, in conversation with Shruti Kapoor, Founder and CEO of Wingman.

Having been a VC for most of her career, Shruti took the plunge into the arena from the sidelines when she decided to found Wingman. Her passion and enthusiasm resonated strongly with Murali and Srikar as they quit their fancy jobs in Silicon Valley and moved halfway across the world to align forces.

Hearing Shruti’s journey and experiences was truly a delight. She speaks about her unconventional journey of gathering a founding team and inculcating a high-trust and candid culture at Wingman. Being first-time founders, she speaks about the numerous learnings, trials, and tribulations they encountered on their path. Although their impressive backgrounds led them to procure funding even prior to incorporating their company, the path to product perfection was arduous, convoluted and long-winding. Shruti’s learnings from various stakeholders such as VC’s and even her own product Wingman are truly enriching.

Shruti’s path from multiple product iterations to achieving PMF to the point of less than 24 hour sales cycles is a testament to her and team Wingman’s resilience and grit. Godspeed to Shruti and team Wingman as they continue to crush it and empower sales reps. Thank you for sharing your journey so candidly as we are in the middle of our FastForward seed program. Your insights, learnings and wisdom will enable early-stage founders to make more informed decisions as they power through from one day to day one.

Relevant Links:
WaterBridge Ventures: https://www.waterbridge.vc/
Application link for the program: https://form.jotform.com/223383276868469
To know more about Fast Forward: https://waterbridge.vc/fastforward/

Linkedin
Anjali Sosale: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pinkamma/
WaterBridge Ventures: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wate…
Shruti Kapoor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrutikapoor/