I help startups build the company around the product, right after they raise.
You've got traction and real funding for the first time. I help you build the operating foundation: the systems, hiring, and operating rhythm that hold as you grow. I've built it twice. I can help you build yours.
Book a callThe product works. Investors believed in it. And somehow, everything still runs through you.
This is for you if:
- The team's growing fast, and what's been living in your head needs to become systems other people can run.
- There's real money in the bank for the first time, and no clear plan for where it goes.
- Hiring is next, but there's no clear philosophy for who to bring on first or how the org should be structured as it grows.
- Visibility into performance, budget, and team health is already slipping as headcount grows.
- The culture is already changing, and it hasn't been intentionally defined.
If that's the season you're in, let's talk.
What I do
Operating systems setup
OKRs, quarterly planning, the operating cadence that keeps leadership aligned, and the tools that actually fit your stage.
Fundraising and investor readiness
Support through raises ranging from a $500K seed to a $13.5M Series A, plus a $5M subsidiary raise, and time spent across the table during diligence.
Impact, Analytics, and KPI tracking
Real-time dashboards that give leadership visibility into performance, budget, and team health, even after you can no longer track it all yourself.
Org design and hiring
Who to hire, when, and how to avoid the expensive early mistakes.
Culture and values
Defining what you actually stand for, and developing the practices that strengthen culture with scale.
Hey, I'm Shanthi.
I was standing next to the CEO when we scaled from 5 people to 60, right after we closed a $13.5M Series A.
I learned where to put the budget and where not to, which marketing bets to make first and when to scale them, and how to hire without burning money or morale. Along the way I deployed $75M in treasury, opened six new markets across West Africa, Asia, and Australia, and built two new revenue lines from scratch.
The hardest part isn't the growth itself. It's that what your leadership team needs at 5 people is completely different from what it needs at 100. Past a certain size, your leaders can't keep a personal pulse on everything anymore, so your systems have to be real-time, visible to everyone, and understood across every team instead. Skip that work and the cost is real — wasted money, lost morale, and hires made too fast or in the wrong seats. Your people and the culture you build together are the company's real advantage.
Heart and rigor. Before startups, I did this same kind of work in global health: two $20M programs launched across Sub-Saharan Africa, a $300M portfolio managed across 15+ countries, systems built inside a refugee camp in Bangladesh. When a broken process means someone doesn't get care, you learn to take the details seriously. I bring that same standard to your company.
I've also sat with technical founders at the very beginning — stress-testing a prototype and getting ready for their first seed round.
I've done this twice now. I'd like to do it for you next.
What it's like to work with me
The defining thing about Shanthi is that she has the ability and interest to learn about whatever problem you're facing in your business. She's the go-to do-it-all fixer. In many ways, she's like what AI assistants are trying to be: a general capability that can just help you solve whatever problem you're facing.
Shanthi's superpower is top-tier competence, a true 1%er and force multiplier. That rare combination of intellectual capability plus relentless follow-through makes her exceptionally effective regardless of the business function she's in. We consistently outperformed companies with 10x–20x more resources than we had.
Shanthi has a true superpower in crafting thoughtful, high-quality proposals and building company culture. She makes people feel seen and heard, and creates an environment of trust and openness. One of our biggest accomplishments together was generating over $500K in revenue for our developer programs and hosting more than 10 global events.
Let's build your operating foundation.
Book a 30-minute callor email me at shanthi.purushotham21@gmail.com