Welcome back to The Room Podcast! Today, we’re thrilled to explore the fast-evolving world of B2B tech innovation with Shensi Ding, co-founder of Merge. Merge has become a leader in unified APIs, creating a category that addresses the challenges many companies face with complex integrations. Shensi’s journey is a unique one—from her coding days in Boston to Columbia, then a career at Silver Lake, all of which prepared her to tackle the 'SAAS sprawl' problem head-on. Together with her co-founder, Gil Feig, Shensi has built a powerhouse team and a product that’s essential for clients like Ramp and BambooHR. Their customer-first approach has secured $75 million in funding and a growing presence across SF and NYC.

In this episode, we delve into topics like using customer insights to drive category creation, balancing skills in co-founder dynamics, and navigating fundraising from seed stage through metrics-driven growth.

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5:04 - Where did Shensi grow up and how did that shape her view of the world?
6:07 - Did Shensi always think she was going to become a founder?
6:29 - How were website designers making money in the early 2000’s?
7:25 - How did Shensi move from making websites to computer science?
8:19 - How has finance influenced Shensi to become a founder?
10:26 - Why did Shensi leave finance to join Xpanse?
11:35 - How did Shensi meet her co-founder, Gil, and why did they decide to find Merge?
14:20 - What was the aha moment that encouraged the start of Merge?
14:57 - What is the core product of Merge?
16:48 - Who was the first company to say yes to using Merge?
17:53 - What are some of the ways that customers are using Merge?
18:48 - How does Shensi classify the space that Merge is a part of?
19:38 - How did Shensi think about building her initial team?
21:00 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Merge?
21:31 - How was Shensi’s experience fundraising for Merge?
22:44 - What advice does Shensi have for fundraising?
25:37 - What is Merge's go-to-market strategy and how did Shensi build the initial sales team?
26:29 - How do you scale up after the seed round?
28:19 - How is AI disrupting the unified API space and how does Merge fit into that?
29:14 - What is a part of the founding journey that Shensi didn’t expect?
31:17 - How is the founding landscape today? Are people looking to keep building?
32:52 - What companies are a part of Merge’s tech stack?
33:38 - What’s next for Merge and for Shensi?
34:48 - Who is a woman in Shensi’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career?

Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.*
*Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC.

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