Her Story
About Sruthi
I trained as an engineer and got my bachelor's degree in engineering from the National Institute of Technology in India. I graduated into the financial crisis, which made me more interested in finance, so I got an MBA at Duke University. The transition into finance was really born of realizing that my extremely smart parents were frankly not very good with their money, and there was this one financial manager who took advantage of their lack of knowledge about money. Part of it is honestly just wanting to make it easier for people to invest and increase financial education. That was a very big driver. The second was graduating into the financial crisis - I felt like it was really important to try and figure out what went wrong and try to build better systems for the industry overall. I've been working in finance for over 10 years, including working on Wall Street and then in startups for the last 10 years. I left Moneyline as VP of Finance after joining them when the company was so small, a Series A company, and I left them right before they went public. The thing that I'm most proud of is this incredible team that I've assembled here - people who stretch in a number of different ways. Each one has multiple skill sets, so they keep pushing my thinking, and that's honestly what I'm most proud of.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sruthi
01What do you attribute your success to?
I have an incredibly ambitious mom, and I think that's shaped me. I've always been shaped by curiosity, and that's helped me find and do things that I find interesting. That has just helped me be better at them, because I'm trying to learn outside of work. I'm not focusing on doing it only within the work hours. I just find the work so interesting that I find myself thinking about it a lot. I generally think it's good for people to find what that thing is that you think about even when you don't have to, and if you could work in that space, it's likely to make you happier and result in longer-term success.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Hire people that scare you. I think it just means it's incredibly important to surround yourself with people who can push your thinking.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's incredibly important to know that no one else has the answers, and so you are enough. It's incredibly important to simply just show up every day. It is an industry with a lot of jargon. In the beginning, it can be really intimidating, and I encourage people not to get discouraged by that, and just give it time, show up every day, learn as much as you can on the job, and I promise one day it'll all start making more sense. So basically believe in yourself, and just show up.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the impact of AI is something that is incredibly important to keep on top of, and I'd say that our company's doing it well. That's something that is important to factor in as you think about who your investment platform is. I think it's going to be a really important factor as time goes and as people invest more. I think AI is absolutely helping. It makes it easier for more people to get educated on things that were previously beyond their reach. I think it's an incredible way to learn, and I hope more people lean into it.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Authenticity is one of my most important values. Working ethically is a super important value, and continuous learning. I'd say those are the three most important things to me. Those are the things I try to live by.
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