When Shreesha Ramdas left Medallia after a $6.5B acquisition he decided it was time to reinvent.At his 4th startup Lumber, before writing a single line of code, he hired a sales person and ran 200+ interviews across the industry to understand the real pain points. The interviews gave Shreesha the insight that though payments were a problem, it was neither big enough nor urgent. But it was very difficult to hire workers, and even more difficult to retain skilled craft workers. In the U.S alone 41% of construction workers will retire in the next six years, leaving a massive gap in talent and experience. As a big believer in vitamin vs. painkiller, Shreesha is now building where the pain is deepest. We discuss what truly needs to happen before building a startup, the foundation that will shape everything that follows. From his days at Yodlee during the dot-com boom to leading StrikeDeck and selling it to Medallia, he is now building again with clarity and intent for one of the most traditional industries: construction.  But here’s one thing that probably tells you more about Shreesha than the companies he has built and scaled. He said, “My heart beats for other founders. Startup is my world, this community is my tribe.”0:00 – Trailer1:04 – Why build tech for Construction industry?3:54 – 200+ interviews to find the real customer pain5:05 – Big believer in Vitamin vs. Painkiller6:25 – The 2 core problems in this industry7:02 – Repeat founders Know structure better7:42 – First startup during the dot-com boom8:29 – Bay Area is Disney Land for tech founders9:23 – From engineering → sales → marketing10:37 – Founders should trust the team, above everything11:55 – The survey company that banned “survey”12:17 – First startup was all about me; now it’s all about team13:57 – Dream big, but execute in small steps15:47 – The cost of speed in startups16:18 – I’m a marketing-first CEO17:27 – Hire a salesperson before the product exists18:17 – Is Founder-led selling good or bad?19:37 – Mean, lean & go all in23:55 – Don’t bring humility to storytelling27:25 – How the story should evolve as startups scale35:30 – How Lumber will challenge giants in construction38:53 – Do repeat founders build more in verticals?43:39 – How to hire right people from traditional industries44:29 – What wealth unlocked for Shreesha45:34 – Legacy is moving the industry forward46:38 – What the next 20 years mean for software founders49:18 – AI should remove soul-draining work51:19 – “My heartbeats for other founders”-------------India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

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