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In this episode, I interview Shensi Ding, Co-Founder of Merge, an integrations infrastructure platform that has quickly grown from serving early-stage startups to powering integration layers for some of the largest financial services companies in the world including Revolut, Airwallex, Ramp, Brex and many more. They have raised a total of $75 million from great investors including NEA, Addition, and Accel.
In this episode, we discuss:
Building credibility with engineers and product teams
"You have to know what's going on. Unfortunately, it's as simple as that. You have to really know your product inside and out."
Deep Product Knowledge Is Essential for Technical Credibility. Merge’s main audience is product managers and engineers. How do they earn their respect? Shensi attributes this to her deep technical understanding of Merge's platform. Having started coding at age 12 and studied computer science in college, she brings strong technical expertise, though she spent five years in finance before co-founding Merge and had to transition back to coding as soon as they were launching the company. "When we started the company, I had to get back into coding and a lot of the initial integrations in the product, and also a lot of the product was built by me".
This hands-on experience gives her the daily validation and product understanding needed to speak with authority to customers and technical stakeholders. For founders building technical products in competitive markets like fintech infrastructure, there's simply no substitute for understanding your solution at a fundamental level Merge.
Unique advantages of being a first-time founder. Plus some hard lessons learned.
"I don't know if I could do this again... I understand that people loved investing in second and third time founders, but sometimes the first one takes a lot of energy out of you."
What’s the super-power of first-time founders? "Accidental Confidence". Naivety paired with boundless energy. Shensi describes how despite lacking confidence at times, first-time founders often succeed through what she calls "accidental confidence" - a natural boldness that comes from not fully understanding just how hard building a company can be. "That is so outweighed by energy and naivety, that it doesn't even matter because you're so naive, that you are accidentally confident". I've seen this pattern repeatedly both in the first-time founders we back at Gilgamesh Ventures and in my interviews with other successful first-time entrepreneurs – the ones who didn't know something was "impossible" often ended up doing it anyway.
Shensi also admits she's unsure she could replicate for a second time, the sheer effort she poured into Merge, "I don't know if I could do this again... I understand that people love investing in second and third time founders, but sometimes the first one takes a lot of energy out of you."
How customer obsession and early security investments shaped company strategy
"People have to be extremely enthusiastic and care a lot... you really need to make sure that you are energizing for other people around you."
Prioritizing Customer Experience Over Internal Shortcuts Builds Trust. The early days at Merge were defined by laser-focused commitment to customer experience, even when it meant taking the harder path internally. Shensi remembers the constant temptation during some grueling phases to choose easier implementation routes over better customer experiences; to choose the good candidate that was ready to start tomorrow, as opposed to waiting for the perfect candidate you might find in a couple of months. "When you're dying and you're super tired, it's always easier to make the decision like, 'okay, let's just do the shortcut,' because it's easier for us internally, versus this is a much better customer experience".
According to Shenshi, choosing the more difficult path is a decision that built tremendous customer loyalty and differentiated Merge early on. This customer-first philosophy has also extended to their security posture, which gave assurances to their customers that they were maintaining their own security commitments. "We just knew customers were going to care a lot about this. We wanted them to feel comfortable," Shensi says. "We also knew they were going to have conversations with their customers because we were subprocessor. We just wanted everyone to have an easier experience."
Why fundraising is a game with rules first-time founders need to learn
"There is a process and there is a game, and you need to learn it. I think a lot of people come in being very naive, like, 'oh, I'm just gonna go in and pitch my idea and reveal my heart, and then someone will believe in me.' And unfortunately, that's just not it."
When it comes to raising capital, fundraising follows specific patterns and expectations that founders must learn to navigate. "There is a process and there is a game, and you need to learn it". Shensi has seen too many first-time founders approach investors with the naive belief that passion and a good idea alone will secure funding. Instead, she reminds first-time founders about the importance of understanding fundraising as a structured process with clear mechanics, almost like learning the rules of chess before attempting to play grandmasters. Entrepreneurs must study resources from experienced VCs like Mark Schuster of Upfront Ventures who outline the specific steps of fundraising: from making connections and orchestrating meetings to creating competitive dynamics among investors.
While it might be possible to secure funding without this strategic approach, founders shouldn't handicap themselves – "Why would you not want to maximize your chance of success, and why would you not want to be more prepped?". And Shensi is not just saying it - this approach has helped Merge secure $75 million from top-tier investors including NEA, Addition, and Accel.
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