Founder Therapy: Smarter Numbers, Less Nonsense - #SFTechWeek
🚀 Spreadsheets are fine… if you like drowning. But investors (and your sanity) demand better.
As part of SF Tech Week, Startup Intros, Western Alliance Bank & ScaleSpark are hosting a panel that gets real about startup finances. We’ll talk about automating the grunt work, the alternative financing options that actually exist beyond the tired “bootstrap vs. VC” narrative, and why investors are done with vanity metrics and demand real-time numbers they can trust.
If you’re serious about building a company that can survive the lean years and pass investor scrutiny, skip the fluff and join us.
Panelists:
Tejal Shah, VP Investment Banking, US Capital Global
Tejal Shah brings to US Capital Global a strong background in financial services and asset management, along with expertise in capital raising and fostering high-value relationships with VIP clients. Ms. Shah’s career commenced at Merrill Lynch and Bank of America as a Wealth Manager and then left to co-founded Peninsula Wealth, a registered independent wealth management firm where she successfully oversaw $400 million in asset.
With a decade of serial entrepreneurial experience in early-stage startups, Ms. Shah has successfully conceptualized, funded, launched, and scaled multiple businesses. Her profound grasp of the startup landscape encompasses business development, fundraising, and operations.
Before her tenure at US Capital Global, Ms. Shah served as a limited partner at Refactor Capital and Halogen Ventures, both instrumental in evaluating startups for potential VC investments and offering strategic advice. Notably, she steered 555 Comic Co in San Francisco as COO, securing $6.1 million in venture capital. Her first startup was KidAdmit, pioneering venture capital funding in the early education market backed by some of the most well known venture capital firms including SV Angel, K9 Ventures, Urban Innovation Fund to name a few.
Ms. Shah’s academic background includes a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rochester, NY and started her career in technical roles in Product Design for Ford Motor Company, medical devices, and air pollution control systems.
Serge Amouzou, CEO & Founder, Verza
I'm all-in on Verza, an AI-powered financial co-pilot for the creator economy. We're solving the critical 'deal side' problem for creators—from smart contract management and accelerated payments to effortless tax prep and banking. In just a month and a half, Verza has shipped its MVP and gained early adoption from paying users, including top creators globally. We're building a revenue-driven, capital-efficient business designed for rapid scale.
My journey to Verza began with Datatrixs, an AI insights platform, where valuable market learnings led to this focused pivot. Before that, I founded the FinTech company Delect, earning BBJ CEO of the Year in 2017 for my innovative work in streamlining restaurant operations and significantly increasing waitstaff earnings.
Wendy Roberts, CEO, NorthStar Strategic Partners
Wendy Roberts distinguishes herself with non-conventional approaches and leadership in key business consulting. Recognized for steering the firm towards emerging technologies like data analytics, AI, cybersecurity, and GRC solutions, she's a beacon of innovation. Wendy's 25+ years of experience encompasses financial and audit leadership, operations, and tech innovation for all sized firms. Highly respected for her CFO role in multiple startups, she notably guided an early-stage software company to successful acquisition. She has held the CIA, CISA, CCSA, and MCSE designations. Wendy’s extensive experience in corporate and public accounting has yielded solid results across multiple facets across the financial spectrum. Currently, she serves on the Audit Committee of The Tech Interactive, helping shape the future of STEAM education.
Tony Padilla, VP Startup Banking, Western Alliance Bank
Tony Padilla is the Vice President of Startups at Western Alliance Bank, based in San Francisco, where he partners with early-stage founders to navigate the complex journey from idea to scale. With years of experience supporting high-growth startups across technology, life sciences, and emerging industries, Tony acts as a strategic financial advisor and connector—helping founders prepare for fundraising, structure their capital strategy, and build relationships with investors and key ecosystem partners.
As his clients progress from seed to institutional rounds, Tony and his team specialize in designing tailored financial solutions, including venture debt, non-dilutive lending, and other growth-friendly credit facilities that help founders extend runway and maintain ownership. He’s passionate about empowering entrepreneurs with the financial tools and network they need to scale confidently—without compromising long-term vision or control.
(Moderator) Katie Whitcraft, Founder, ScaleSpark
Katie Whitcraft is the Co-Founder of ScaleSpark, a venture helping businesses scale smarter and faster by turning operational chaos into clarity. Through tailored strategies, automation, and smarter workflows, she empowers teams to grow with precision and purpose.
With over 15 years of experience in operations, Katie’s expertise spans HR strategy, financial forecasting, and systems design across both nonprofit and for-profit sectors. She’s led major turnarounds and growth initiatives—scaling budgets, cutting millions in costs, and building operational infrastructure that lasts.
An advisor to nonprofit organizations, including Bay Area Creative (BAC), Katie is passionate about sustainable growth, creative problem-solving, and empowering teams to thrive. Outside of work, she’s a runner, painter, and explorer, often found adventuring with her husband around San Francisco.
🔑 What you’ll take away:
Funding options that go beyond bootstrapping and can help you get to the next raise without dilution.
How to automate your financial ops so you can get the real-time numbers you need and investors want.
Strategies to move off spreadsheets and onto automation without losing your sanity (or your company).
👥 Who should attend:
Founders gearing up for the next raise.
Operators and finance leads who want smarter systems, not more chaos.
Startup teams’ sick of busywork and bad metrics.
Finance and Ops teams who want to stop scrubbing data and start using real-time data strategically.
ScaleSpark Founded by operators who've lived the startup chaos. They install your SparkStack so you can get back to building, hiring, and leading because you weren't funded to build your back office.
Western Alliance Bank is Silicon Valley's original startup bank. From pre-revenue to IPO, they've backed bold entrepreneurs with sophisticated financing and an understanding that growth takes time.
Startup Intros is a media and intelligence platform that enables founders to connect with the right investors through warm introductions, signal-driven events, and a trusted email newsletter. Incubated at Context VC, we are on a mission to democratize funding and make the ecosystem more efficient.
Context Ventures is an early-stage venture firm that backs leaders who seek context. We invest early, move fast, and stay hands-on to help transformative companies take root and grow, with 90% of our capital going to military veteran founders.
This event is a part of #SFTechWeek—a week of events hosted by VCs and startups to bring together the tech ecosystem. Learn more at www.tech-week.com.
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