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Discover who’s who in the tech startup industry with Founders Network Founder Profiles. Each profile covers one of our founders, their startup vision, achievements and curre
nt focus. Gain key insights about their most valuable lessons learned, greatest mentors and tips for staying motivated.
Tejal Shah, Founder of KidAdmit
Name: Tejal Shah
Current Startup: KidAdmit, Inc.
Bio: Kid Admit was born from my own experience of participating in the (very) painful process of enrolling my kids in preschool. Our hope is to help all parents feel supported and confident through the important, but nerve-wracking, process of preschool enrollment through our online tool.
Another reason that I decided to tackle this space was motivated by an article, Moms We’d Like to Fund, by Christine Tsai Partner at 500 Startups. She says, “Stop building yet another daily deal site or mindless social game or yellow filter so-lo-mo photo-sharing service. Instead, build something awesome for moms, dads, families, or kids. Believe it or not, there are a lot of them so make their lives easier and happier. Because, the best part is that they’ll probably pay you for it.” Reading this validated KidAdmit and helped me take the leap.
I have an engineering degree from the University of Rochester and was lucky to move away from the snow, landing in San Francisco in 2000. I have built successful businesses in engineering and finance. These experiences, along with the birth of my fun loving boys, Nishane (4 years) and Logas (18 months) has led me to the startup life, which is both awesome and hectic!
Lessons Learned:
- There is so many things that can sidetrack you from your goals, even your work. Make sure that each one of your actions get’s you closer to a goal.
- Keep communication lines open to your team. Make sure everyone is on the same timeline and is motivated to meet current goals.
Staying Motivated: I know that this process is a challenge and that parents can use the help. There aren’t a lot of products to help parents with simple everyday things that we go through. I am passionate about providing a tool to help people.
Greatest Mentors: My husband and my family provide me with support. My advisor Anand Iyer has been a great friend and resource. I also have a huge network of parents who have backgrounds in various industries and provide me with interesting perspectives and mentorship.
Want to learn more about @KidAdmit? Connect with Tejal on Twitter @tejaltshah
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