​[BUILT HERE] is built around one idea: You don't have to leave the Triangle to build something real, because proof is already in the room.

​Across four sessions, the series traces the full arc of company-building: validating an idea, building the traction that makes it durable, doing the long resilient work that holds it together, and finally choosing whether to pivot, scale, or sell the business. This series features founders who built, or are building, their companies here, without having to leave the Triangle.

​Session 1: Built on an idea

​Speakers: Shruti Shah, Sarah Davis

​This session starts before a single line of code gets written: taking in real market feedback and using it to decide what to actually build, not just how to build it.

​The goal is to find a genuine, specific gap that isn't already filled, and building toward that gap on purpose rather than building first and looking for a market after. From there the conversation turns to iteration. How founders adjust the product as real feedback comes in, and how to tell a useful pivot from chasing noise. It closes on funding: when an idea has earned enough proof to justify raising money, what kind of capital fits that stage, and how to approach investors once there's something real worth funding.

​Shruti Shah is a General Partner at Symphonic Capital, an early-stage venture firm investing in solutions that improve life for the 99%. A founder turned investor, she brings an operator’s rigor and a systems builder’s lens to backing companies across health, wealth, and climate resilience. Shruti joined Symphonic as a Venture Partner in 2022, became Partner in 2024, and General Partner in 2025. At the firm, she has helped deepen and expand Symphonic’s thesis—ensuring climate is treated not as a silo, but as a systemic force shaping household stability, health access, and financial inclusion.

​Sarah Davis is the CEO and co-founder of Proven Companies, a customer and market intelligence research firm that conducts independent validation interviews for companies navigating product, go-to-market, and growth decisions. After 16 years in finance and software sales, she founded Proven to help companies understand what their customers actually think. Across 4,000+ customer conversations, she's helped companies make smarter decisions about revenue, product, and growth. Sarah is based in Raleigh, NC.

​Location & Parking

​​The Loading Dock — Dock 1053

​📍 1053 E Whitaker Mill Road, Raleigh
🚗 Parking is available at Dock 1053

​​​Raleigh-Durham Startup Co.

​Idea to Action is part of the Raleigh-Durham Startup Co. (RDSCo) Startup Series — a free, year-round series of events that meet Triangle founders at "I'm curious" and helps them move toward "I'm building." Learn more at raleighdurhamstartup.co.

​​Thank you to our Contributing Members for supporting the RDSCo Startup Series!

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