Founders Running Club
Founder communities, on foot
Co-launched the London chapter and helped with chapters elsewhere in Europe.
- London
- Antwerp
- Brussels
- Gent
- and more
I like taking frontier tech out of the lab and into platforms that developers and companies actually adopt, and the path there hasn’t been linear. At Quantinuum I owned a cybersecurity platform end to end, from bringing on a Fortune 100 customer to the pricing, enablement, and partner work that took it across North America, EMEA, and APJ. I’ve also led self-serve product and early commercial work at a YC-backed startup, worked in strategic finance and operations on a $300M merger and an EMEA buildout, and helped turn an LLM supply chain prototype into pilots.
- 2023-PresentApplied AI Startups and AdvisoryLondon and San Francisco
Co-Founder and Forward Deployed Product Lead
Building AI agents and enterprise infrastructure: GTM for an RL startup, a developer community around AI and robotics, and an LLM supply-risk platform with European pilots.
- 2024-PresentNodes VenturesLondon
Angel and Co-Founder, Media Arm
Syndicate investing in pre-seed and seed startups across London, and co-authoring a weekly newsletter for founders, operators, and investors.
- 2022-2024
AlchemyLondonProduct and Growth
Developer acquisition and technical educational resources for a blockchain developer platform.
- 2021-2023
QuantinuumLondonFounding Product Lead, Global Enterprise Platform
Shipped 0-to-1 API and on-prem security products, ran Day 0 launches, and designed the GTM expansion playbook across NAMER, EMEA, and APJ.
- 2021QuantinuumLondon
Strategic Projects Lead and Chief of Staff, COO Office
Financial models and budgets for a large M&A deal, EMEA site expansion, and board and investor materials.
- 2020LeaseMagnetsAnn Arbor and San Francisco
Founding Product and GTM Lead
YC S21 real estate marketplace. Ran deal desk and SDR motion, and launched a self-serve digital agent.
- 2020EverledgerAnn Arbor and London
Consultant
Partnership strategy connecting a blockchain supply chain platform with East African telecom providers.
- 2019-2020Michigan Private Equity and Venture CapitalAnn Arbor
Founder and President
Built a student financial markets organization that placed associates into sell-side and buy-side firms, and ran consulting projects for Sequoia-backed startups.
Education
- University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of BusinessBachelor of Business Administration, Finance, emphasis in Technology and OperationsTriple major
- University of Michigan, College of Literature, Science, and the ArtsBachelor of Arts, Political Philosophy and Applied Economics
- Princeton Bendheim Center for FinanceMacro, Money, and Finance Summer School
- Antwerp International SchoolInternational Baccalaureate
Also
- I played cricket for Belgium at under-15 level, still run with a VO2 max of about 65, and think curiosity compounds.
Outside work, I invest and learn with Nodes Ventures and am a board observer at Community TechAid. I also co-launched the London chapter of Founders Running Club and helped with chapters elsewhere in Europe. I’m involved with Physical I/O, a community for people working on physical AI, and I coach and mentor through Leland.
Physical I/O
A physical AI community
Involved with the community.
Leland
Coaching
Coaching and mentoring through Leland.
Volunteering
Founders Running Club
Co-Founder, London Chapter, and Global Partnerships
2023-Present
Helped set up and scale London from day zero. Tens of thousands of people across dozens of cities.
Community TechAid
Board Observer and Volunteer
2023-Present
Sustainable access to technology and education for digital inclusion. More than 5,000 devices donated.
Tupu.io
Pro-Bono Volunteer
2023-2024
Free mentorship for underrepresented groups in tech.
Sculpt
Non-Profit Board Training
2024
Board training for trustees.
- Dec 2023What I talk about when I talk about boxingMaison AmateurHow two years of Saturday boxing built resilience, endurance, an eye for technique as art, and friendship, framed through Murakami’s running memoir.
- Jul 2023Turning back the wheels of time; the genesisMaison AmateurHow volunteering at a retirement home sparked an interest in longevity, the ethical questions immortality raises, and daily habits for living well longer.
- Apr 2023The fountain of youth: finding the elixir of immortality pt. 1Maison AmateurGrief over a grandmother’s death as the starting point for an interest in longevity science and whether aging and death can be delayed.
- Jan 2023Introducing Deep Technology Venture Capital (DTVC): Issue #1DeepTech VCLaunch issue of a weekly deep tech investing newsletter, defining the field and covering OpenAI’s tender offer talks and the week’s deals.
- May 2020The power of mental modelsMaison AmateurNewsletter issue on first principles thinking as a mental model, through Charlie Munger, plus Cyan Banister, reading picks, and Roam Research.
- May 2020The complex equality theoryMaison AmateurNewsletter issue on Michael Walzer’s complex equality and blocked exchanges, with job listings, a profile of Fei-Fei Li, and Tandem.
- Jun 2020Addressing negative externalitiesMaison AmateurNewsletter issue on Pigouvian taxes and the Coase theorem as responses to negative externalities, with internship listings, reading picks, and 99designs.
- Apr 2020The quant revolution; Jim Simons and Renaissance TechnologyMaison AmateurHow Jim Simons and Renaissance Technologies used mathematics to beat the market, drawn from Gregory Zuckerman’s The Man Who Solved the Market.
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- Feb 2023Resurrecting the Dodo, Dimension Capital Raises $350mm, and Laura Deming on Longevity: Issue #3DeepTech VCA weekly deep tech roundup: Colossal Biosciences’ de-extinction raise, other deals, Dimension Capital’s new fund, Laura Deming’s book picks, and ChatGPT news.
- Jan 2023AI Chatbots, Ex-SpaceX Scientist Making Vegan Cheeses, and MIT OCW: Issue #2DeepTech VCA weekly deep tech roundup: universities rethinking teaching after ChatGPT, GPTZero, the week’s deals, a vegan cheese startup, and MIT OpenCourseWare.
- Jan 2023What I consumed this week (#1)Maison AmateurA list of the week’s reads, posts, videos, films, and books, from Southwest Airlines and immigration to Oldboy and Parts Unknown.
- Dec 2022Welcome to Maison AmateurMaison AmateurRelaunching the Social Insights newsletter as Maison Amateur, a weekly outlet on ideas and culture, with a preview of a piece on semiconductors.
- Dec 2020Questions w/ Dr. Julia Lee Cunningham, Professor of Management & Organizations (Michigan Ross)Maison AmateurInterview with a Michigan Ross management professor on managing oneself, finding happiness, academic life, and sound judgment.
- Dec 2020#2: Jason Mironov, Investor at TA AssociatesMaison AmateurPodcast episode with a TA Associates director on Michigan and HBS, the pandemic’s effect on private equity, SPACs, and building relationships.
- Nov 202010Qs with Rob Mather, Founder & CEO of Against Malaria FoundationMaison AmateurTen questions with the Against Malaria Foundation’s founder on how a charity swim grew into the foundation, a photography competition, and deep work.
- Nov 202010Qs with Evan Jackson, COO of Intus Care (HealthTech) [Ex-Brown Athlete]Maison AmateurTen questions with Intus Care’s co-founder on balancing college sport and study, data in geriatric care, fundraising, and the COO role.
- Oct 202010Qs with Devi Sahny, CEO of Ascend Now (EdTech) | Ex-Investment Banker @ Goldman SachsMaison AmateurTen questions with Ascend Now’s founder on leaving Goldman Sachs, the future of schooling, and how the company handled EdTech’s pandemic shift.
- Oct 202010Qs with Mimi Tran Zambetti of Wren (YC, USV, & Paul Graham-backed)Maison AmateurTen questions with Wren’s co-founder on the climate crisis, pitching Paul Graham and USV, and building consistent habits.
- Oct 2020#1: Simran Suri, Investor at Equal Ventures: Breaking Into VC & The Vitality of A Moral CompassMaison AmateurConversation with an Equal Ventures investor on breaking into venture capital, what sets great investors apart, and keeping a moral compass.
- Oct 202010Qs with Jessica Li of ZagenoMaison AmateurTen questions with a Zageno growth marketer and former Soma Capital investor on identity, leaving VC for an operating role, and finding balance.
- May 2020Broken healthcare: analyzing a few root dilemmas amidst SARS-CoV-2 pandemicMaison AmateurWhy US healthcare wastes so much, how job-linked insurance failed people in the pandemic, and how hospital and doctor billing inflate costs.
- Apr 2020Climbing the ladder to manager; key principles in becoming an effective leaderMaison AmateurPrinciples for new managers drawn from Julie Zhuo and Andy Grove: judge output, shape culture and incentives, and celebrate the team.
- Jan 2020Transcending possibilities: sleep and the world of the lucid dreamerMaison AmateurThe science and appeal of lucid dreaming, from REM sleep and brain chemistry to Freud and Jung, and its possible mental health benefits.
- Jun 2019How to build personal valueLinkedInHow to build emotional, social, financial, and intellectual wealth through EQ, weak ties, owning what you build, reading, and reflection.
- Nov 2018Launching A Brighter Tomorrow: Blockchain and The UN’s Sustainable Development GoalsLinkedInHow blockchain could support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, through cases in peer-to-peer energy, digital identity for refugees, and food aid payments.
Conversations
- 2020The Social Insights PodcastHostMy podcast: two conversations, on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
- Oct 2020#1: Simran Suri, Investor at Equal Ventures: Breaking Into VC & The Vitality of A Moral CompassPodcastAn Equal Ventures investor on breaking into venture capital, what sets great investors apart, and keeping a moral compass.
- Dec 2020#2: Jason Mironov, TA Associates: Michigan/HBS, COVID-19 impact on Private Equity, SPACs, & Building Meaningful RelationshipsPodcastA TA Associates director on Michigan and HBS, the pandemic’s effect on private equity, SPACs, core values, and relationships.
Personal blogs
- Casey HandmerTerraforming and hard-tech writing.
- danluu.comEngineering and systems essays.
- Dario AmodeiEssays on AI and scaling.
- Gwern essaysLong-form research essays.
- Henry’s ZooPersonal site.
- High AgencyGeorge Mack essay on agency.
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- Maggie AppletonDesign, digital gardening, essays.
- Nat FriedmanPersonal site and essays.
- Patrick CollisonReading lists and personal site.
- Paul Graham essaysClassic startup and career essays.
- Sebastian RaschkaML and LLM research writing.
- Steph AngoObsidian CEO; craft and tools.
- thesephist.comBuilder essays and projects.
- Derek SiversEssays on life and business.
- NavalEssays and podcasts on wealth and happiness.
- KalzumeusPatrick McKenzie on software business economics.
- benkuhn.netEssays on management, engineering, and work.
- Commoncog, Cedric ChinEssays on business expertise and judgment.
- Vaughn TanWriting on uncertainty and not-knowing.
- The MarginalianEssays on art, science, and meaning.
- Inverted PassionParas Chopra on thinking and startups.
- Philip TrammellEconomist writing on growth and philanthropy.
- Justin SkycakWriting on math education and learning.
- Susan RigettiEssays and reading lists from a writer-engineer.
- Kyle ChanResearch on China’s industrial policy and infrastructure.
- Riley WalzInternet projects and web experiments.
- Let there be more biographies of failuresHenry Oliver essay on learning from failure.
Founding
- ClerkyStartup legal paperwork.
- First Round Review collections
- For EntrepreneursSaaS startup advice archive.
- Making SoftwareProduct and software craft.
- Not OptionalEuropean startup talent thesis.
- Rewarding TalentEquity and talent frameworks.
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- Scaling Through ChaosIndex Ventures scaling playbook.
- Startup Handbook by Julian ShapiroPractical startup guide.
- Stay SaaSyOperating advice for SaaS companies.
- YC’s essential startup advice
- Index Ventures OptionPlanTool for designing startup stock option plans.
- Index Ventures TeamPlanHiring plan benchmarks for growing startups.
- Index Ventures ExpansionPlanPlaybook for expanding a startup internationally.
- Scaling People workbooksClaire Hughes Johnson templates for operating companies.
- The GitLab HandbookPublic operating handbook of a remote company.
- Inside the Duolingo company handbookDuolingo principles for culture and decisions.
- How one CEO spent two years company-buildingTime audit of an early-stage founder.
- 42 rules to lead byLeadership rules from a Google product strategist.
- Effective meetings at HashiCorpHashiCorp guidelines for running productive meetings.
- An engineer’s guide to stock optionsPrimer on startup equity and option mechanics.
- Elad GilEssays on startups, scaling, and AI markets.
GTM / Sales
- B2B Sales Maturity Framework
- ClayGTM data and automation platform.
- Flip the Script, written plays
- Go-to-market, First Round Review
- Good Sales Emails
- GTM engineering growth playbook
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- How to sell to PE and VC funds
- OpenGTMAI and GTM research lab.
- Outbound Kit swipe file
- Product-Led Sales 101
- the gtm engineerSubstack on GTM engineering.
- Encyclopedia of sales playsCatalog of B2B sales plays and tactics.
- Reverse-engineering Vercel’s go-to-marketTeardown of Vercel’s developer-led go-to-market.
- The Cold Email HandbookZa-zu playbook on cold email deliverability.
- The Cold Email Hall of FameCollection of real cold emails.
- Austin HayWriting on marketing technology and growth operations.
- The Point, B2B demand generationBlog on B2B demand generation practices.
Agentic engineering
- 12-Factor AgentsPatterns for reliable agents.
- AI SDK Agents
- awesome-claude-code
- Designing Multi-Agent Systems
- E2BSandboxed code execution for agents.
- Hamel’s AI product engineering notes
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- The Agent Skills Directory
- Writing a good CLAUDE.md
- How I use LLMs to help me write codeSimon Willison’s workflow for AI coding.
- Simon Willison’s WeblogDaily notes on LLMs, tools, and agents.
- How to work and compound with AIEugene Yan on compounding work with AI.
- CS146S: The Modern Software DeveloperStanford course on AI-assisted software development.
- Building with CursorPublic Cursor guide to agentic coding workflows.
- Fastest frontend tooling for humans and AIChristoph Nakazawa on fast frontend toolchains.
- AI HeroTutorials on building applications with AI.
- PromptfooOpen-source testing and red-teaming for LLMs.
Engineering
- Choose Boring TechnologyDan McKinley on limiting technical novelty.
- Industrial EmpathyMalte Ubl on web engineering and leadership.
- Design docs: a design docMalte Ubl’s design doc on design docs.
- How big technical changes happen at SlackSlack’s process for adopting major technical changes.
- Crafting Engineering StrategyWill Larson’s book on engineering strategy.
- Elided BranchesCamille Fournier on engineering management.
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- Forward deployed engineering at RampRamp on how its forward deployed engineers work.
- Forward deployed engineers, SVPGMarty Cagan on the forward deployed engineer role.
- The FDE playbookEssay on turning customer pain into product.
AI / ML / RL
- ApplyingML
- Chip Huyen ML Interviews Book
- Dive into Deep Learning
- EleutherAI
- Epoch AIAI trends and forecasting research.
- Eugene YanApplied ML essays.
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- Full Stack Deep Learning
- Parlance Labs education
- The Gradient
- The Little Book of Deep Learning
- What We’ve Learned From A Year of Building with LLMs
- Lil’LogLilian Weng’s posts on ML research.
- Neural Networks: Zero to HeroKarpathy course building neural networks from scratch.
- ML design docsTemplate and examples for ML system design.
- Why reading papers helpsEugene Yan on reading papers as a practitioner.
- UNIGE Deep Learning courseFrançois Fleuret’s university deep learning course.
- 10-202: Introduction to Modern AICMU course introducing modern AI methods.
- UChicago Large Language Models courseCourse materials on large language models.
- the morning paperArchive of computer science paper summaries.
- Horace HeWriting on ML systems and GPU performance.
- Maarten GrootendorstVisual guides explaining LLM concepts.
- How to build ChatGPT for roboticsa16z essay on foundation models for robots.
- Introduction to Robotics, PrincetonPrinceton course notes on robotics fundamentals.
Design
- A1 GalleryWebsite design inspiration.
- Aceternity UI
- AirfoilFrontier tech design studio.
- Amelia WattenbergerInteractive design and visualization.
- lowercaseTechnical design studio.
- MotionJavaScript and React animation library.
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- The PuddingVisual essays.
- Typography Principles
- Unicorn Studio inspirationGallery of no-code WebGL web scenes.
- Asimov CollectiveDesign studio working with frontier technology companies.
- Wassim GharbiPersonal site of Wassim Gharbi.
- Charles ShinPortfolio of designer Charles Shin.
- Ramin NasibovPortfolio of a designer and art director.
- Destroy Any WebsiteTool for wrecking any webpage.
- SonnerEmil Kowalski’s toast component for React.
- RemotionFramework for making videos with React.
- Design systems in the wildBEKK lessons from building real design systems.
- LostgardenDaniel Cook essays on game design.
Investing
- Both Sides of the Table
- DATAROMA superinvestor holdings
- Microcap research beginner guide
- Sarah Chieng on angel investing
- scuttleblurbValue investing blog.
- SEC EDGAR full text search
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- StratecheryTech strategy analysis.
- The Walter Schloss Archive
- Reaction WheelJerry Neumann on venture capital and innovation.
- 25iqTren Griffin on markets, tech, and investors.
- LifeSciVCBruce Booth on early-stage biotech investing.
- Bling Capital blogSeed investor essays on startups and venture.
- Joel Greenblatt class notesNotes from Greenblatt’s Columbia value investing class.
- The makings of a multibaggerAlta Fox study of high-return stocks.
- Probability and MarketsJane Street guide to probability and trading.
- Oil, gas, and power 101Morgan Downey primers on energy commodity markets.
Product / Writing
- Amplitude North Star Playbook
- Becoming a better writer as a software engineer
- Google technical writing courses
- HashiCorp PRD example
- Intercom Product & Design blog
- Product Talk
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- Shreyans on getting acquired by Google
- Write the Docs guide
- The P RulesAndrew Bosworth’s rules for product reviews.
- EnterpriseReadyGuide to features enterprise SaaS buyers expect.
- The self-taught product managerCurriculum for learning product management independently.
- Tech writing for accessibilityGoogle course on accessible technical writing.
- The full catalogue, Ami VoraIndex of Ami Vora’s product leadership essays.
- How AI changes product managementReforge on shifting PM work with AI.
- AsteriskQuarterly magazine of long-form essays.
- AlterLiterary writing on science, technology, and progress.
Twenty films and ten shows I keep coming back to, and one playlist I leave on. No reasons, just the things that stuck.
On repeat
- The Godfather
- Spirited Away
- Parasite
- The Matrix
- Inception
- Taxi Driver
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Oldboy
- Django Unchained
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- Dune: Part Two
- The Dark Knight Rises
- Lost in Translation
- Howl’s Moving Castle
- Chungking Express
- Ex Machina
- Your Name
- The Intouchables
- Past Lives
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Watching
Contact
I enjoy meeting ambitious, curious people from all walks of life. If our interests overlap, send me a thoughtful note at shray.jain-surana@hotmail.com, book a 30-minute chat, or reach out on LinkedIn or X.