Lakshmi Shenoy

Board Member & Coach, Embarc Collective, Tampa

Launched by Lakshmi Shenoy in 2018, the nonprofit Embarc Collective is a central landing zone for the most driven and focused startup builders in Florida, ranked as a top startup support program in the world by UBI Global. Embarc Collective offers on-demand coaching and programming led by startup veterans for 125+ tech companies operating within a 32,000-sq.-ft. hub in Tampa that has created nearly 1,000 technology jobs.

EDUCATION: University of Chicago (AB), Harvard Business School (MBA)

IF I WERE GOVERNOR: Increase investment in transportation throughout the state, which provides more access to opportunity and greater economic mobility for Floridians.

READING: The Mom Test, by Rob Fitzpatrick. This book taught me the value of being proven wrong in my assumptions.

MENTOR: Brian Murphy, CEO of ReliaQuest, who reminds me to stay hungry and humble in the pursuit of excellence.

INSPIRING FLORIDIAN: Jeff Vinik — he took a chance on me to build what has become Embarc Collective and has shown me the power of believing in the potential of others.

WHAT I’VE LEARNED: A good friend once shared with me that things don’t happen to you. They happen for you. This reframing has helped me think of everything in my life as an opportunity.

MOTIVATIONAL MANTRA
“Disrupt your business before someone else does.”