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Soumya Tejam
BD @Sardine
Professional Background
Soumya Tejam is a dynamic professional with a diverse background in business development, venture capital, and operations within high-growth environments. Currently, Soumya is part of the business development team at Sardine, focusing on combating fraud and managing risk in the payments sector. This role has allowed her to leverage her extensive knowledge of fintech, ensuring that comprehensive strategies are implemented to address the complexities of fraud in financial transactions.
In addition to her role at Sardine, Soumya also works as a Venture Capitalist at Harlem Capital, a firm committed to changing the face of entrepreneurship. At Harlem Capital, she invests in early-stage companies across various sectors including marketplace and enterprise solutions, with a sharp focus on promoting diversity and fostering inclusive growth.
Prior to her current positions, Soumya accumulated valuable experience in different capacities. She served as an Operations Associate at On Deck Angels, where she played a crucial role in community development and strategic growth initiatives. This experience refined her skills in managing special projects and scaling operations in a rapidly evolving environment.
Soumya has also honed her venture capital skills through internships at notable firms. At Blackhorn Ventures, she focused on infrastructure and built environment investments, emphasizing impact-driven projects. Earlier in her career, she served as an investment analyst at MSD Partners, where she specialized in credit opportunities, gaining critical insights into market dynamics and investment strategies.
This impressive trajectory is complemented by her participation in various internships and fellowships, where she showcased her passion for venture capital and investment analysis. Soumya has held positions as an Investment Analyst at the University of Michigan Ross Social Venture Fund and as a VC Intern at both Harlem Capital and Blackhorn Ventures. Such experiences have not only enriched her understanding of the financial landscape but also solidified her dedication to fostering an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Education and Achievements
Soumya Tejam graduated from the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business, a prestigious institution known for its rigorous academic programs and exceptional focus on leadership and entrepreneurship. Her education equipped her with the theoretical foundation and practical skills necessary for navigating the complexities of the business world.
Throughout her academic journey, Soumya demonstrated a keen interest in combining business acumen with social impact. Her role as an Impact Fund Analyst at the University of Michigan Ross Social Venture Fund underscored her commitment to making a difference in the community while simultaneously maintaining a strong focus on financial performance. This blend of social awareness and professional expertise positions Soumya as a visionary leader in her field.
Soumya's diverse experiences in business development and venture capital have enabled her to cultivate a unique perspective on growth and innovation. Her achievements reflect a deep-seated commitment to not only achieving financial success but also creating lasting positive change through entrepreneurship and investment.
Notable Achievements
Soumya Tejam’s career is adorned with numerous accomplishments, all rooted in her expertise and passion for empowering others. As a Business Development professional at Sardine, she has played an instrumental role in developing strategies to strengthen fraud prevention mechanisms not only in payments but also across various sectors affected by digital fraud.
At Harlem Capital, she has been a part of a transformative movement that seeks to increase diversity among founders and investors, thereby reshaping the future of entrepreneurship and investment. Through her investment efforts, Soumya has contributed to a more inclusive landscape, paving the way for underrepresented entrepreneurs to thrive.
Her involvement at On Deck Angels has showcased her ability to lead growth initiatives in startup communities. Soumya’s focus on operational efficiency and community engagement has resulted in impactful special projects that have enhanced the overall business ecosystem.
As a former VC Intern at both Harlem Capital and Blackhorn Ventures, Soumya developed a knack for spotting potential in early-stage companies while ensuring that her approach aligns with sustainable and impact-oriented investments. Her analytical insights during her time at MSD Partners and BDT have further fortified her credentials, showcasing her ability to analyze complex credit opportunities and contribute to data-driven investment decisions.
In summary, Soumya Tejam’s professional journey is characterized by a rich tapestry of experiences across business development and venture capital. With a robust educational background from one of the nation’s top business schools and an extensive career trajectory, Soumya continues to forge a path marked by innovation, social impact, and dedicated entrepreneurship.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.