Female Founders: Srii Srinivasan of Chargeback Gurus On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

You are guaranteed to make mistakes and experience losses. Shame, blame, and guilt will most certainly pull you down. Although it is tough to overcome these losses, you will ultimately learn how to avoid, identify, pivot, and solve similar challenges in the future. It’s best to make these mistakes early on because the same mistakes will be more expensive (in terms of time, money, and effort) later.

As a part of our series about Women Founders, we had the pleasure of interviewing Srii Srinivasan.

Srii Srinivasan is a Co-founder of Chargeback Gurus. She is an industry veteran at minimizing chargebacks and fraud for card-not-present transactions, and is an active member of Electronic Transaction Association (ETA). Prior to co-founding Chargeback Gurus, Srii owned two e-commerce ventures, and has first hand experience in dealing with chargebacks. She holds a degree in Computer Science Engineering. She enjoys spending her free time with her loved ones, doing charity work, and assisting others to become a better version of themselves, as she continually strives for self-improvement.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I started my entrepreneur journey very early on in my career. My background is in Computer Science, and my initial plan was to get a Ph.D. in that field. I took on a teaching opportunity for a few years and met my mentor, who helped me start my first business, a software development firm. I learned a lot about entrepreneurship during those early years.

My partner and I have been entrepreneurs for more than seventeen years and have run multiple successful business ventures. One of the first ventures we started was an international customer service/sales call center. We faced our first chargebacks when a business client who had been using our services filed chargebacks for all their charges. There was nobody to help us understand and navigate this deep, mysterious world of chargebacks, so I took the time to educate myself. We fought the chargebacks and won every single dispute.

With the knowledge we gained, we started helping our clients fight and win chargebacks. Eventually, our clients started relying on us to solve the payment challenges they were having, things like high decline rates, understanding payment processing rules, and controlling fraud.

We saw the tremendous need among all merchants for a service that would solve their chargeback and fraud pain points — that is what led us to start Chargeback Gurus in 2014. We were one of the first companies to come to market with a fully compliant solution. By choosing Chargeback Gurus, our clients get the utmost protection from chargebacks and fraud.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

We faced an unprecedented challenge during the 2020 pandemic. I was grateful that our business grew fast during the pandemic due to the high demand for chargeback and fraud protection. But one of our biggest challenges was to sustain the growth by scaling our team, choosing the right platforms/tools, and improving our business processes to work during a worldwide shutdown.

We had to move fast to 100% remote work globally. This was a huge challenge, especially in India since working from home was NOT as simple as employees taking their laptops home.

Our HR team was very responsive to this challenge and implemented innovative solutions to do remote interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and training 100+ employees! We also quickly collaborated with our leaders to understand their unique challenges while they handle our fast growth. We hired vans to transport computer systems to our employees’ homes and set them up in cramped spaces. We had to ensure that everyone could connect to numerous complex systems on a global scale so that we met all our deadlines consistently.

We also onboarded our largest client right after the pandemic started — 100% remote. This was an exceptional feat and I give our team full credit for making this happen. We also had to take care of our employees, their families and friends in India when the pandemic reached crisis levels. Our team worked tirelessly to get oxygen cylinders, medicines, and other life saving measures with commitment and compassion.

It certainly was a time of high growth and high stress. My personal analogy to describe this situation is to fly an airplane while redesigning & rebuilding the aircraft in the air, onboarding new employees & clients, and servicing existing clients & partners — doing it all 24X7 without any pause or delay. It was certainly interesting to say the least!

At the end of the day, we are a highly collaborative, friendly, and interactive team. Our strong company culture of innovation, resilience to change, integrity, people-first focus, and gratitude helped us overcome these challenges. We remind ourselves that everything is “figureoutable” and we can get through tough times together. Of course, we couldn’t live without humor, laughter, celebration, and fun as a team.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Here’s a funny and frustrating mistake. We were in NYC for a trade show, and we had taken a LOT of care to pack all the booth exhibits and other marketing materials. The shipment was supposed to reach us on the day before the first day of the show. Long story short, the package got lost and UPS could not locate it at all. We had to improvise since we had NOTHING for the show floor.

Suresh (my partner) and I printed a graphic on a thick cloth and hung it on the show floor. We used it as a memorable story to talk to our prospects and it worked! Our message was “We are fast, agile, and effective problem solvers. If we can overcome this unexpected challenge of having no booth, imagine what we can do to solve your chargeback fraud challenges!” People remembered us as the company with nothing to show except our ingenuity and quick problem solving!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Yes, absolutely! I am very grateful for my first boss and mentor, Glenn Dunki-Jacobs. He had been a successful entrepreneur and sold his company before teaching Computer Science. I still do not know what made him ask me whether I’d be interested in starting a software development company. I was skeptical but I found myself saying “Sure, why not?”. He is one of the kindest and most helpful people I’ve ever met. He took me under his wing and taught me everything about starting my first business. I still have my meeting notes from all those years ago! Words cannot express my gratitude for Glenn and everything he has ever done for me. When I asked him how I could repay him, he simply asked me to pass it on when the time was right. He is still one of my biggest cheerleaders and mentors. He inspires me every day by the way he lives his life.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

It is not their ability; it is lack of access to educational, legal, and financial resources and capital. All founders including women need the team and resources to sustain downturns and cash flow issues. Financial and business education is key to founding any business.

Even when you win projects, you need to invest in people and resources to get started. It can quickly become a “chicken or an egg” situation. I personally know women who have faced dire situations including potential shut down because of lack of knowledge, education, and resources. In addition, women also often lack the right contacts and network to start a business.

Another factor is lack of confidence that comes from being underestimated and passed over based on prejudices and assumptions. I’ve personally faced situations where I was assumed to be the hired help instead of the founder of my company.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

1. Personal: Research, educate, and understand. Join orgs like SBDC, SBA.gov, startup incubators, and peer groups that provide free resources, education, mentoring, and support. Get minority or women owned business certifications. Attend local events consistently. Look into doing business with the government. Show up to build your network — networking is key. Seek experienced entrepreneurs as mentors.
2. Society: Speaking engagements to give back and help others to succeed. Volunteer time and mentor other women. Share knowledge, wisdom, and encouragement. Provide opportunities to connect, speak, and share women’s stories.
3. Society: Remove stigma about mental health and other vulnerabilities. Give others a piece of hope and positive encouragement.
4. Government: Identify and implement government policy changes to empower and provide resources (financial, legal, and educational). Make it a priority to investigate, identify, address the challenges women founders face. Set aside projects and funding for women owned businesses and actively provide resources to educate and access to these projects.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

More women should become founders because entrepreneurship is one of the hardest and the most fulfilling things we can undertake in our life. Women are leaders and nurturers. We can play multiple roles, roll up our sleeves, and get things done. Women are inspiring and tend to help others who come after them. As founders, we are helping the economy grow and creating jobs & livelihoods for people around us. We can impact the community in which we live by helping others achieve success in their chosen field. I firmly believe someone’s gender should not play a role in achieving success in any field!

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

• A founder can do whatever they want and vacation whenever they want. They don’t have a boss. The truth is founders are accountable to customers, employees, shareholders, regulators, vendors, etc.
• It’s an “overnight” success. Nothing is achieved overnight and there is no real shortcut! Success is never linear.
• The myth of the solo, visionary entrepreneur (typically male) building a “unicorn” alone from the garage. In real life, the process of executing an idea into a profitable product/service is iterative, chaotic, and unpredictable — you create a hypothesis, then a prototype, test, iterate based on results, rinse and repeat.
• Being a founder is glamorous. The awards, achievements, and successes look glamorous from the outside, but it takes a lot of time, consistent efforts, failures, losses, sleepless nights, personal sacrifice (family & friends), unpredictability, criticism, and a whole lot more to achieve success.
• The myth that building a unicorn at all costs is the best outcome. “Unicorn” is only the valuation offered by the market and it can be volatile. It does not mean that you have a profitable business. The recent market shifts have shown us the truth.
• Entrepreneurs only care about the bottom line. We do care about the bottom line, but we also want to take care of our employees, customers, partners, and community.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

Not everyone is cut out to be a founder — And that’s totally okay! We need all kinds of people to make the world work.

There are multiple traits that are required of a founder — they need to not only be a master of their craft but also learn to be a business leader. Here are some of the most important traits:

Clarity of vision & ability to communicate vision to others, disciplined work ethic, leadership, subject matter expertise in your field, resilience, consistency, honesty and transparency, being open minded and curious about the world, detail oriented and being decisive, willingness to take calculated risks, ability to handle uncertainty, being a lifelong learner, having the “startup mentality,” flexibility to adapt to constant changes/failures, handling setbacks as well as successes with a levelheaded attitude, and excellent leadership skills to recruit/train/retain a world class team.

Founding a company requires you to be not only a master of your craft but also run the business side of things. You need to learn many new things and concepts. The buck stops with you — it’s a 24x7 role and it’s a different kind of responsibility. It’s riskier than getting a regular job and you need to be ready to do everything from scratch. The entrepreneurship journey will stretch you in ways you would not expect. It’s one of the most challenging and also the most fulfilling endeavors one can undertake.

There’s validity to all life choices we make, whether it’s to be an entrepreneur or get a regular job. It really depends on each person’s mindset, goals, and priorities. You can still choose to operate as an “intrapreneur” in any job. The traits and characteristics can be very helpful to learn and advance in any career. So I highly recommend learning about entrepreneurship and leadership for everyone.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Having the right business partner and team is VITAL (complementing each other’s strengths/weaknesses, having the same values, vision, mission, trust, and equal respect). People are the most important part of a company.
2. Know when to exit a business venture and when to take risks in business.
3. Practicing self-care with discipline helps optimize work performance. It is extremely important to make sure we are physically, mentally, and emotionally well and help others to do the same.
4. The biggest breakthrough was learning to take the time (however long it takes) to hire the right people to grow the business. We went through tough times with people who were not a good fit and learned a lot through the process. I am glad we went through that while we were growing. I know that I’m stronger, wiser, and more resilient due to those experiences.
5. You are guaranteed to make mistakes and experience losses. Shame, blame, and guilt will most certainly pull you down. Although it is tough to overcome these losses, you will ultimately learn how to avoid, identify, pivot, and solve similar challenges in the future. It’s best to make these mistakes early on because the same mistakes will be more expensive (in terms of time, money, and effort) later.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I have followed my first mentor’s advice to “pass it on when the time comes”. I have been mentoring many young professionals and entrepreneurs to the best of my ability. I have led with integrity, compassion, transparency, and collaboration through times of crises like the 2020 pandemic.

I do my best to “walk the talk” when it comes to living based on my principles and leading by example. I have always put people first, including our clients, employees, and partners. I am a connector and strive to create a diverse and inclusive culture with the principles I have spoken about. It is very important to me that our people know that we have a safe, encouraging, and caring workplace. I ensure we openly discuss our vulnerabilities including mental health.

It gives me great fulfillment to see hundreds of jobs created across many countries over the course of my career. I have also given opportunities to underrepresented groups to learn, advance, and get promoted to senior leadership roles in our companies. I believe it is important to empower our people to not have a seat at the table but a voice that is heard. I have seen our team achieve incredible goals when they had autonomous decision-making opportunities and took ownership of their roles.

I’m very happy about the fact that we have always built diverse teams even before “diversity” became a buzzword. To me, diversity is a proxy for different lived experiences, mindsets, and perspectives. I have always encouraged people to say no to me and debate the merits of ideas. That is one of the biggest strengths of all the companies I co-founded. I feel very grateful as I write this answer to everyone who has helped me reach this point in life. It does take a village to achieve success!

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

The movement I want to inspire:

I want a movement to help & support people to become entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs. Whether someone is a founder or works at a company, they need the traits and qualities of entrepreneurship to be successful. This can help alleviate poverty and other societal issues by giving people the opportunity to learn, grow, and support themselves so that they can be successful in life.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I have several in mind.

One of them is Sallie Krawcheck, Co-Foudner & CEO of Ellevest. She is a powerhouse and I feel very inspired by her vision, mission, and execution.

I’d also like to meet Mark Cuban not only for all the obvious reasons, but for investing in Cost Plus Drugs. This is saving lives by providing everyone access to safe drugs at an affordable cost.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

About the Interviewer: Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA was born nearly blind, crippled with club feet, partially deaf, and left-handed. He overcame all of these obstacles to become a successful civil trial lawyer. In 2000, he abandoned his law practice to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity, and he executes his calling at many levels. He is an award-winning author, teacher, and trainer. He is a highly experienced mediator. Doug’s work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. Doug teaches his innovative de-escalation skill that calms any angry person in 90 seconds or less. With Laurel Kaufer, Doug founded Prison of Peace in 2009. The Prison of Peace project trains life and long terms incarcerated people to be powerful peacemakers and mediators. He has been deeply moved by inmates who have learned and applied deep, empathic listening skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills to reduce violence in their prison communities. Their dedication to learning, improving, and serving their communities motivates him to expand the principles of Prison of Peace so that every human wanting to learn the skills of peace may do so. Doug’s awards include California Lawyer Magazine Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, Purpose Prize Fellow, International Academy of Mediators Syd Leezak Award of Excellence, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals Neutral of the Year. His four books have won a number of awards and commendations. Doug’s podcast, Listen With Leaders, is now accepting guests. Click on this link to learn more and apply.