Welcome back to The Room Podcast! Today, we’re thrilled to explore the fast-evolving world of B2B tech innovation with Shensi Ding, co-founder of Merge. Merge has become a leader in unified APIs, creating a category that addresses the challenges many companies face with complex integrations. Shensi’s journey is a unique one—from her coding days in Boston to Columbia, then a career at Silver Lake, all of which prepared her to tackle the 'SAAS sprawl' problem head-on. Together with her co-founder, Gil Feig, Shensi has built a powerhouse team and a product that’s essential for clients like Ramp and BambooHR. Their customer-first approach has secured $75 million in funding and a growing presence across SF and NYC. In this episode, we delve into topics like using customer insights to drive category creation, balancing skills in co-founder dynamics, and navigating fundraising from seed stage through metrics-driven growth.