Shiv Patel is the CEO and cofounder of Cratoflow Inc., a fintech company that’s simplifying the way entrepreneurs manage their bookkeeping and accounting. Cratoflow automatically logs sales, reconciles expenses, and integrates directly with Quickbooks—the top-rated bookkeeping software used by small businesses.
But Shiv isn’t the type to create a product with a single solution for a specific type of audience. Instead, her products, platform, and overall philosophy are meant to empower any entrepreneur, in any industry, with any business model, by helping them untangle the financial side of their business.
Before she started Cratoflow, Shiv was part of the finance department at a startup that was working on an accounting product. Every time she’d interact with a customer, she kept sensing a deep-seated frustration around the whole bookkeeping process.
“I didn’t understand how the fintech industry was growing so rapidly, and yet small business owners were still just as frazzled, frustrated, and turned off by the accounting side of their business. It didn’t make any sense to me, because that’s also a huge customer base but there wasn’t a real solution available. I knew there had to be a better option for them and I also knew that somehow I could help.”
After Cratoflow developed its first product that would automatically sync bank and credit card purchases with QuickBooks, Shiv decided to list it on AppSumo. After going through a major rebrand and a company name change, Shiv was eager to connect with a fresh customer base. But what happened next was something Shiv could have never imagined.
Once her product launched on AppSumo, Shiv and the team at Cratoflow received an influx of feedback asking for more capabilities that would eventually inform their product road map. AppSumo also set the course for Cratoflow’s global launch, with the platform anticipated to reach customers in Canada and the U.K. by the end of 2022.
“I don’t think we could have anticipated the reach or trajectory we would experience from listing on AppSumo. It’s one thing to launch to a brand new audience, but it’s another thing entirely to have them provide feedback and request that your platform become available in their country. Without the support of AppSumo and its loyal audience of Sumo-lings, I don’t think that getting to a global launch like this would have been possible for us.”
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As someone who identifies as a female and minority entrepreneur, Shiv has often struggled with figuring out how to show up for her community. In fact, it’s one of the reasons she’s so passionate about empowering people to own the financials in their businesses. She shared that being a minority woman CEO can sometimes mean being passed on when it comes to finding funding or connecting into the right networks.
Because of her experience, Shiv felt inspired to use the Cratoflow platform to also empower other women and minority CEOs and founders.
“I want to be a part of the change in making business investing more diverse. I’ve had so many incredible mentors and partners who have made room for me at the table, but there’s still work to be done. I want to find a way to make room for other women and minority business owners because the world is a better place when we bring those ideas to life."
One day, Shiv hopes to eventually coach and educate her audience on how to navigate the VC and investor space through her work at Cratoflow. In the meantime, she and the Cratoflow team will be heads down on their future product roadmap—with a little help from Sumo-lings.
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