Building startups

You are not short on effort.

You are short on signal.

The usual cycle is dashboards, debates, and interviews that start at zero.

Roadmaps wobble. Messaging stalls. Confidence dips.

There is a calmer way. Start with what your market already says in public.

Turn open-web signals into patterns you can brief the team with.

Pair that with a simple monthly view of how competitors and language shift so decisions stop feeling like a guess.

That’s where I come in.

I run TrendLoom’s Market Radar, a high-touch insight system that gives Seed–Series A teams a continuous, structured read on customers, category, and competitors.

It uses only ethical, public data and an academically grounded framework that combines statistics, ML, and LLMs.

Interviews are not replaced. They are sharpened so you walk in with better hypotheses and leave with decisions you can defend.

I have advised 100+ founders on GTM, messaging, and discovery, and built Zaqlick from my Kellogg-WHU EMBA research into AI-assisted personas. I treat AI as an engine inside a method, not a magic trick.

I help with

• Open-web signals turned into clear patterns
• Competitive intelligence that tracks what changed vs last month
• Product discovery that starts deeper, not from zero
• Messaging that uses real customer language
• Decision protection for roadmap and GTM

Results

• Teams align faster because debates shift from opinions to signals
• Interviews get sharper, messaging tightens, and weak bets are dropped
• Leaders report a steadier sense of “what’s happening now” month to month

There are a few ways to work together:

Start with a 15-minute Signal Check. Bring one question. I will tell you if strong signals exist, what they suggest, and the next best move. If you want deeper support, we roll into Market Radar.

DM me the word “SIGNAL” to see if you are a fit and which path makes sense.

Elena Tsemirava

The Persistent Founder | I help B2B founders find product market fit and raise capital to accelerate from $0 to $2M ARR | 2x Founder, Raised $7M, Launched 3 AI/Robotics/SaaS products, Sold $100K+ deals to Fortune 500

I am a seasoned VC-backed, 2x startup founder and business executive with over a decade of experience in AI, Robotics, SaaS, Mobility, Supply Chain Tech, Industrial Automation, and B2B Go To Market.

In 2017, I finished my Ph.D. and started SIERA.AI with a $50,000 grant from the US government.

I spent over 3 months just talking to 100+ customers and learning their true pain points.

What happened over the next 5 years changed my life:
- I raised ~$7M of venture capital
- Built a team of 30+ people across 2 continents
- Launched 2 successful AI and Robotics product lines to 1000+ devices
- Scaled a go-to-market program, and onboarded over 60 enterprise customers
- The largest deal we sold was worth over $300,000.

In 2022, I handed over the CEO reins of the business. 

In 2023 I joined Shield AI. First I led the software team that builds Shield's AI pilot and then in 2024 founded the customer engagement team for our Hivemind Business.

Since launching Hivemind Customer Engagement at Shield, we've helped close double digit millions in revenue in a matter of months and scaled a global team to handle all post sales activities.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are my own (personal) and do not represent the views or opinions of any employer, past, present, or future.

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Elena Tsemirava

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