Portrait No. 001
Sruti Bharat
CEO and Founder
Campground Systems
Raised — $1.6M
I switched from my career in the private sector to working in nonprofits and government because I wanted to use my resources for impact. But when I was leading programs, serving on the board of a local community center, and running workforce programs, I kept hitting the same wall: the lack of purpose-built tools. Reporting, compliance, and scaling were painfully difficult because so much of our work lived in spreadsheets. At the same time, I watched organizations spend millions trying to customize legacy CRM systems that didn’t actually fit their needs. It felt like a massive waste of time, money, and human capital...and worse, it pulled focus away from the people we were trying to serve. After seeing this pattern repeat across organizations, I realized the problem was the lack of infrastructure. I started the company because I knew there had to be a better way, and I had seen the problem up close enough times to build it.
In her words
“I started the company because I knew there had to be a better way to run impactftul programs, and I had seen the problem up close enough times to build it.”
Chapter I
The toughest challenges you've faced as a founder.
My founder journey started just a couple of months before I became pregnant with my first child, so I was fundraising and signing term sheets while going into labor. Not long after, my co-founder experienced a devastating personal loss and had to leave the company, and I rebuilt the tech team from scratch. I’m someone who does the work. I’ve driven all over the Bay to community centers, high schools, and youth centers to personally train folks on our software, and taken their feedback directly to improve the product. Like many of our customers and partners, I’ve navigated an incredibly volatile market. Amid budget cuts, uncertainty, and reductions, we still grew past $500K in ARR this year. As a child of immigrants and a woman of color, I wanted to build a culture I was proud of. I’ve created an environment grounded in trust, care, and accountability, all while raising a toddler. At this point, I’ve seen this problem in so many places, across so many organizations, that I know I’m uniquely positioned to solve it. The climb has been hard, but it’s also confirmed that this is my life's work.
Chapter II
Your vision.
I deeply believe that we need a strong social safety net in America. It’s been splintered and fragmented by tech, changing economics, covid. The safety net looks like true community, bolstered by community-based organizations and dignified services and programs. Interventions should help people access jobs, housing, education, and health services. This system has been damaged by the federal government, but it’s more obvious than ever how important it is, and how vital it will be in the future. That’s why Campground Systems exists: the social safety net must be stronger, not weaker. The staff who hold that net together do not have tools that respect their work. They’re tracking tasks in spreadsheets, spending hours formatting impact reports to raise money, and unable to scale impact because of legacy systems. When these problems are solved, staff can focus on human impact, programs are more effective, and social services are seen as essential, functioning human fabric that helps society work.
Chapter III
The impact you want to leave behind — for your industry, your community, and the women who come next.
In 30 years, I want to be proud that I helped strengthen the social safety net by making the work behind it visible, respected, and sustainable. I want community-based organizations to have tools that honor their expertise, not drain their time or spirit. I hope the impact is an industry where technology serves people doing hard, human work. And for future women and minority founders, I want my story to be proof that you can build something meaningful without sacrificing your values, your family, or your humanity.