Queens Tech Corner: Deepti Sharma of Gundi Partners LLC

Can you tell us a little about your company and how you got your start?

Gundi Partners is a consulting practice focused on entrepreneurship education, community engagement, and strategic advising. It grew out of decades of building at the intersection of food, tech, and civic life.  

I'm a serial entrepreneur who sees entrepreneurship as a tool to create change — most notably through FoodtoEat, a catering marketplace I founded that connected minority- and immigrant-owned restaurants with corporate clients, and Bikky, a data and loyalty platform built to help independent restaurants better understand and retain their customers. After FoodtoEat collapsed in March 2020 when COVID hit, I pivoted fast by raising funds and coordinating community feeding efforts across New York City through restaurant partnerships. That experience crystallized what I actually do best: build ecosystems, connect people, and create programming that moves communities forward.  

For me, entrepreneurship has never just been about building a business but rather it's been about using the tools of business to make something better. Gundi Partners is the vehicle for all of that now. 

What is your latest project, and why are you excited about it? 

Right now, I'm doing a lot of work at the intersection of entrepreneurship education and community building. This includes teaching, developing curricula for university entrepreneurship programs, and keynoting events for organizations such as Local 372's Women's Committee and various universities. What excites me most is helping people, especially women and people of color, see themselves as builders. Every time someone in a room realizes their story is fundable, teachable, worth something, that's the project I care about. 

Why are you excited about the future of tech in Queens? 

Queens is the most ethnically diverse place on Earth — and that means it's full of entrepreneurs who are already solving problems at scale, just without the recognition or resources they deserve. What makes Queens founders different is that so many of them are building out of necessity and love especially for their neighbors, their communities, and their families. When you come from a place where you've seen struggle up close, you don't just build for profit. You build to make the world around you better. That ethos cuts across every background and socioeconomic experience here, and it produces founders who are deeply motivated, deeply human, and deeply connected to the people they're serving. As tech infrastructure and investment catch up to where the talent actually is, I think Queens is going to produce some of the most innovative founders of the next decade. I want to be part of making sure those founders don't have to leave Queens — or leave who they are — to be taken seriously. 

It’s Queens Tech Corner time! The Queens Tech Corner is a monthly profile where we shine a spotlight on tech entrepreneurs doing exciting things right here in Queens. This month’s featured tech entrepreneur is Deepti Sharma, Founder & Principal of Gundi Partners LLC, a business consulting practice focused on entrepreneurship education, community engagement, and strategic advising. To learn more, go to https://www.deeptisharma.com/.