Atlanta tech entrepreneur went from young founder to leading team of nearly 50

Sandeep Ahuja always said she’d own her own company by age 40.

Ahuja cofounded tech company Cove with her now-husband in 2017, when she was 24.

She has since been named to Forbes’ 2020 30 Under 30: Energy list, among other accolades.

The pair, architects by training, have grown the software startup to a team of nearly 50 people and made a significant pivot in the last year from offering a sustainability-focused tool to a full-service AI platform for architecture.

Cove has built a proprietary AI system that can help clients like real estate developers design sites and buildings, from feasibility planning through creating construction documents.

The last few years have also brought growth to their family. Ahuja is expecting her second child and said becoming a mom forced her to change the way she operates as CEO of Cove.

“When you’re a young founder, you try to hold it all and own it all. ‘No one else could possibly do this as good as me,’ is the belief that you hold in your head,” Ahuja said.

“I know for a fact that that is not true, and I learned that because I had to give up control, because I had to take the time that I needed to go be a mom,” she said. “I had to put systems in place, and I think that was such an eye-opening and exciting moment for me, and I just truly trust the team around me so much.”

She shared what she wished she knew at the beginning of her parenting journey and tips for Atlanta entrepreneurs in tech.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Do you have advice for young women entrepreneurs?

A: Calculate the odds. The thing that helped me set better expectations was to not accept but to acknowledge the disparity in data that exists for male founders and female founders in terms of access to capital, in terms of ability to collaborate with specific types of companies and firms. I already know I have to pitch 10x more than a male founder, and I acknowledged that data, and I was prepared for it.

Q: Are there things you wish you knew before you became a mom?

A: With my first kid, I was so nervous. I was like, ‘What’s my board going to say? What’s going to happen? I’ve never taken a break this long.’ There was just so much fear. I remember looking up so much online at the time to find other women who had gone through similar experiences. But there is such little information and guidance out there, because everyone that I lean on — my lawyer is a man, my entire board is men. Everywhere I look, it’s a man. Who can I talk to about this?

At the time, there were maybe three online blogs I found about women who were CEOs who had openly written about their experience, and that was all I could find. And then, thankfully, I met two or three founders here.

Just finding other entrepreneurs here in Atlanta who are moms was actually the most comforting. To be like, ‘OK, cool, so you just build a village around you. And you just prep for it like you would prep for a business and put the right resources behind each thing and cover every hour, and then you’re going to be OK.’

I just hope that any other founder who’s going through a similar journey — which many do and many are scared, because there’s not enough data or things written about it — don’t worry. It’s going to be OK. It’s totally possible. So many times, I’ll be scrolling LinkedIn, and I’ll see some post from a founder saying, ‘Oh, I just pulled a 60-hour week again.’ That really is not necessary if you manage your time well, set decent boundaries in terms of the things that you must do versus what others can do versus what you don’t have to do at all. You really don’t have to do unhealthy things with your life.

Q: Is there a mentorship program you’d recommend?

A: As a Tech grad, I have to definitely do a shoutout for Create-X in Georgia Tech.

Q: Are you part of a networking group, or is there one you recommend?

A: Atlanta Tech Village and (Advanced Technology Development Center) — those are the two orgs that I spend most of my time with and the founders within them, because I think they’re doing some really cool stuff. And there’s a wide range of founders you can talk to and support.

Q: What are the most important Atlanta events and venues for meeting people in tech?

A: I go to all the Venture Atlanta conferences and events, which there are so many events packed into that one week. (And) Tech Week, I thought, was really great.

You have to go to Venture Atlanta. (The Technology Association of Georgia) does some really cool stuff. I’ve been to the TAG events quite a few times, and there’s a great community that shows up there, too. The tech-forward conferences and events here in Atlanta are a really great place to attend for anyone that’s trying to start a company, raise capital, hire talent.

Q: Where’s the best place for a client meeting?

A: I have attended my most favorite client dinners, which we host quite a few of, at the Perlant in Buckhead (a private social club). It’s so great. I love it. They’ve got great Wi-Fi; it’s right by Buckhead Center. It’s easy to get to. I would say that’s a really good spot.

Q: Favorite place to relax and unwind?