Ritu Shah on Building ClostraBio and Advancing Gut Health Solutions 5-17-26

Summary

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Podcast Summary:

Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast

Episode: Ritu Shah on Building ClostraBio and Advancing Gut Health Solutions
Host: Scott Becker
Guest: Ritu Shah, CEO of ClostraBio
Date: May 17, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, host Scott Becker sits down with Ritu Shah, CEO of ClostraBio—a leading-edge biotech company focused on next-generation probiotics for gut health, IBD, and food allergies. Ritu shares her inspiring journey from chemical engineering to founding a gut health startup, discusses the company’s scientific approach, and reflects on lessons learned as an entrepreneur in biotech. She also sheds light on the challenges and triumphs of bringing innovative health solutions to market, staying true to company values, and educating consumers about their well-being.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ritu Shah’s Background & Path to ClostraBio

• Early Dreams & Education

  • Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Notre Dame, initially interested in cosmetics for darker-skinned women.
  • Pivoted to business, consulting for pharma companies at Accenture in the R&D strategy group.
  • (01:35) “I did that because I initially wanted to focus on developing cosmetics for darker-skinned women back in the 90s.” — Ritu Shah

• Transition to Healthcare & Biotech

  • Worked for large companies (Accenture, Baxter), focusing on rare diseases and hands-on solutions for children and families.
  • Valued the impact and agility of working in early-stage biotech.
  • (02:18) “Being an early part of biotech, making decisions quickly, seeing impact quickly, that’s really what drove me to ClostraBio.” — Ritu Shah

2. ClostraBio’s Mission & Differentiated Approach

• Focused on bringing next-generation, science-backed probiotics to the market, targeting gut health, IBD, and food allergies.
• Solutions are over-the-counter and completely natural, intending to make an immediate impact.
• Only 6% of Americans get enough fiber; ClostraBio wants to support broader gut health through innovative products.
• (03:51) “Americans know they need to get more fiber, but really only 6% of Americans are getting the amount of fiber they need.” — Ritu Shah

3. Lessons in Building a Startup

• Resilience & Drive:

  • Emphasizes the necessity to stay focused through challenges.
  • Importance of surrounding oneself with energetic, driven individuals—even if they’re not the most experienced.
  • (04:53) “There are going to be hard days. As an entrepreneur... you have to stay focused. You have to stay the course.” — Ritu Shah

• Rolling Up Sleeves & Seeking Advice:

  • Success means wearing many hats and constantly learning.
  • Values having strong, experienced advisors and not being afraid to ask for help.
  • (05:43) “It doesn’t make me weak...by saying I don’t know or I need help. It just shows that I really want to make the organization strong...” — Ritu Shah

4. Major Challenges and Points of Pride

• Education & Differentiation:

  • The hardest part is educating the market—pioneering “first in class” products requires constant consumer and investor education.
  • (06:10) “You have to create this form of education. And the education and the time it takes for that is probably the hardest part...” — Ritu Shah

• Staying True to Values:

  • Pride in ClostraBio’s commitment to scientific integrity and product quality.
  • (07:06) “We don’t take any shortcuts. And so for me, that’s what I’m most proud of.” — Ritu Shah

5. Product Credibility & Personal Use

• Ritu and her family personally use ClostraBio’s flagship product, CLB101 Probiotic.
• She publicly discussed her use for IBS awareness and anecdotal benefits like reduced bloating and feeling better.
• (08:23) “I’ve been on the product for over six months and I no longer feel gassy after dinner. My family has noticed that and my 17-year-old now takes it as well.” — Ritu Shah

6. Focus & Excitement for the Future

• Passionate about “redefining what normal is” in gut health and helping people regain control over their health.
• Encouraged by the positive changes users experience and the opportunity to educate a wider public.
• (09:26) “I’m excited about redefining what normal is and making sure people are healthy again.” — Ritu Shah

7. Advocacy for Science-Driven Products

• Emphasizes the importance of doing research when selecting probiotics and discussing choices with practitioners.
• (11:29) “My recommendation for individuals is to make sure they do their homework and think about what they’re trying to get from their probiotics.” — Ritu Shah

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Team Culture:

  • (05:06) “It’s not necessarily the people who have done it over and over again, but those who want to do it.” — Ritu Shah

• On Product Integrity:

  • (07:06) “We don’t take any shortcuts. And so for me that’s what I’m most proud of.” — Ritu Shah

• On Societal Impact:

  • (09:29) “The fact that our probiotic can help with that is what’s really exciting to me, that we can provide this education and folks can start feeling good again and feel like they’re in control.” — Ritu Shah

• Host Humor:

  • (07:14) Scott jokes: “I can't even joke about our family's gas problems because it's too embarrassing to talk about on the phone. But I won’t talk about that.”

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Key Timestamps

• 01:15 — Ritu Shah’s background and inspiration
• 02:18 — Shift to biotech and children’s health
• 03:29 — Consumer behavior and gut health market trends
• 04:31 — Lessons learned as a founder
• 06:03 — Challenges: education and standing out
• 07:41 — Family’s use of ClostraBio’s products
• 09:03 — Excitement about making a difference in gut health
• 10:21 — Where to find ClostraBio products and further education

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Where to Find ClostraBio

• Company website: clusterbio.com
• Product: clb101probiotic.com
• Additional educational content and contact options available on their websites.

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Final Thoughts

Ritu Shah and ClostraBio are at the forefront of gut health innovation. The episode offers actionable insights for entrepreneurs, consumers seeking science-backed wellness products, and anyone interested in the journey from concept to consumer impact. Her authentic, mission-driven approach and dedication to integrity resonate throughout—a must-listen for those interested in entrepreneurship, health tech, and modern consumer wellness movements.

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Transcript

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[Scott Becker]

This is Scott Becker with the Becker Business in the Becker Private Equity Podcast. We're thrilled today to be joined by a brilliant entrepreneur and founder. We're joined today by Ritu Shah. Ritu, can you take a moment, introduce yourself and tell us what you're doing and what you're building?

[Ritu Shah]

Sounds great. And Scott, thank you for having me today.

Thank you.

So you mentioned, my name is Ritu Shah and I am the CEO of ClusterBio. We're a biotech that's really dedicated to

next generation probiotics for gut health and looking at solutions for IBD and food allergies.

A little bit about me I have a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and I did that because I initially wanted to focus

on developing cosmetics for darker skinned women back in the 90s.

After I graduated I found myself really

pulled to the business side.

I joined Accenture and I worked in

their Pharma R and D strategy group which I just loved. Working with companies providing medical solutions for individuals with high unmet needs.

It just made me really excited about

doing what I did. I eventually transitioned over to Baxter, focused on rare disease, found myself in biotech

and I had the honor of providing

healthcare solutions to children and their families and that's what I wanted to do for the rest of my career. Being an early part of biotech, making decisions quickly, seeing impact quickly and that's

really what drove me to clusterbio. So many people I know, so many people you probably know are impacted by

gut health, food allergies, ibs, ibd and we found a differentiated approach which is completely natural that we could bring to the market quickly.

[Scott Becker]

Thank you. And tell me a little bit about well, tell me about, first of all, Notre Dame versus Michigan. Do you have a favorite between those two, Notre Dame and Michigan?

[Ritu Shah]

Oh, of course, it was Notre, Dame, obviously. But I thought I actually was trying to decide between the two and it just frankly came down to the fact

that I wanted a little bit more of a smaller school and the culture at Notre Dame.

[Scott Becker]

Fantastic. And tell us a little bit about how it's going, how you moved into this area and how you're coming along and some of the highlights so far.

[Ritu Shah]

Yeah, it's going well. There's so much focus right now on

consumers wanting to be healthy again, and they're no longer willing to accept what they assumed was normal or that there were no solutions for them. And they want to take control. Consumers want to take control and see what they can do to be healthy. What we're focusing on is doing that,

and it's going well because we know

that Americans know that they need to get more fiber, but really only 6% of Americans are getting the amount of fiber they need.

And so we've really thought about how do we help them, how do we think about what is going on in their gut? There's a lot of talk about leaky gut. And we found a probiotic, a solution that is over the counter, that is

backed by science that people can take and they're feeling better.

[Scott Becker]

And take a moment, give the audience just a couple lessons about starting and building a company. What are the couple things that you've learned so far and advice that you might share with other founders and entrepreneurs?

[Ritu Shah]

Absolutely. And it's interesting, Scott, because I started my career in big pharma consulting and

then I worked for really large pharmaceutical companies.

And then as my career progressed, I

started going into smaller and smaller biotech startups.

And I've learned a few things. One is around being resilient.

There are going to be hard days. And as an entrepreneur and as a CEO, you have to stay focused. You have to stay the course.

But what I really been just joyful with is that I've surrounded myself by

good people, people who have energy and drive. It's not necessarily the people who have done it over and over again, but those who want to do it.

I've also really learned that you have

to be willing to roll up your sleeves and get messy. We don't stay in our swim lanes. We have to know and be willing to learn all the time.

And I always remember that.

I want to make sure. And I think entrepreneurs have to remember to be surrounded by strong and experienced advisors.

I love learning, and I've learned that early on in my career. And there are people who've done this before successfully. And I know that it doesn't make

me weak or saying, you know, by saying I don't know or I need

help, it just shows that I really

want to make the organization strong and get treatments out there to people.

[Scott Becker]

Thank you. And what's the hardest part about starting a business so far? And what part do you love so far?

[Ritu Shah]

I think the hardest part is becoming known in education. Right.

Because you want to start something that isn't out there. We use these phrases like first in class versus best in class.

And by being first in class, that

makes you more marketable. Absolutely. Investors want to invest in you, people

want to work with you, but you

have to create this form of education. And the education and the time it takes for that is probably the hardest

part that I've seen for what we're doing at clusterbio. I think one of the things that I find most successful or that we've

done really well is that we stay true to our values.

And I think that's really important to

create upfront and set up front with you as the founder as well or CEO, as well as the organization and your investors and your board. And for us, it was staying true to the science, staying true to the

integrity of our product, and making sure

that we don't take any shortcuts. And so for me, that's what I'm most proud of.

[Scott Becker]

Fantastic. And we're to talk about this. There's the old famous men's warehouse commercials where the entrepreneur would say, I'm not just the owner, I'm not just the men's warehouse, but I'm a customer too. So the proof in the pudding, the product for the biome and what you're doing, would you and family utilize it? Would you guys be comfortable utilizing?

[Ritu Shah]

I am using it, actually.

I have been. You know, I was actually just on WGN for IBS awareness month of April, and I talked about how I am

using CLB101, which is our probiotic. And.

And I used. And I think one of the interesting things, Scott, is that people sometimes are

uncomfortable talking about their gut health issues.

They don't talk about it a lot and women are impacted 2 to 1

with IBS, for instance.

And so after, when our product was

launched at the beginning of Q4 last year, I started taking it.

So I've been on the product for

over six months and I no longer feel gassy after dinner. I feel better My family has noticed that and my 17 year old now takes it as well.

My, my husband plans on starting it shortly.

And so this is, this is a family that's focused on using our product.

I always tell people they could always

use more butyrate, which is what our probiotic is producing.

And I encourage all of my friends

and family to at least try it.

[Scott Becker]

That's fantastic. And tell us what you're most excited about currently on this journey that you're on. What are you most focused on and excited about currently?

[Ritu Shah]

I'm excited about people feeling good again. I'm excited that there are folks out there who have had gut health challenges. I was just talking to a GI

doc actually and they were telling me that individuals out there think it's normal, that maybe they haven't had a, they have a bowel movement once a week and that's not normal.

And I'm excited about redefining what normal

is and making sure people are healthy again.

And the fact that our probiotic can

help with that is what's really exciting to me, that we can provide this education and folks can start feeling good again and feel like they're in control.

[Scott Becker]

I just love that. And Richard, one last question and I won't ask you a Michigan Notre Dame question again. And I won't ask you, I can't even joke about our family's gas problems because it's too embarrassing to talk about on the phone. But I won't talk about that. I might ask you what is WGN for people that aren't familiar? Wgn, great, great superstation in the, in the greater Midwest and now nationally. But, but tell us just a little bit. What else would you like people to know about what you're doing and the name of the company and where they could find it, where they can find out more about this? You know, tell us where people could start to, to purchase what you guys do and so forth.

[Ritu Shah]

Yeah, you. Cluster Bio was founded at the University of Chicago by faculty and headquartered in Chicago.

And we're committed to being part of the Midwest ecosystem.

And that's something I'm really proud of

that we're really trying to focus our life sciences organization here. You can buy CLB101 Probiotic at our website, clb1.01probiotic.com.

You can also go to Clusterbio's website

and purchase it from there as well. It'll take you to the Shopify page.

So that's clusterbio.com we also provide a

lot of information on those sites about the science so if you or consumers want to get a little bit more educated, that can happen as well.

We have an ask an area where

you can contact us and ask questions. So we're always open to answering what we can.

And I just want people to know that there are I know there are

a lot of probiotics out there.

I know that there's so much on Gut Health.

My recommendation for individuals is to make sure they do their homework and think about what they're trying to get from their probiotics that they're and feel free to talk to your practitioners.

And so that's what I'd love for

folks to know about clusterbio and what we're doing.

[Scott Becker]

Ritu Shah, thank you so much for joining us today on the Back of Private Equity and the Baker Business Podcast. What a pleasure to visit with you. Amazing entrepreneurial story and Gut Health story. Thank you so much for joining us.

[Ritu Shah]

Thank you, Scott. It was a pleasure joining you as well.

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