Women Disrupting Tech

Women Disrupting Tech

By Dirkjan HupkesBusinessEntrepreneurship
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Women Disrupting Tech episodes

  • How a Female Founder Helps Women Take Charge of Their Fertility with Sabrina Nowicki | Ep. 153

    Most fertility apps look at your past cycles and make a prediction. Sabrina Nowicki built something different.

    Sabrina is co-founder of Cyclisity, the digital companion to Taking Charge of Your Fertility — the bestselling book written by her aunt, Toni Weschler. What started as an annual lunch celebrating her first period became a mission to bring body literacy to women worldwide — and to build an app that teaches you to read your own body instead of outsourcing that knowledge to an algorithm.

    What you’ll learn

    • The 3 biomarkers at the heart of the Fertility Awareness Method and why each one tells you something different
    • Why the 28-day cycle myth is holding women back — and what stress, travel, and lifestyle really do to your cycle
    • Why Sabrina’s husband, a trained physician, was never taught any of this in medical school
    • The data privacy risk most women don’t know about when using free health apps
    • Why self-funding was a values decision, not just a financial one

    Chapters

    00:00 The Influence of Family Legacy on Innovation

    03:08 Understanding the Fertility Awareness Method

    06:10 The Basic Principles of the Fertility Awareness Method

    11:53 Cyclisity: The Role of Education About Women's Health

    14:47 Challenges and Learning Curves in Fertility Awareness

    17:55 The Importance of Personalization in Health Apps

    20:47 The Future of Women's Health Research

    23:58 Data Privacy and Women's Health

    29:44 Protecting User Data and Future Studies

    32:21 Impact of Roe v. Wade on Privacy

    35:05 The Advantages of Low-Tech Tracking

    38:01 Self-Funding and Business Strategy

    41:10 Leveraging Complementary Skills in Founding

    44:09 Designing for Correct Use and User Experience

    46:57 The Evolution of Cyclisity's Name

    50:23 Empowering Female Founders through Investment

    📋 Full episode notes + Sabrina’s bio: [link to blog post]

    Connect with Sabrina:
    🌐 cyclisity.com

    📱 TikTok & Instagram: @wanderingSabrinaThe book behind the app:
    📖 Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler → https://amzn.eu/d/0cX3icbH

    If this episode made you think differently about your body or your health data, hit follow so you never miss a new episode.

    59 min
  • Why Female Founders Don’t Need to Know Everything to Scale with Izzy Sayers | Ep. 152

    “I don’t need to be an expert on any of these topics… that’s what I have my colleagues for.” — Izzy Sayers

    What if the real obstacle for female founders isn’t a lack of knowledge, but the idea that they have to know it all themselves?

    This episode is for female founders and women in tech who want to scale without needing to know everything themselves.

    Host Dirkjan talks with Izzy Sayers, who leads the Emerging Giants team at KPMG Netherlands. Izzy helps startups and growing companies tackle tricky challenges like tax, finance, risk, and expanding internationally—areas that can make a big difference to a company’s success.

    Izzy didn’t follow a typical path into tech. Her history degree turned out to be her “secret weapon”—not because it made her a technical expert, but because it taught her to ask good questions, connect ideas, and bring the right people together. This approach also helped her handle imposter syndrome, focusing on where she adds value instead of trying to know everything.

    In this episode, you’ll hear:

    • Why knowing when to outsource is one of the most underrated founder skills

    • How to recognize the moment when complexity starts slowing you down

    • What post-COVID networking has cost the startup ecosystem, and how to bring serendipity back

    • Why women in tech often stay in the facilitator role, and what it takes to step forward

    • How safe spaces help female founders ask the questions that actually move them forward

    Izzy also talks about getting ready for motherhood while working in a fast-paced environment, and how this change is teaching her to manage her energy, be more selective, and think long-term.

    Chapters:

    00:00 — Introduction

    05:17 — The history degree as a secret weapon

    08:12 — Techstars NYC and the intensity of New York

    11:20 — Transitioning from TNW to KPMG

    14:05 — Overcoming imposter syndrome in a new role

    16:18 — When and what to outsource as a founder

    22:12 — How networking became transactional after COVID

    25:04 — Strategies for better event attendance

    33:22 — Safe spaces for women in the startup ecosystem

    36:21 — Why women stay in the facilitator role (and how to step forward)

    41:07 — Navigating motherhood and the startup world

    46:30 — What makes a meaningful connection

    Connect with Izzy Sayers and KPMG Emerging Giants

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/izzy-sayers/

    KPMG Emerging Giants: https://kpmg.com/nl/en/home/industries/private-enterprise/emerging-giants.html

    Check out the show notes on

    Women Disrupting Tech Blog:

    Substack:

    Enjoyed this episode?

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    50 min
  • Building The Next Seven Gold Standards in Women’s Health with Carmen van Vilsteren | Ep. 151

    How do you build the next generation of global gold standards in women’s health, and why is it one of the biggest economic opportunities of our time?

    In this episode, Carmen van Vilsteren — healthcare innovation leader, angel investor, and one of the Netherlands’ most experienced medical device executives — shares her mission to fund and coach seven female founders toward creating seven new gold standards in healthcare.

    Having spent decades at Philips developing cardiovascular imaging systems now used every second of every day in hospitals worldwide, Carmen is done advising from the sidelines. She’s getting her hands dirty — investing, coaching, and building the ecosystem that women’s health has always deserved.

    We dive deep into what it actually takes to create a global gold standard in healthcare, why women’s health represents a $1 trillion untapped economic opportunity, and how Carmen is shifting the conversation from niche issue to societal imperative.

    By listening, you'll learn about:

    1. The Seven Gold Standards: From microsurgery robotics to advanced breast reconstruction — why these innovations are poised to reshape global healthcare.
    2. The $1 Trillion Market Failure: Three times more money is spent on solving erection problems than on all women’s health issues combined. Carmen explains why that’s not just a gender issue — it’s an economic one.
    3. How to Build Credibility with Doctors: The three-level key opinion leader strategy that gets medical innovators from prototype to global adoption.
    4. Angel Investing as a Multiplier: How strategic early-stage investment helps female founders reach the inflection points that unlock serious venture capital.
    5. Shifting the Advocacy Language: Why framing women’s health as an economic opportunity — not a fairness issue — is the most effective way to move male-dominated Venture Capital.

    Connect with Carmen van Vilsteren:
    Connect with Carmen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmen-van-vilsteren-a069a49/

    Resources mentioned:

    Fe+Male Tech Heroes: https://femaletechheroes.com/

    FemTech NL: https://www.femtechnl.com/

    Borski Fund: https://borskifund.com

    Health Holland: https://health-holland.com

    Carmen's co-authored publication in The Lancet titled ‘Why investing in women's health is a societal imperative’: ⁠https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00404-6/fulltext⁠

    Chapters:

    00:00 Introduction and Background in Tech and Healthcare

    03:57 Why Healthcare Became Carmen’s Passion

    07:24 Development of Imaging Systems for Cardiovascular Applications

    09:07 What Goes into Developing a Global Standard

    14:43 Carmen’s Ambition to Fund Seven Global Healthcare Standards

    17:01 Innovations in Preclinical and Clinical Imaging

    19:08 The Role of Acceptance and Credibility in Healthcare

    23:07 The Seven Golden Standards in Healthcare

    32:50 Changing the Healthcare Ecosystem and Gender Balance

    40:39 Women’s Health as a Societal Imperative

    44:21 Engaging Men in Women’s Health Advocacy

    49:24 Impact of Women’s Health on Society and Personal Life

    54:00 Angel Investing and Supporting Female Founders

    58:35 Paying Forward and Building a Support Ecosystem

    01:10:47 Netherlands as a Global Center for Women’s Health

    01:17:08 Vision for the Future of Healthcare and Innovation

    01:21:32 Advice for Female Founders and Investors

    01:22:48 Connecting with Carmen on LinkedIn

    About Women Disrupting Tech: Hosted by Dirkjan Hupkes, Women Disrupting Tech features female founders, tech leaders, and women in STEM who are building the next generation of technology. We provide the actionable strategies and proven frameworks female entrepreneurs use to succeed.

    👉 Subscribe to Women Disrupting Tech on Spotify and Apple Podcasts for weekly insights from women reshaping the industry.

    1 hr 28 min
  • How a Female Founder Builds Privacy-First Tech for an Aging Population with Femke Delissen | Ep. 150

    What if three wall plugs could transform how night nurses care for an entire nursing home floor?

    Femke Delissen is the co-founder of PAVA, a Dutch startup using a combination of Wi-Fi sensing technology and AI to help nurses in elderly care work more efficiently — without cameras, without wearables, and without sacrificing the privacy and dignity of residents.

    In this episode, Femke shares how she and her co-founders turned an AI master’s project in Amsterdam into a full-time startup, why they’ve stayed committed to healthcare despite the temptation of faster markets, and what top-level sports taught them about building a resilient founding team.

    You’ll hear about:

    • How Wi-Fi signals through a wall plug can tell a nurse whether a resident is asleep, in the bathroom, or wandering a hallway — without a single camera
    • Why Femke calls elderly care a “double problem” — and why solving it requires both technical innovation and a moral compass
    • The “first save” moment that proved their system worked, during a live night shift at their first paying customer
    • How all three founders’ sports positions still define how they lead today
    • What female founders get wrong about the funding journey in healthcare (hint: investors need numbers before they’ll listen to your vision)
    • Why Femke says she’d “lose faith in society” if they pivoted to energy savings just because it was easier

    Whether you’re building in healthcare, navigating slow decision cycles, or looking for proof that you don’t always need a breakthrough invention to solve a real problem — this episode is for you.

    About Femke Delissen
    Femke Delissen is the co-founder and commercial lead of PAVA, a remote monitoring startup for elderly care based in the Netherlands.

    She holds an MSc in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Amsterdam and studied at UC Berkeley.

    Before going full-time on PAVA, she worked in a student-led consultancy at Sustainable Students Consultancy. She played hockey for HGC, at the highest competitive level in the Netherlands.

    Connect with Femke and Pava

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/femke-delissen/

    PAVA Website: pava.ai

    PAVA on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pava-ai/

    Chapters

    00:00 Introduction

    02:40 From Education to Entrepreneurship

    09:38 Introducing Pava: Revolutionizing Elderly Care

    11:04 Addressing the Challenges in Healthcare

    14:57 Innovative Solutions: Wi-Fi Sensing Technology

    20:41 Personalized Care Through Data

    25:29 The Future of Monitoring: AI and Beyond

    31:51 Passion for Healthcare: A Personal Journey

    37:53 Navigating the Healthcare Landscape

    44:48 Funding Challenges in Healthcare Startups

    51:51 The Influence of Sports on Entrepreneurship

    57:12 Learning Through Community and Collaboration

    Connect with Women Disrupting Tech
    Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube so you never miss an episode.

    1 hr 7 min
  • How a Female Founder Builds Real Human Connection Beyond the Swipe with Marsha Goei | Ep. 149

    How do you build a tech company that prioritizes real human connection over the endless swipe?

    In this episode, female founder Marsha Goei, Head of Brand at Breeze Social, shares her journey of disrupting the dating industry.

    By removing the chat function entirely, Marsha and her team have created a platform that skips the small talk and goes straight to face-to-face dates.

    We dive deep into the philosophy of human-centric tech, exploring how Marsha’s background in Industrial Design Engineering helped her build a product that solves the core problem of “app fatigue.”

    You’ll also hear the raw reality of navigating a seven-person founding team as the only woman and how to transition a startup culture from “family” to “professional team.”

    Key Takeaways from Marsha Goei:

    • The “No-Chat” Model: How to validate a disruptive business model by focusing on real-world outcomes (dates) over app engagement metrics.
    • Human-Centric Design: Using engineering frameworks to solve emotional and social problems in tech.
    • Founder Resilience: Lessons on burnout prevention, identifying misalignment, and the power of heart-centered leadership.
    • Operational Excellence: Why a high-performing “professional team” mindset is more sustainable than a “family” dynamic for scaling startups.
    • Women in Leadership: Navigating gender dynamics in the 2026 tech ecosystem and building a culture of radical feedback.

    About Women Disrupting Tech:

    Hosted by Dirkjan Hupkes, Women Disrupting Tech features female founders, tech leaders, and women in STEM who are building the next generation of technology. We provide the actionable strategies and proven frameworks female entrepreneurs use to succeed.

    Connect with Marsha and Breeze Social:

    • Connect with Marsha Goei on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshagoei/
    • Visit: ⁠https://breeze.social⁠
    • Follow: @breeze.social on Instagram and TikTok

    Chapters:
    00:00 Introduction
    02:20 Introducing Marsha Goei and Breeze
    05:22 The Journey to Entrepreneurship
    07:58 Building Breeze: The Concept of a Dating App
    11:14 Safety Features and User Commitment in Dating
    14:11 Validating the Breeze Concept
    17:05 From Concept to App Development
    19:55 Business Model Evolution and User Experience
    23:00 Design Philosophy and User-Centric Approach
    25:56 Success Metrics and User Feedback
    29:06 Navigating Gender Dynamics in Entrepreneurship
    35:18 Building a Feedback Culture
    38:24 The Shift from Family to Team
    41:11 Navigating Roles and Responsibilities
    45:07 The Journey of Self-Discovery
    52:39 Recognizing and Overcoming Burnout
    57:17 The Role of Investors in Growth
    1:03:55 Empowering Female Founders through Community

    👉 Subscribe to Women Disrupting Tech on Spotify and Apple Podcasts for weekly insights from women reshaping the industry.

    1 hr 9 min
  • The Startup Operator’s Playbook: Turning Founder Vision into Reality with Eliza Moore | Ep 148

    Every visionary founder needs a disciplined operator to translate "big ideas" into functional reality.

    In this episode, host Dirkjan Hupkes sits down with Eliza Moore, EVP of Client Experience & Operations at Prizeout, to deconstruct the unique mental models required to scale a startup from the ground up.

    Eliza shares her journey from New York financial services to the fast-paced world of fintech, offering a rare look at the "how" behind successful execution.

    We dive deep into the Data Chain Mental Model, a framework for better business decisions, and discuss why the most successful Women in Tech aren't just building products—they are building the systems that allow those products to thrive.

    What You’ll Learn

    • The Founder-Operator Dynamic: Why the "Why" and the "How" must work in perfect symbiosis.
    • The Data Chain: A 7-step mental model to move from raw data to impactful business decisions.
    • Scaling Smart: When to lean on "generalists" and when it’s time to bring in the "specialists."
    • The Power of 'No': Why saying no is the most important skill for an operator during a growth phase.
    • Fintech & Credit Unions: Why traditional financial institutions are becoming a surprising hub for innovation and female leadership.

    Chapters

    00:00 Introduction

    02:33 Eliza Moore's Journey to Prizeout

    09:36 Understanding Prizeout's Unique Fintech Model

    13:58 The Role of Credit Unions in Financial Services

    20:34 The Operator vs. Founder Dynamic

    26:40 Lessons from Mentorship and Leadership

    35:03 The Importance of Operators in Business

    43:08 Mental Models for Success in Funding

    44:28 Closing Thoughts and Where to Connect

    Connect with Eliza Moore and Prizeout

    Eliza Moore on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizamoore/⁠

    Prizeout website: ⁠⁠https://www.prizeout.com/⁠⁠

    The Data Chain Framework: https://medium.com/data-science/12-mental-models-for-data-science-f2e2133d85ea

    About Women Disrupting Tech

    Hosted by Dirkjan Hupkes, this show features the female founders and tech leaders building the next generation of technology companies. We provide actionable strategies for female entrepreneurs, startup leaders, and advocates for diversity in STEM.

    Subscribe & Review

    If you enjoyed this "Operator’s Playbook," please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps us reach more women disrupting the tech landscape!

    47 min
  • The Anatomy of a Female Founder Story That Drives Action with Jennifer Cloer | Ep 147

    Whoever controls the narrative holds the power to influence others. But for female founders, storytelling isn't just about marketing — it's a leadership tool that can reshape how you're seen, heard, and followed.

    In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Jennifer Cloer, founder of Story Changes Culture and creator of the Chasing Grace Project, about why storytelling is a leadership imperative that requires embracing tension, emotion, and your own lived experience.

    Jennifer explains how her decade at the Linux Foundation taught her the anatomy of a great story, why "narrative power is cultural power," and what it takes to architect an origin story that connects with investors, teams, and customers.

    This episode is for female founders, women in tech, startup leaders, and entrepreneurs who want to understand how to use their personal stories to lead, influence, and drive real business growth.

    What you'll learn in this episode:

    • Why narrative power is cultural power, and why whoever tells the story holds influence
    • How to architect your founder origin story (characters, tension, stakes, and resolution)
    • Why humans don't change behavior unless emotionally triggered, and what that means for leadership
    • The "dreams and nightmares" framework for understanding what your audience truly wants and fears
    • Why the personal is the professional, and how your lived experience is your most powerful asset
    • What "agency" in storytelling means and why stories fall flat without it
    • How the Chasing Grace Project became "rocket fuel" for women in tech to ask for raises and leave toxic jobs

    Chapters:

    00:00 Introduction

    02:07 The Birth of Story Changes Culture

    07:20 The Chasing Grace Project: Empowering Women Through Storytelling

    12:13 The Importance of Storytelling in Leadership

    18:51 Authenticity in Storytelling: Balancing Personal and Professional

    21:13 Embracing Emotion in Storytelling

    21:23 Harnessing Tension in Storytelling

    22:56 Filling the Gap: Story Changes Culture Masterclass

    25:39 Elements of a Compelling Story

    28:42 Overcoming Skepticism in Art and Storytelling

    31:26 The Role of Agency in Storytelling

    32:59 Choosing the Right Perspective

    35:33 Underused Storytelling Elements for Women Founders

    Connect with Jennifer Cloer and Story Changes Culture

    Jennifer Cloer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifercloer/

    Personal Website: https://www.jennifercloer.com/

    Story Changes Culture website: https://www.storychangesculture.com/

    Story Changes Culture on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/storychangesculture/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/story_changesculture/

    Substack: https://storychangesculture.substack.com/

    More about Women Disrupting Tech

    The full show notes on the website: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/04/09/episode-147/

    Our Substack Newsletter: https://open.substack.com/pub/womendisruptingtech/p/episode-147

    🎧 Listen to Women Disrupting Tech on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

    👉 Subscribe for more conversations with women building the future of tech through storytelling and leadership.

    40 min
  • How a Female Founder Restores Dignity for Brain Injury Patients with Faviola Dadis | Ep. 146

    What people lose first after a brain injury isn't intelligence. It's confidence, autonomy, and dignity.

    In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Faviola Dadis, CEO and co-founder of BrainBoostXR, about how she's building AI-powered virtual reality rehabilitation that restores dignity for people recovering from acquired brain injuries.

    Faviola explains why traditional cognitive rehab often fails — not because the exercises don't work, but because 50% of patients don't complete their protocols.

    Her solution combines gamified VR experiences with AI-driven personalization to solve the adherence problem while addressing the emotional and social aspects of recovery that traditional rehab ignores.

    We also explore the concept of digital twins in healthcare, how AI can personalize rehabilitation without reinforcing bias, and why loneliness erodes dignity faster than cognitive decline ever will.

    This episode is for female founders, women in tech, health tech entrepreneurs, and anyone building products that need to balance clinical effectiveness with human dignity.

    What you'll learn in this episode

    • Why cognitive rehabilitation alone isn't enough — and what's missing
    • How gamified VR improves patient adherence in brain injury recovery
    • What digital twins are and how they personalize rehabilitation protocols
    • Why loneliness is a bigger threat to dignity than cognitive decline
    • How to build AI systems that avoid reinforcing existing biases in healthcare
    • What female founders should know about the investor relationship and funding expectations

    Chapters:

    00:00 Introduction

    02:55 Journey to BrainBoostXR

    08:36 Understanding Acquired Brain Injury

    14:39 The Role of Gamification in Rehabilitation

    20:32 The Importance of Dignity in Recovery

    26:21 Innovations in AI and Digital Twins

    32:44 The Power of AI in Personalization

    36:08 Ethics and Bias in AI Development

    45:12 Commercializing BrainBoostXR

    57:39 Defining Success in Cognitive Care

    1:03:30 The Gender Funding Gap

    1:05:11 Investor Expectations and Early-Stage Challenges

    1:09:25 The Founder-Investor Relationship

    1:14:55 Personal Health and Entrepreneurship

    1:21:31 Building an AI Funding Coach

    Connect with Faviola Dadis and BrainBoost XR

    Faviola Dadis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/favioladadis/

    BrainBoostXR Website: https://www.brainboostxr.com/

    BrainBoostXR on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brainboostxr/

    BrainBoostXR on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainboostxr/

    Connect with Dirkjan Hupkes

    Dirkjan Hupkes on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/

    Women Disrupting Tech Website: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/

    Women Disrupting Tech Substack: https://womendisruptingtech.substack.com/

    🎧 Listen to Women Disrupting Tech on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

    👉 Subscribe for more conversations with women building the future of tech.

    1 hr 30 min
  • Scaling Your Startup Without Losing Its Soul with Relinde Boerman | Ep. 145

    Most startups hire fast. But is that the right hiring strategy?

    In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Relinde Boerman, lead recruiter at PolarSteps. This travel app startup scaled from 20 to nearly 100 employees while maintaining the culture that made it special.

    We explore why PolarSteps ignores time-to-hire as a metric, how they assess culture fit beyond vague feelings, and what it takes to build a talent-dense team that doesn't compromise on values.

    Relinde explains how clearly defined values become hiring criteria, why curiosity matters more than perfect clarity in a scaling environment, and how their "day at the office" interview process reveals what traditional interviews miss.

    This episode is for female founders, startup leaders, and anyone building a team who wants to understand how to scale without sacrificing the culture that makes your company special.

    What you'll learn in this episode

    - Why time-to-hire is the wrong metric for culture-driven startups

    - How to translate abstract company values into concrete hiring behaviors

    - What "talent density" means and why it matters more than headcount

    - Why hiring "overqualified" people for first-of-kind roles is a smart strategy

    - How a full-day interview reveals what 3 rounds of traditional interviews can't

    - What it takes to maintain culture while scaling from 20 to 100 employees

    Chapters

    00:00 Introduction

    02:02 Relinde's Journey to Polarsteps

    04:47 The Growth of Polarsteps

    07:20 Maintaining Company Culture During Rapid Growth

    10:23 The Importance of Values in Recruitment

    12:54 Hiring for Culture Fit15:38 Assessing Cultural Drift

    17:54 Defining Company Values

    20:05 Embedding Values in the Hiring Process

    22:15 Curiosity as a Cultural Element

    25:12 Balancing Clarity and Ambiguity in a Fast-Paced Environment

    27:58 The Role of Leadership in Culture

    30:14 High Impact, Talent Density, and Values

    33:10 Navigating Commercial Pressures in Hiring

    35:43 Addressing Hiring Mistakes

    38:15 The Day at the Office: A Unique Hiring Approach

    40:59 Onboarding and Settling In

    43:42 Fostering Belonging in a Hybrid Setup

    46:51 Career Growth and Internal Mobility

    49:23 Hiring a New CEO

    52:19 Advice for Female Founders

    55:15 Closing Thoughts and Resources

    Connect with Relinde Boerman and PolarSteps

    Relinde Boerman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/relindeboerman/

    Polarsteps on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polarsteps/

    Polarsteps website: https://www.polarsteps.com/

    Polarsteps careers: https://careers.polarsteps.com/

    🎧 Listen to Women Disrupting Tech on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

    👉 Subscribe for more conversations on building sustainable, culture-driven tech companies.

    1 hr 11 min
  • How Power and Design Shape the Technology We Use With Dr. Christine Miller | Ep. 144

    Most people think technology is neutral. It’s not.

    In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Dr. Christine Miller, Professor of Design Management at the Savannah College of Art and Design, and author of “Tools, Totems, and Totalities.” She studies how power and cultural values get embedded into the technology we use every day.

    We explore why so many modern tools feel like systems we have to submit to rather than products we choose, how AI and platforms are designed to ensure “the house always wins,” and what it takes to build technology that empowers human imagination instead of exploiting it.

    Chris introduces the framework of tools, totems, and totalities — a lens for understanding why there’s such a gap between what technology promises and what it actually delivers. We also talk about the unique systemic challenges female founders face when trying to build outside the gravity of existing tech totalities.

    This episode is for female founders, women in tech, and startup leaders who are building products and want to understand how design choices embed power dynamics into technology.

    What you’ll learn in this episode:

    • Why modern technology reflects power dynamics, not just functionality
    • The difference between tools that work with you vs. tools that work for you
    • How “totalities” like venture capital force founders into predefined roles
    • Why profitability should be measured in infrastructure, social, and cultural capital — not just financial returns
    • The “dreams and nightmares” framework for designing technology that people actually trust
    • How to stay on the “pirate trajectory” — plundering a system’s resources without being pulled into its gravity

    Chapters:

    00:00 Introduction

    05:34 Exploring Hegemony in Technology

    08:28 The Nature of Technology and Trust

    11:18 The Concept of Neutrality in Technology

    14:17 Understanding Tools, Totems, and Totalities

    17:03 The Impact of Totalities on Technology

    19:53 Women Founders and Systemic Challenges

    22:59 Alternatives in Technology: Blue Sky

    25:54 Profitability and Societal Progress

    34:38 Measuring Societal Benefit and Design Value

    37:52 Identity-Shaping Technology and Brand Influence

    41:12 Addiction to Technology and Design Principles

    44:59 Conviviality and Sustainable Technology

    48:48 The Challenge of Perspective in Corporate Culture

    52:07 Building Support Networks for Founders

    55:45 Designing for Creativity and Imagination

    Connect with Christine Miller

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-z-miller-ph-d-b4735350/

    Order her book Tools, Totems, and Totalities: The Modern Construction of Hegemonic Technology

    On Amazon

    On Bol

    🎧 Listen to Women Disrupting Tech on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

    👉 Subscribe for more conversations on building tech that empowers, not exploits.

    1 hr 3 min

About Women Disrupting Tech

From the publisher's feed

Women Disrupting Tech features female founders, tech leaders, and women in tech building the next generation of technology companies. Each week, host Dirkjan Hupkes talks with a founder about how…