01.

What is your professional title, purpose or passion?

I am the CEO and co-founder of Adia. A digital health platform empowering women to be proactive about their fertility health.  
 
Adia was born out of my personal struggles starting my family.  I thought my road to motherhood would be blissful, but instead, I rode a roller coaster of still birth, miscarriage and struggle conceiving.  This experience made me acutely aware of how the current care pathways for women are fragmented, reactive and mental health is often completely left out of the picture. 
 
Women in the UK currently have to miscarry three times or struggle to conceive for over a year before accessing a specialist.  The taboo nature of many of women’s reproductive health struggles also mean that often we feel isolated and suffer in silence.  
 
I built Adia with the goal of smashing the taboo that surrounds women’s reproductive health and ensuring women can access the support they need when they need it.  We deliver at home fertility tests, connect women with OBGYN, nutritionists and psychologists directly.  We also provide a wealth of education information and mindfulness meditation – all through your mobile phone or web browser. 
If I can help women avoid what I went through or at the very least help them feel better about their journey, we have achieved our goal. 

03.

What did you want to do when you were a child and what changed?

I remember wanting to be a doctor but then I was too squeamish about blood so couldn’t do it.  I guess Adia still helps with health but I don’t have to touch any blood =) 

05.

What's the best career advice you've ever been given?

Don’t give up.  Don’t take your set-backs too personally.  Take them as learning lessons, get back up and grow.  Work hard and go after your dream. 

07.

What is the best thing about your current working environment?

I am working on something I am really passionate about and that is a real gift.  I am surrounded by a really talented team who is equally as passionate about empowering women and I am grateful for that every day.  I am also in a position where I can shape my work around my family needs.  Putting the kids to sleep every night is sacred for me and I am so grateful I get to have that flexibility with my job. 

09.

Where do you see yourself in five years' time?

Doing what I am doing right now.  Building Adia into a bigger and better company every day and seeing my little family grow.

11.

Tell us more about a charitable organisation or project you think is great.

The Winnicott is one of my favourite charities.  It funds the NICU at St. Mary’s and Queen Charlotte.  It helped our daughter when she was born premature at 32 weeks. Tommy’s is also amazing and helping support women who have experienced pregnancy loss and advance research to reduce those incidences. We also are huge fans and support doctors without borders and save the children. 

13.

What drives you?

I want to make an impact in the way society supports women, both in health and in the workplace. 
 
I see Adia as a step towards improving care pathways for women and me as a women founder and entrepreneur as a role where I can change the workplace for women.  I have two daughters and by the time they are my age I want society to be better for them.  We have come a very long way but there is a lot more that can be done. 

15.

Any final comments?

www.adiahealth.com

02.

What does a normal day look like for you?

Life is hectic with three children and a start-up.  Typically I will be woken up by the children around 6:30am.  We get them dressed, fed and school run starts at 8am.  Kids are all in school by 9am and then it’s team calls, investor meetings and working with our users all the way through to 5:30pm.  I make it a point to always be at home to see the kids over dinner, bath and put them all to sleep.  We read stories and tuck them in (hopefully by 7:30pm!)
 
Then it’s time with my husband.  He’s the co-founder of the business so we have to be really disciplined about not talking about work over dinner.  Most nights we end up working after dinner for a few hours.  We are both bad and often work until 11:30pm or midnight.  We are really passionate about what we are building so we don’t mind the late nights.  But we are often fuelled by caffeine! 
 
Whenever I can, I will squeeze an hour of gym, yoga or walk.  It is what fills my energy bucket back up and keeps me balanced. 

04.

What have you achieved that you feel most proud of?

My children and Adia for sure! Struggling to have my children, experiencing loss and then having my three rainbow babies helped me build resilience and strength that I never thought I had before.  Now being able to translate that experience into Adia is a real privilege and I am very grateful for that opportunity. 

I am also very proud of the little family my husband and I have built.  Our children teach us daily and we hope we are the best parents we can be to them.

06.

Tell us about a a woman who inspires you

My mother - she lost everything when she first moved to Brazil with my father.  They only had $200 to start their life and raise 3 children. With a lot of love, passion and determination she worked two jobs, then built her own business, raised 4 children, taught us to be independent, strong and provided us with the best education we could have asked for.

08.

What was your biggest failure?

Oh gosh… I feel like I fail daily.. When I get upset and raise my voice with my children it feels like a failure.  When an employee quits on you, or you don’t get that great investor on board feels like a failure.  Life is not linear, not as a parent, not as a founder.  My weeks, even days feel like a roller coaster. I just try to get better at riding the roller coaster every day! 

10.

What do you like most about yourself?

I am an optimist.  I try to see the positive in everything.  Even the things that don’t go to plan or are set backs.  It helps me keep a growth mindset and learn from my experiences. 

12.

How can we make the world more inclusive and accepting?

Oh gosh.. so much needs to be done.. where do I start.  I guess I will pick one area which I am passionate about which is women in the workplace and the gender pay gap. 
 
We need to do more to help integrate and support working We need to set the example and lead by example. We need to support working mothers with 

14.

What skills have been key to your journey so far?

I have over 15 years experience in consulting and finance so the hard analytical, presentation and team work skills have really helped me get to where I have gotten. 
 
But I think it’s also being aware of what I am not good at that has helped me achieve my goals.  By being aware of my shortfalls I am able to surround myself with people who complement me and together we form a strong team.