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As a part of the Morning Lazziness collection about empowering girls who encourage and do unbelievable issues with their concepts in society, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lynda Wilkes-Inexperienced.
Lynda Wilkes-Inexperienced is the solo founding father of Ahlya, a wellness app powered by generative AI that helps girls enhance their psychological and bodily wellbeing in sync with their hormonal cycle. The thought for Ahlya was born out of Lynda’s personal expertise with PMS, hormonal fluctuations, and burnout — and the frustration of discovering no credible, personalised help in a world nonetheless enjoying catch-up on girls’s well being. Whereas working full-time as a lawyer, she noticed breakthrough innovation in virtually each sector besides this one — and knew one thing wanted to alter.
Decided to shut the gender well being hole, Lynda is constructing Ahlya with empathy, science, and expertise at its core — making a platform that brings emotional intelligence to AI and makes hormone-aware residing really feel accessible and empowering. Initially from Eire and now based mostly in London, she’s captivated with reimagining wellness for ladies — not with filters and fast fixes, however with honesty, belief, and long-term affect.
What impressed you to turn into an entrepreneur within the AI business, and what led to the creation of your present enterprise?
I by no means got down to turn into an entrepreneur – I merely couldn’t ignore a spot I felt deeply. As a lawyer working in enterprise capital, I noticed cutting-edge innovation throughout virtually each sector besides girls’s well being. The instruments out there felt outdated, generic, or overly medicalised. On the similar time, I used to be scuffling with my very own PMS, hormonal fluctuations, temper swings, and burnout cycles, and I couldn’t discover credible or actionable help – not from docs, not from social media, not from another app in the marketplace. That’s how Ahlya started: a science-backed, personalised, AI-powered wellness app that helps girls perceive and work with their hormonal cycles, as a substitute of feeling like they’re consistently combating in opposition to them.
As a girl in tech and entrepreneurship, what distinctive challenges have you ever confronted, particularly within the AI house, and the way did you navigate them?
One of many greatest challenges has been entry – each to data and to credibility. AI nonetheless appears like a boys’ membership. In the beginning, I used to be listening to podcasts, studying books, and googling acronyms simply to maintain up. There’s additionally a persistent bias, particularly in AI, that actual technical experience should come from a person, or at the least a co-founder with a PhD in machine studying. As a solo feminine founder with out a technical background or VC backing, I’ve needed to study quick, construct lean, and show time and again that my product, imaginative and prescient, and execution are legitimate. What’s helped most is staying relentlessly centered on constructing one thing wonderful – grounding each choice in science, empathy, and person expertise, and letting the product communicate for itself.
How do you handle the extreme calls for of constructing an AI-driven enterprise whereas sustaining private well-being and stability?
Ahlya was born from my need to handle PMS and burnout extra successfully – so stability is baked into the enterprise. I attempt to reside in sync with the steerage we give customers: adapting my workflow to match my cycle. I save inventive duties for the follicular and ovulatory phases, when power and confidence are naturally increased, and lean into quieter, extra reflective work in the course of the luteal and menstrual phases. That hormonal consciousness, mixed with every day non-negotiables like motion, journaling, and time open air, helps me keep grounded – even when issues really feel intense.
What networking methods or communities have helped you most in constructing significant connections within the AI and tech ecosystem?
Constructing relationships in tech can really feel daunting, however I’ve discovered actual connection by being open and intentional. Communities like Feminine Founder World and the Ladies’s Irish Community in London have been a lifeline – not only for recommendation and publicity, however for emotional help. I’ve additionally realized the worth of merely reaching out. A number of the Most worthy intros (just like the branding company I now use) got here from DMing founders I love on Instagram. I additionally deal with podcasts like a type of passive networking — a strategy to study from folks I can’t but entry in individual. And naturally, LinkedIn has been key. Exhibiting up persistently in an trustworthy manner has helped me construct relationships that go far past likes or metrics.
How do you strategy mentorship—each receiving it and providing it—and the way has that influenced your development as a founder on this house?
I consider it’s tremendous essential to strategy mentorship as a two-way road. I repeatedly help different founders with authorized questions – it’s the place my experience lies, and I consider deeply in sharing abilities with out anticipating something in return. In flip, I lean on different founders for every thing from accounting software program suggestions to emotional help. Generally, mentorship exhibits up in moments of shared honesty or sensible recommendation relatively than formal relationships. I’ve additionally discovered podcasts and founder interviews extremely useful – they act as casual mentors when direct entry isn’t potential. For me, mentorship is de facto about being beneficiant with what you realize and being open to studying what you don’t.
What methods have confirmed handiest in buying prospects or purchasers in your AI services or products?
Since Ahlya hasn’t launched publicly but, my focus has been on constructing model consciousness and belief forward of launch. I’ve leaned into natural channels – sharing insights on Instagram and TikTok, pitching to press, taking part in founder interviews, and becoming a member of wellness-focused occasions and digital roundups. What’s labored greatest up to now is authenticity and readability – folks join with the “why” behind Ahlya. Once I communicate overtly about my very own challenges with PMS and the dearth of credible help, it resonates. We’re additionally constructing a powerful waitlist by providing unique content material and partnering with aligned communities in wellness, magnificence, and tech.
Which advertising strategies (digital, content material, occasions, and so on.) have labored greatest in your model, and the way do you measure their affect?
Content material advertising has been key – notably instructional posts on Instagram and LinkedIn that place Ahlya as each credible and approachable. I exploit these platforms to spark conversations about hormonal well being, cycle syncing, and AI in wellness. Press placements and founder interviews have additionally helped construct model authority early on. By way of metrics, I monitor e-mail waitlist development, follower engagement, and conversion from particular campaigns. However past numbers, I pay shut consideration to the standard of suggestions – when message me to say “I’ve by no means seen a product like this” or “that is precisely what I wanted,” I do know we’re shifting in the precise route.
Are you able to share a serious setback or roadblock in your AI startup journey, and the way you strategically overcame it?
A significant problem has been constructing a extremely personalised, AI-powered product with out a technical co-founder or exterior funding. Within the early days, I reached out to a developer, shared my roadmap, and felt like we have been aligned – solely to be fully ghosted. It was disheartening, but it surely taught me an essential lesson: to be extra discerning about who I belief with my imaginative and prescient. Since then, I’ve been way more intentional – vetting collaborators rigorously and breaking the construct course of down into clear, manageable phases. I prioritised the science and person expertise first, then labored with freelance designers and builders to carry the core options to life. It’s been about being scrappy, affected person, and solutions-oriented. I’ve realized that you just don’t need to do every thing without delay – you simply need to preserve going, one sensible step at a time.
What’s one piece of recommendation you’d supply to girls who’re simply starting their entrepreneurial journey in AI or rising tech?
Don’t wait to be “prepared” or completely certified — begin with what you realize, keep curious, and study as you go. You don’t want a technical diploma or exterior validation to resolve an issue you perceive deeply. Concentrate on constructing one thing helpful and human-centred. Encompass your self with individuals who consider in you, and be keen to ask for assist. You’re allowed to construct one thing while turning into the one that can lead it.
Is there a quote, mantra, or philosophy that persistently guides your choices as an AI entrepreneur?
“Progress over perfection.”
I first noticed these phrases painted on a wall in Kenya, simply days after the thought for Ahlya got here to me. I used to be on the very starting – not sure the place to begin, overwhelmed by how far I needed to go – and that phrase grounded me. It jogged my memory that crucial factor is to maintain shifting ahead. I’ve lived by it ever since, constructing Ahlya step-by-step with endurance, self-discipline, and function.
Right here is our foremost query. “What Are The 5 Issues You Want To Overcome Self-Doubt and Construct Confidence?” (If potential, please share a narrative or instance for every one)
- Self-awareness: I monitor my temper, signs, and cycle patterns – understanding myself physiologically helps me recognise when doubt is hormonal vs. rooted the truth is.
- Proof financial institution: I preserve a folder of small wins – screenshots, sort messages, milestones. On days when imposter syndrome creeps in, it’s a actuality test and a quiet confidence enhance.
- Taking motion: Confidence builds via doing. Each e-mail despatched, each choice made, strengthens that muscle.
- Help community: I’ve constructed a circle of founders and mates who mirror again my progress once I can’t see it myself. They normalise the lows and have fun the highs, which retains me grounded.
- Goal: When doubt will get loud, I return to why I began. Ahlya isn’t simply an app – it’s a strategy to shut the gender well being hole. That mission is extra essential than my non permanent discomfort.
Okay, we’re practically carried out. You’re a individual of nice affect. Should you may encourage a motion that will carry essentially the most quantity of fine for the best variety of folks, what would that be? You by no means know what your thought can set off.
I’d encourage a motion to democratize hormone schooling, educating girls and ladies how their cycles affect their temper, power, focus, and bodily well being from an early age. If we normalized this data—and designed work, healthcare, and wellness instruments round it—we’d see much less burnout, extra company, and stronger emotional well-being throughout the board.
How can our readers additional observe your work on-line?
You’ll be able to observe Ahlya on Instagram @ahlya.wellness, TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@ahlya.wellness, and go to www.ahlya.com to hitch our waitlist – the app launches in September 2025.
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