Women Disrupting Tech

In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, Valerie Hirschhauser explains why following the startup playbook often leads to founder burnout, hustle culture as a system glitch, and how founders can build a sustainable business without sacrificing their well-being. We talk about hustle as a coping mechanism, why being busy often replaces making real progress, and how profit can act as oxygen for impac...

In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Carolina Bongers, founder of Jungle the Bungle. Carolina is building a language learning app for children aged two to eight that makes learning feel like play. Her ambition goes far beyond vocabulary. As she puts it: “We’re not teaching words, we’re unlocking worlds.” We talk about how being raised bilingual shaped her optimism and problem-solv...

What does it take to build a sustainable career in tech? Simone Mink shares how learning, leadership, and boundaries shaped her journey at Mendix. In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech , I speak with Simone Mink , Head of Portfolio Management at Mendix, about building a career in tech without a predefined path. We talk about agency, agility, and bouncebackability, and about what happens when re...

What if promoting people on merit is the easiest way to get more women into boardrooms? In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I’m joined by Tiffany Aude and Yoana Leusin, founders of Impowr, a coaching platform for ambitious women in male-dominated industries. We unpack why women leave tech before reaching leadership, how promotion decisions are shaped by perception rather than performance, an...

If your strategy feels heavy, outdated, or too complicated to actually use, this episode will change the way you think about building and growing your company. In episode 131 of Women Disrupting Tech, I sit down with Dorit Roest, founder of Strategy Sprint Company, to explore why the best strategies are simple, agile, and aligned with your original purpose. Dorit shares how founders lose momentum...

In this episode, Andrea Cristancho shows how founders can turn stress into a source of clarity instead of chaos. We talk about pattern interrupts, wellbeing as a leadership skill, and a simple 10-second breathing practice you can use any time your mind starts to spin. Andrea Born-Christancho has built companies across Mainland China, South Africa, and Switzerland, and her work helps founders under...

Gina Schinkel's founder career didn’t follow the straight line to being a founder. She built Driftawave and Leaderwave by choosing the world over the ladder and learning how travel, culture, and leadership shape each other. In this episode, we explore the power of workations, generous leadership, and what happens when you stop choosing one path and start integrating all the roads you’ve walked...

What if feeling good about yourself was a precondition for being a good ally? In this episode, Salmaan Sana shares how allyship connects leadership, emotional health, and inclusion. A former medical student turned leadership facilitator, he explains why vulnerability matters, how overcompensation can repair old imbalances, and how small, human moments can drive real change. Listen to learn how men...

In this episode, Settly CEO Marieke van Iperen shares how her upbringing in a hippie community shaped her view on leadership, and how she built a fast-growing startup that combines business growth with human connection. We explore how relocation can drive inclusion, what founders can learn from impact investors, and why belonging is a business outcome, not a soft value. Whether you’re a founder, p...

Yasmina Khababi runs Freshtable, a social impact catering company that creates meaningful jobs for highly skilled former refugees by matching their original expertise with new opportunities in the hospitality industry. One meal at a time, she connects sustainability, inclusion, and food accessibility. In this episode you will learn how she built this without investors, how she protects her mind as...

What happens when inclusion stops being a policy and becomes the foundation of a company? In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech , Magali Elhage and Matthijs Welle share how Mews turned diversity, leadership, and technology into a culture where people can be themselves and perform at their best. Chapters 03:05 Journey to Mews: Personal Stories of Transformation 05:48 Breaking Barriers: The Strug...

What happens when a former founder becomes an investor and decides to change the system from within? In this episode, Anieke Lamers, Venture Partner at Borski Fund, shares how she is challenging bias in venture capital and backing bold female founders to build a more inclusive startup ecosystem. A former founder herself, Anieke knows both sides of the table. She talks about emotional attachment, b...

Capital fuels ideas. But whose ideas are we fueling? In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, Azin Radsan van Alebeek shares how she uses venture capital as a lever for change. Not just to generate returns, but to shift behavior, open doors, and fuel a broader cross-section of ideas. We talk about the funding gap, the film Show Her the Money, and what founders need to know when they pitch for inv...

Arosha Brouwer, co-founder of Quan and now Chief Impact Officer at TrueTribe, explains how she scaled workplace wellbeing with impact and integrity. In this episode, she offers unique insights into Quan’s acquisition, the power of focus, and why success for female founders is about more than ownership. From navigating investor relations to carrying the responsibility for “the sisters who come afte...

Dayana Marin Valencia, co-founder of Adasight, shares how she built a global company without VC funding. We talk about: Why data should be your co-pilot for growth. How bootstrapping sharpened Adasight’s focus on clients. Why mentorship evolves at every stage of your career. What active allyship looks like in practice. 🎧 Listen now and discover what it takes to scale with purpose and conviction....

What if curiosity was the key to building better companies? In Episode 120 of Women Disrupting Tech , Henny Hoekstra, director and co-owner of Pluvo, shares how following her curiosity took her from growth hacker to co-owner of a SaaS company. We explore what it takes to lead in tech, why learning and development are essential for company survival, and how women can thrive even in male-dominated e...

Only 2 percent of venture capital goes to all-female founding teams. It is one of the most persistent inequalities in tech, and in a decade the gender funding gap has barely moved. In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech , I speak with Erica van Eeghen (VP Capital) and Maud Vermeulen (Golden Egg Check). Together, they lead Women in VC NL , a network of 170+ women reshaping venture capital in the...

Are soft skills the one thing machines will never master? In Episode 118 of Women Disrupting Tech, I sit down with Anouk Vlietman, founder of UMAIN, to explore how AI might actually make us more human. We talk about: - Why disconnection is the silent epidemic costing billions every year. - How limiting beliefs hold us back, and what it takes to break them - Why soft skills like empathy, curiosity,...

How do you get from burnout to building an AI startup for mental health? That’s the journey of Kuhu Singh, founder of Amber. Remote work and imbalance left her burned out, but instead of giving up, she built an AI mental health companion designed to bridge the gap between AI and therapy. In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, Kuhu shares: - Why therapy is still a privilege, and how Amber makes...

How do you scale a company in the age of AI without losing what makes it work? In this engaging episode of Women Disrupting Tech, Marili ’t Hooft-Bolle (CEO of Trengo and former COO of WeTransfer) shares what it takes to grow with confidence in a fast-changing world. We talk about: - Why scaling is never just about adding people, but about adding the right structure. - How AI is not about building...

Join us as Marleen Somohardjo, founder of M2 Advisory, shares how to build a business that can weather any storm while staying true to its purpose. From launching her first consultancy during the 2008 financial crisis to helping companies prepare for the unknown, Marleen brings a rare blend of financial expertise and purpose-driven leadership. We explore why resilience is about more than cutting c...

What if the stories you learned as a child about money, risk, and confidence are still shaping your business decisions today? In this conversation with Catrine Rhenberg, co-founder of The Wealth Within Her, we explore how early social cues, from the way girls are praised to the expectations placed on them at home and at work, can turn into invisible limits later in life. Catrine shares a practical...

Femke Brouwer-Hobbelen joins Women Disrupting Tech to share why working harder isn’t the answer—and why real change in tech needs more than just women pushing the system forward. We talk about: What it takes to build a culture that truly includes Why tech is still not a meritocracy Her own experience with the gender pay gap and unconscious bias The image of tech that still keeps women out How male...

In episode 112, Cogensus co-founder Raju Joshi shares how AI can surface early signs of cognitive decline and help people stay connected, heard, and in control. We talk about: • Why loneliness hits women harder • What Cogensus tracks that caregivers often miss • How to build ethical AI that supports autonomy • What mindset shift is needed to make inclusion the new normal in tech 🎧 For full show n...

Join cybersecurity expert and She Unfolds co-founder Emily van Putten and host Dirkjan Hupkes for a powerful and deeply personal episode of Women Disrupting Tech. Emily shares her story as a transgender woman navigating a traditionally masculine tech industry. She offers a unique perspective on gender bias, leadership, and the silent challenges that drive high attrition rates among women in tech....