Women entrepreneurs continue to drive innovation, transform industries, and redefine leadership in AI and technology. In celebration of Women’s History Month, we partnered with M12 to spotlight the inspiring journeys of female founders who are making an impact in the startup ecosystem.
From AI-powered creativity tools to cutting-edge skincare technology, these founders are solving big challenges, leveraging AI to build groundbreaking solutions, and shaping the future of their industries.
Julie Yoo’s journey into AI entrepreneurship was driven by a deep curiosity about human cognition and machine learning. With a PhD from Harvard-MIT, she cofounded pymetrics, pioneering AI-powered workforce decision-making to create more equitable hiring processes. Later, as Global CTO of Riiid, she led the development of AI-powered learning solutions, personalizing education at scale.
Now, as the cofounder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mintall.AI, Julie is on a mission to democratize AI-powered visual creation and blockchain technology—making them accessible to everyday users.
“AI is fundamental to our platform, enabling intuitive visual generation and simplifying blockchain interaction. It allows anyone to bring their creative vision to life without technical barriers.”
—Julie Yoo
Challenges and lessons learned
One of the biggest hurdles Julie faced as a founder was building the right team—finding people with not just technical skills, but also a shared vision and values.
“Open communication, clear expectations, and fostering collaboration are essential for building a strong, cohesive team.”
Her biggest lesson? Adaptability is key.
“The tech landscape is constantly evolving. You have to be willing to pivot based on market feedback and new opportunities. Don’t be afraid to change course if needed.”
Her proudest moment as a founder?
“Seeing the impact of our AI solutions on people’s lives. Whether it was helping individuals find fulfilling careers at pymetrics or personalizing learning at Riiid, those moments when we see our technology making a real difference are the most rewarding.”
Her advice to aspiring women founders is simple:
“Be bold and take action. Don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t belong. Advocate for yourself, your ideas, and create your own opportunities.”
What’s next for Mintall.AI?
“We’re heavily focused on expanding our platform’s capabilities to better serve small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), enabling them to easily create and manage their digital assets. We’re also prioritizing building out key integrations with other platforms and tools that SMBs rely on, streamlining their workflows, maximizing efficiency and exploring new AI-driven features to empower creators of all sizes.”
As the cofounder and CEO of Haut.AI, Anastasia Georgievskaya is revolutionizing skincare through AI-powered skin analysis. Her journey into entrepreneurship wasn’t planned—it started with a problem she wanted to solve.
“Consumers weren’t trusting skincare products—not because they didn’t work, but because they were buying the wrong ones. This sparked the idea to use AI and computer vision to bring lab-level skin analysis to consumers’ smartphones. With smartphones already in their hands, consumers could receive personalized, accurate skin assessments in seconds, helping them choose the right products. And this is how, together with Konstantin Kiselev, Haut.AI was founded.”
—Anastasia Georgievskaya
Her startup, Haut.AI, uses computer vision and AI to provide personalized skin assessments, helping consumers make better skincare choices. The company has grown into a leader in AI-powered skincare solutions, working with global brands and expanding its reach.
Challenges and lessons learned
Like many founders, Anastasia learned that technology alone isn’t enough—a strong business strategy is just as important.
“As a tech founder, it’s easy to think having the best product will lead to success. But startups need more than great tech. You need a strong sales strategy, marketing, and operations to truly thrive.”
She also emphasizes the power of team-building and trust.
“What truly helped me was investing in relationships with my team—not just on a professional level, but personally as well. When you have a solid, trustworthy team that shares your vision, you can overcome any obstacle together. It’s important to create a strong foundation of trust and collaboration to keep moving forward.”
Her proudest moment?
“Seeing our technology working in the real world. When we realized we had created something that didn’t exist before, and it was actually making a difference in people’s lives, that was huge. It’s one thing to dream up an idea and another to see it actually help consumers and brands. That moment of realization is incredibly fulfilling.”
Her advice for women breaking into tech? Master your core skill and show up for opportunities.
“Confidence comes from competence. Invest in becoming really good at something—it will help you push through bias and obstacles. And always show up, even when it’s uncomfortable.”
What’s next for Haut.AI?
“We are very strong on generative AI. Our research and development (R&D) and product offerings are being shaped by generative AI, and in the year to come, we’re planning to develop more generative AI capabilities. We’ll be extending the functionality of our innovative engine, SkinGPT, along with its conversational AI capabilities and advancements in our key offering of AI skin and hair analysis.”
We also spoke with several inspiring women founders from the M12 portfolio, who shared valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. As Microsoft’s venture fund, M12 is dedicated to accelerating the future of technology by investing in bold, visionary founders and forming strategic partnerships that help them scale. Through early-stage capital, deep technical expertise, and access to Microsoft’s global ecosystem, M12 empowers startups to grow and lead across industries—from AI and cybersecurity to cloud infrastructure and enterprise software.
“Be intentional and even ruthless about what you personally must focus on or fix and what you should let go (either by delegating or ignoring it). Starting each quarter with clarity on what is or isn’t in your focus zone can help ensure your limited time and energy go to the right things—you can’t give that time back once it’s gone. The balance changes a lot as your company grows and pain is usually how you know you have it wrong at any given time. Just hit reset and let the self-blame go!”
—Deidre Paknad, Workboard
“I advise female founders to focus on execution rather than labels. Concentrate on your vision and delivering value to customers. By consistently producing results, you’ll challenge preconceptions and pave the way for future entrepreneurs. Founders who prioritize execution, regardless of gender, are the true disruptors. You’ll be surprised how non-limiting being a female founder can be when you focus on building a great company.”
—Vicki Knott, CruxOCM
At Microsoft for Startups, we’re committed to empowering women founders through access to cutting-edge AI tools, cloud technology, and expert guidance.
Julie Yoo shares how Microsoft for Startups helped accelerate her company’s growth:
“Microsoft for Startups has been invaluable in providing us with access to cutting-edge cloud technologies and resources. Specifically, the Azure credits provided by the program have significantly reduced our infrastructure costs, allowing us to allocate more resources towards research and development, accelerating our growth and enabling us to bring our vision to life faster.”
Anastasia Georgievskaya also highlights the program’s impact:
“The Microsoft for Startups program as a whole has been very helpful in terms of connecting us with industry advisors, helping us understand better and sharper the pain points of the industry, and the pain points of our vertical, which is consumer goods, consumer tech, FMCG products, and online retail.”
The journeys of Julie, Anastasia, Deidre, Victoria and other incredible women founders showcase the power of resilience, innovation, and bold leadership. As AI and emerging technologies continue to shape industries, these women are leading the way—creating solutions that impact millions.
To all aspiring female entrepreneurs: your ideas matter, your leadership matters, and the future of AI needs you.
If you’re a startup looking to accelerate your journey, join Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub and gain access to the resources you need to scale.
