Breaking Barriers: Building Scalable Solutions for Niche Markets

Join Billie Simmons, repeat founder and former COO of Daylight (a neobank building financial tools for the LGBTQ+ community), for an insightful fireside chat on building innovative products for underserved communities and driving venture-scale success. Billie will share her experience raising $20M for Daylight, navigating highly regulated industries like banking and healthcare, and rapidly iterating to reach product-market fit. Plus, Billie will share her exciting newly announced venture that is destined to uplift new communities and markets. Discover how to frame your thinking to develop quick solutions, secure buy-in from industry incumbents, and disrupt legacy systems - all in 30 minutes.

Billie Simmons

illie Simmons is a repeat founder, currently working on a soon-to-be-announced startup in the fertility space. Previously, she was founder and COO of Daylight - a neobank building financial tools for the LGBTQ+ community, raising $20M and then exiting to Atlas in 2023.

Building a business is challenging—building one that redefines healthcare is even more so. In this fireside chat, Dr. Varuna Srinivasan, founder of Fluid Health, shares her journey of entrepreneurship, innovation, and advocacy for gender-inclusive healthcare. From addressing the gaps in reproductive mental health to creating a platform that empowers individuals experiencing pelvic pain, Dr. Srinivasan will discuss the challenges and triumphs of building a mission-driven company. She’ll also dive into the intersection of healthcare, technology, and inclusivity, offering insights for entrepreneurs and changemakers looking to make an impact.

Dr. Varuna Srinivasan

Dr. Varuna Srinivasan is a healthcare innovator and the founder of Fluid Health, a gender-inclusive platform dedicated to connecting individuals experiencing pelvic pain with sex therapists and providing personalized reproductive mental health care. With a background in sexual health and a passion for public health, Dr. Srinivasan is committed to creating accessible, compassionate healthcare solutions for diverse communities. She strives to empower women and queer individuals to take control of their health while navigating the often fragmented healthcare system.

Public speaking doesn’t have to feel like a nightmare—yes, even for introverts! In this fun workshop, PowerToFly event hosts Meg Alexander and Hunter Lee Canning are joined by PowerToFly’s Rob Ribar as they break down the secrets to speaking with confidence while staying true to yourself. Learn how to calm those nerves, craft compelling messages, and engage any audience without feeling like you have to put on a performance. Meg and Hunter will share real-world tips, personal stories, and easy-to-apply strategies to help you shine in meetings, presentations, and beyond.

Meg Alexander

Meg Alexander joined the PowerToFly community as a job-seeker in 2014, eventually landing her first remote role working for PowerToFly's Delivery Team. Her professional experience includes roles as a Talent Advocate, Head of Purchasing for a window factory, audiobook publishing, & more than 5 years as a paralegal. She has a bachelor's degree in Art History from Indiana University (mint condition, never been used!), where she also earned a varsity letter for Women's Rowing. She loves DIY projects and will never say no to french fries. She lives in Toledo, OH with her husband Aaron, an engineering technician, and their dogs, Radar & Cake.

Hunter Canning (He/They)

Hunter Canning is a New York based performer, public speaker and events moderator. They are also the founders of Quill Life, an AI-powered storytelling strategy platform. A conscience citizen of the world, their ethos is bringing people together through all the facets of life. Be it producing live performance or creating corporate recruitment content; Hunter has a passion for bringing people together to foster growth, kindness and a true understanding of each other.

At the end of 2024 women’s workforce participation rate was nearly 78% – the highest rate on record. But that’s only a few points above where it was in the 90s and it’s still 11 points lower than men. What are the barriers that keep women from fully participating in the paid labor force and how can we work together to dismantle them? Join thought leader Tami Forman, Chief Evangelist, How We Do It, for an insightful workshop.

Tami Forman (She/Her)

Tami Forman is chief evangelist at How We Do It, a newsletter and community for people building great careers and meaningful lives. She is an expert on gender equity and women’s participation in the paid labor market. In 2016 she founded Path Forward, a nonprofit that empowers family caregivers to return to paid work. She led Path Forward for seven years, working with more than 100 companies, including Amazon, Apple, Netflix, SAP, Walmart, and Pepsi, to hire thousands of people through returnships. Subscribe to her newsletter at https://tamimforman.substack.com/

Public speaking is often considered to be one of people’s greatest fears. Despite this, public speaking can be enriching and a catalyst for professional growth in many ways. Yelp Software Engineer Fatima and Engineering Manager Priyal know this firsthand, as they’ve both experienced challenges and benefits of public speaking in their careers. In this fireside chat, they’ll share more about how their experiences have enriched their professional networks, opened new opportunities, and enhanced their ability to collaborate with others. Join Yelp and PowertoFly for this discussion that aims to provide insights on the empowering nature of public speaking and practical advice for how to elevate your public speaking journey.

Priyal Divakala

Priyal Divakala is an engineering manager for the Search User Experience Mobile team at Yelp. Her career at Yelp began as a software engineer, and she later transitioned into managing a team focused on enhancing the Yelp search user experience. She is committed to the professional development of her team of software engineers, as well as women and allies at Yelp, providing mentorship and guidance for career growth. Priyal’s experience with public speaking (within Yelp, at previous companies, and during school), has helped her overcome public speaking anxiety. She now leads a public speaking initiative within Awesome Women in Engineering (AWE)—a Yelp Employee Resource Group. Through this role, she organizes public speaking events and workshops to help others improve their skills. Priyal holds a master's degree in computer applications from Dharmsinh Desai University and a bachelor’s degree in computer applications from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.

Fatima Taj

Fatima is a senior software engineer at Yelp with a deep passion for mentoring early-career tech professionals. She has successfully guided many individuals through their first steps in the tech industry, helping them overcome challenges and achieve their career goals. An experienced speaker, Fatima has presented at leading conferences including Developer Week 2024, the Southern California Linux Expo (Scale) 2023 and 2024, NDC Copenhagen Developer Festival 2023, Women of Silicon Roundabout 2022, cdCon+GitOpsCon 2023 (as a keynote speaker), Momentum 2024, and the Black is Tech Conference in 2022 and 2023. Fatima holds a master's degree in data science from HEC Montreal and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Waterloo, Canada.