Female Founder Stories: Women at the Top
The grit, the setbacks and the breakthroughs. Told so you think: I could do that too.
I’m Siya. I ask the women who built companies how they actually did it.
Why I started it
We get shown the finished version of success. Almost never the four years before the first client, or the part where it nearly didn’t work.
More about me →Who I have sat with
Founders, chief executives and the occasional Dame.
The question I ask everyone
What does success mean to you?
I ask every founder the same last question. Not one of them has said money.
What defines success for me is getting to Sunday night and not being afraid of Monday morning.
Jess Woodward-JonesVizzy
Success for me is being intellectually curious and always learning… having the ability to have these continually new chapters as you go through your life.
Joanna JensenChilds Farm
Success to me isn’t just financial success… I think success and the luxury is having control of your own time.
Vivien WongLittle Moons
The archive
Every conversation, in order.
Female Founder Stories is the series running now. New episodes land on second Mondays.
Fiona Howarth
Coming 9 November
Priti Rathi Gupta
Coming 12 October
Emma Woods
Helen Thomas
Holly Budge
Victoria Harman
Lisa Stanley
Sheena Pirbhai
Jess Woodward-Jones
Sarah Dean
Dame Alison Rose
Ghada Sousou
Amanda Philpott
Jasmine Schembri-Stothart
Vivien Wong
Joanna Jensen
Rooms
A room I got into.
- Moderating the panelSXSW London, June 2026. Baroness Martha Lane Fox and Lucy Liu of Airwallex, in front of a full room. It was nerve wracking but I loved it.
- How it came aboutI didn’t pitch for it. The people who reshare the episodes turn out to be the people who programme the stages.
Written about
- Invest in Women TaskforceNamed in the Top 10.
Be on the show
Female Founder Stories is always looking for the next conversation. If you built something, or you know someone who did, I would love to hear from you.
Put someone forward