STEM in Stilettos – Empowering Female Founders to Dominate the Digital Market

Are you a female founder looking to revolutionize the wearable tech market? Do you want to hear from a serial entrepreneur and impact investor about navigating the challenges of entrepreneurship? In this episode of "STEM in Stilettos," join Zofia Morales as she sits down with Katie Sterns, the Founder and CEO of Blyngz Luxury Technologies. Katie shares her journey as a serial entrepreneur, her passion for personalization and technology integration, and the role of AI in wearable tech. Learn how she identified gaps in the market, secured utility patents, and approaches fundraising as a pre-seed founder. Tune in to gain insights into the future of wearable AI innovation, entrepreneurship advice for non-engineers with big ideas, and much more as Katie and Zofia discuss the intersection of technology, self-expression, and human-centric innovation. Key Takeaway: Gain inspiration and practical advice on navigating the challenges of entrepreneurship, particularly in the wearable tech industry, and discover the importance of personalization in shaping the next wave of innovation. --------------------------------- Discover your #1 leadership pitfall here: leadershippitfallquiz.com --------------------------------- Guest Bio: Katie Sterns is the Founder and CEO of Blyngz Luxury Technologies, a category-defining company at the intersection of AI, self-expression, and wearable technology. Katie is a serial entrepreneur with previous exit, an impact investor focused on amplifying women-led founders, a board director, and a speaker. She is passionate about personalization and technology integration, and believes the next wave of innovation will be deeply human, shaped by how people want to express who they are. Connect with Katie Here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiesterns/ OptIn URL - https://blyngz.com --------------------------------- Host Bio: Zofia Morales, a former Fortune 100 data center manager turned leadership coach and business entrepreneur, brings a wealth of experience and strategic insight to her role as a transformational guide. With a background in science and business and a passion for empowering women, Zofia is dedicated to helping female tech founders and entrepreneurs break through barriers and achieve success on their own terms. Connect with Zofia Here: Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@STEMinStilettos LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zofiamorales/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/zofiarennea.morales/

Are you a woman tech founder looking to scale your business and navigate the challenges unique to the tech industry as a female entrepreneur? Join Zofia Morales on STEM in Stilettos as she sits down with Marie Doce, a seasoned product strategy and AI consultant, to discuss Marie's unconventional journey from big tech to building AI solutions for her rural community. Learn how Marie's experiences at TripAdvisor, Mindbody, and Jasper AI have shaped her mission with Grounded AI to bring accessible AI tools to underserved communities, all while tackling issues like gender bias, imposter syndrome, and the venture capital gender gap. Key Takeaway: By listening to Marie Doce's story, listeners can find motivation and strategies to overcome challenges, redefine success on their terms, and make a meaningful impact in their entrepreneurial journey. --------------------------------- Discover your #1 leadership pitfall here: leadershippitfallquiz.com --------------------------------- Guest Bio: Marie Doce is a product strategy and AI consultant with over 15 years of experience in the tech industry. She entered tech unconventionally, using her international relations degree and fluency in German to land a role at TripAdvisor, where she rose from content moderator to fraud investigator before discovering product management. Over the years she held product leadership roles at high-growth startups, most recently as Staff Technical Product Manager at Jasper AI, where she helped scale the platform to serve 20 percent of the Fortune 500. After moving back to her rural hometown in Humboldt County, California, Marie founded Grounded AI, a consultancy helping local small businesses adopt practical, time-saving AI workflows. She is currently a semi-finalist in a regional venture competition, pitching for up to $200,000 to expand her mission of bringing AI to the communities that need it most. Connect with Marie Here: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61588288713696 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/groundedaico/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/groundedaico/ OptIn URL - groundedai.co --------------------------------- Host Bio: Zofia Morales, a former Fortune 100 data center manager turned leadership coach and business entrepreneur, brings a wealth of experience and strategic insight to her role as a transformational guide. With a background in science and business and a passion for empowering women, Zofia is dedicated to helping female tech founders and entrepreneurs break through barriers and achieve success on their own terms. Connect with Zofia Here: Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@STEMinStilettos LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zofiamorales/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/zofiarennea.morales/

Are you navigating the challenges of being a female founder in the tech industry? Do you crave a supportive community that understands the unique struggles you face? In this episode of "STEM in Stilettos," Zofia Morales sits down with Rebecca Matchett, a seasoned entrepreneur, to discuss her newest venture, synchrony, an AI-assisted social platform for neurodivergent adults. Rebecca shares insights on building tech with empathy, the importance of inclusivity in social platforms, and her journey from fashion to tech entrepreneurship. Join us to discover how founders can make a meaningful impact with empathy-driven innovation. Listeners will gain valuable insights on building inclusive tech solutions, understanding the importance of empathy in entrepreneurship, and leveraging past experiences to drive positive change in the tech industry. --------------------------------- Discover your #1 leadership pitfall here: leadershippitfallquiz.com --------------------------------- Guest Bio: Rebecca Matchett is a seasoned entrepreneur, bringing over two decades of experience to her most recent pursuit of passion at synchrony. Having founded and led several fashion companies, including alice+olivia, Rebecca & Drew, Sophie Hudson for HSN, InStyle Essentials for InStyle Magazine and TrioFit, Rebecca has demonstrated an ability to identify and address market needs, culminating in her patent in women's sizing marketed through the TrioFit brand. Now, Rebecca is channeling her experience into creating an inclusive, enriching community for neurodivergent individuals. Her decision to join synchrony reflects her commitment to leveraging her startup acumen and deep understanding of underserved markets to make a meaningful difference. With a track record of transforming ideas into impactful solutions, Rebecca is poised to drive positive change and foster a supportive environment for those who need it the most. Connect with Rebecca Here: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/joinsynchrony LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-winn-matchett-6356481/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/joinsynchrony/ OptIn URL - http://joinsynchrony.com --------------------------------- Host Bio: Zofia Morales, a former Fortune 100 data center manager turned leadership coach and business entrepreneur, brings a wealth of experience and strategic insight to her role as a transformational guide. With a background in science and business and a passion for empowering women, Zofia is dedicated to helping female tech founders and entrepreneurs break through barriers and achieve success on their own terms. Connect with Zofia Here: Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@STEMinStilettos LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zofiamorales/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/zofiarennea.morales/

Are you a female founder looking to navigate the challenges of the tech industry while balancing your personal life? Do you find yourself struggling with imposter syndrome and seeking a supportive community of like-minded women? Join Zofia Morales on "STEM in Stilettos" as she sits down with Stella Kafka, a scientist and nonprofit leader, to explore strategies for empowering female entrepreneurs. Discover how diversity and inclusion can drive innovation in STEM and gain valuable insights on advocating for yourself and others in your career journey. Learn from Stella's experiences in mentoring women and youth in science and get inspired to pursue leadership roles in STEM with confidence. In this episode, listeners will gain insights on embracing diversity and inclusion in driving innovation, advocating for themselves in their careers, and empowering the next generation of scientists and leaders. --------------------------------- Discover your #1 leadership pitfall here: leadershippitfallquiz.com --------------------------------- Guest Bio: Stella Kafka is a scientist, strategist, and nonprofit leader passionate about making science accessible, inclusive, and impactful. As CEO and Executive Director of major scientific organizations, she has led transformative initiatives in astronomy, climate resilience, equity, and STEM education—bridging research, policy, and public engagement. From advancing global collaborations across communities to championing programs that empower women and youth in science, Stella's work centers on connection, purpose, and the power of diversity to drive discovery. Connect with Stella Here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stella.kafka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stellakafka/ --------------------------------- Host Bio: Zofia Morales, a former Fortune 100 data center manager turned leadership coach and business entrepreneur, brings a wealth of experience and strategic insight to her role as a transformational guide. With a background in science and business and a passion for empowering women, Zofia is dedicated to helping female tech founders and entrepreneurs break through barriers and achieve success on their own terms. Connect with Zofia Here: Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@STEMinStilettos LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zofiamorales/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/zofiarennea.morales/

Are you staring at a career path that once felt solid — but now feels like it's hit a dead end?Have recent tech layoffs, industry shifts, or plain burnout forced you to rethink everything you thought was "the plan"? In this special episode of STEM in Stilettos, guest host Dr. Stella Kafka turns the mic toward the show's usual host, Zofia Morales, for a candid conversation about strategic reinvention in unpredictable times. Together, they explore how a career built on logic, expertise, and hard work can still reach a point where it no longer fits, and what women in STEM can do when that moment arrives. Zofia shares the pivotal decisions that moved her from biophysics research into global fintech, then into financial education, public-sector outreach, and ultimately entrepreneurship and career strategy. Through personal stories and practical insight, she reveals how systems thinking, scientific method, and curiosity can guide reinvention during layoffs, market shifts, burnout, or major life transitions. This episode offers a grounded, non-panic approach to figuring out what comes next when the path you've been on suddenly stops working. Listeners will discover how to recognize when a career chapter has truly ended, how to think clearly during moments of disruption, and how to use a STEM-trained mindset to navigate reinvention with clarity, intention, and confidence. --------------------------------- Discover your #1 leadership pitfall here: leadershippitfallquiz.com --------------------------------- Guest Bio: Zofia Morales is a former biophysics researcher turned fintech leader, financial educator, entrepreneur, and now career strategist for women in tech. Her professional path spans scientific research, global banking operations, mortgage education, public-sector outreach, and business ownership. Through each reinvention, Zofia has used systems thinking, curiosity, and strategic experimentation to build a career defined by impact rather than linear promotions. Today, she works with women in STEM who are navigating layoffs, burnout, stalled promotions, or major career pivots—helping them design careers that align with their values, income goals, and long-term stability. Her mission: to help close the pay gap by empowering women to create income and influence on their own terms. Connect with Zofia Here: Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@STEMinStilettos LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zofiamorales/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/zofiarennea.morales/ --------------------------------- Host Bio: Stella Kafka is a scientist, strategist, and nonprofit leader passionate about making science accessible, inclusive, and impactful. As CEO and Executive Director of major scientific organizations, she has led transformative initiatives in astronomy, climate resilience, equity, and STEM education—bridging research, policy, and public engagement. From advancing global collaborations across communities to championing programs that empower women and youth in science, Stella's work centers on connection, purpose, and the power of diversity to drive discovery. Connect with Stella Here: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/stella.kafka LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stellakafka/