Name: Tania Boler
Job Title and Description: Co-Founder and CEO of Chiaro, a women’s wearable technology startup
College Name/Major: University of Oxford (BA), Stanford University (MA), and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (Doctorate in Women’s Health)
Website: elvie.com
Twitter Handle: @taniabeeb
What does your current job entail? Is there such a thing as a typical day?
Tania Boler: I have two small kids at home, so my day is pretty busy to say the least. I spend an hour with the kids and that is pretty much when the routine ends! At work, we are going through a fast growth period, so days are pretty unpredictable. I currently divide my time between recruitment, business development as we build our distribution network and meeting with journalists and partners. Oh and like any tech co-founder, constantly raising money!
What is the best part of your job?
TB: Creating something that helps people feel better about themselves.
What is one thing you wish you knew about your industry when you first started out that you know now?
TB: Bringing a product to market inevitably takes longer and costs more than you think it will.
Who is one person who changed your professional life for the better?
TB: My co-founder Alexander Asseily – because as the founder of Jawbone, he has already been through everything I am currently going through and knows what it is like.
What is one mistake you made along the way and what did you learn from it?
TB: Listening to people who don’t know what they are talking about. People love sounding knowledgeable. It took me a while to realize that lots of the advice I was given was mostly based on that person’s business and not that relevant to mine.
What has been the most surreal moment of your career thus far?
TB: The first time we found out that someone seriously famous was using Elvie, our product.
What do you look for when considering hiring someone?
TB: Something unusual in their CV. Something to show that this person has independence of thought.
What advice would you give to a 20-something with similar aspirations?
TB: Don’t worry if there are lots of things you don’t know about – your learning curve will be really steep and that is part of the fun. Be determined. You need to be the kind of person who doesn’t give up as it will always take longer and cost more money than you expected.