Women-led, early-stage startup challenges status quo in deep enterprise tech

By Jennifer Cloer

Edera is building the only memory safe container runtime solution and it’s being built by three amazing women, two deeply technical and one with a rich history in culture and operations. We talked to all three of them about what inspired this bold vision and the company they are building and what their experiences have been like as women in the tech industry and as an all-female team raising capital. 

Please meet co-founders Ariadne Conill, Emily Long and Alex Zenla.

Jennifer: What inspired you to start Edera, and what problem are you aiming to solve?

Ariadne: For me, I have always been concerned about the loss of security guarantees as we have shifted away from traditional virtualization toward the new cloud-native world where workloads run in containers in a shared computing environment, creating a situation where there are no strong security boundaries between these different workloads. 

Edera provides an opportunity for us to build an alternative, which should take advantage of both traditional virtualization and cloud-native computing techniques to provide a computing environment where we still have containers but with the security guarantees of traditional virtualization.

Left to right: Ariadne Conill, Alex Zenla, Emily Long

Emily: I can’t claim credit for the early ideation of Edera. Thankfully my relationship with Ariadne led me to meeting Alex, and they graciously invited me to join as a founder.  What caught my attention early on were two things: 1) Seeing a problem like container escapes that the industry has accepted as “unsolvable” and to have the opportunity to be bold, come forward and solve it. We’re not just trying to bolt on another tool - but creating new technology that will change the landscape of cloud-native security. To be a part of this is an honor. 2) To be able to create this company with two women founders who are some of the smartest people I have ever met doesn’t hurt either!  

Alex: I was inspired to start Edera after working in the Internet of Things (IoT) industry for a decade. I saw the way that we as an industry deploy applications, and I was concerned about our collective ability to reliably deliver a high grade of security at scale. Virtualization has always been a passion of mine, but it had fallen out of favor due to the promise of container technology. I knew there had to be a way to bring back the security of virtualization while keeping what makes containers appealing. I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish thus far and it’s amazing to see us go from idea to reality in such a short time!

Jennifer: How does being an all-women team inform the kind of company you’re building?

Ariadne: For me, personally, I think one of the biggest differences with having an all-women leadership team is that we are emphasizing the psychological safety of our team, approaching concerns from a holistic view of empathy and mutual respect. One of our founding engineers pointed out that this was the first company where her ideas were fully explored, instead of simply getting a “we aren’t going to do that.”  We recognize that the business is a catalyst for intellectual growth and exploration and consider that one of our main strengths.

Emily: This is something for which I’m most proud. To have a fully female founding team particularly in a high tech space is really unheard of. We’re kind of turning the typical narrative upside down. The fun thing about starting something that is foundationally unique is it almost lends to being more comfortable taking even more risks. Like you’re already doing what nobody else is doing, why not push the envelope even more? Our entire founding team (we have two more team members that joined now!) is 100 percent diverse. I think the fact that we are open to pushing boundaries and challenging norms attracts really unique and incredible talent. 

Alex: Being an all-women founding team has been the dream of a lifetime. I have watched women struggle in this industry, and this is the first place where I have felt entirely confident in our commitment to diversity and inclusion. We place a very high emphasis on physiological safety (nobody should feel like their seat at the table is any less stable than anyone else’s seat) and respect (everyone’s ideas should be treated fairly). Working with this team has made it easier for us to arrive at the right pathway quicker because everyone can speak up, feel heard and never feel like their job is at risk for speaking their mind. I can’t even begin to tell you the difference our principles make to how we operate, and it is entirely based on our previous experiences in the industry of being women and not being able to be heard and safe.

Jennifer: What unique perspectives do you believe women bring to the tech world, especially in leadership roles?

Ariadne: Being a woman in tech often feels like starting as an underdog. However, this can be a significant asset. Those driving deep technological change in the industry are often the ones the mainstream has overlooked. As a result, we tend to focus more on the long-term game rather than the short-term one.  Because of this, we also tend to think more deeply about how various systems fit together and how we can promote experiences of concision in the products we are building.

Emily: Women tend to be much stronger in conflict resolution, holding space for feelings and honest dialogue. Soft skills are not “soft.” What we’ve traditionally considered soft skills are very difficult and very important skills to master in leadership. There is so much power in spending time curating meaningful relationships and empowering your team. I think many women have incredible leadership skills that formulate through their understanding of the human experience and valuing relationship building. True empowerment is everything.

Alex: Empathy is very lacking in the tech industry and - although I often find the equating of empathy with womanhood to be cliche - it changes how we behave in the tech industry for the better. Leadership in tech can often be brutal and feel more like a battle than anything else. Being a woman in the tech industry has allowed me to feel like I can take a different perspective from the status quo, because I bring something that is missing to the table.

“Working with this team has made it easier for us to arrive at the right pathway quicker because everyone can speak up, feel heard and never feel like their job is at risk for speaking their mind.”

Jennifer: Can you share a particularly proud moment or achievement your team has had since starting the company?

Ariadne: We recently had our first couple of Angel Investors come on board, which has made all of this feel a lot more real.

Emily: Starting a company is hard, and there are a lot of emotions and insecurities that flow and hit each of us at different times. I was incredibly proud of our first “hard conversation” between the three of us that involved us coming to the table to listen and adapt, put our egos aside and do what was best for the company. In tech, I’ve seen ego control the majority of major decisions and impact team dynamics dramatically. It was that moment where I really felt like we all have the same goal - to make this company incredibly successful together. 

Jennifer: What advice would you give to other women looking to start their own tech companies?

Ariadne: Be prepared for skepticism and rejection as you first begin. The unfortunate reality is that it’s a much harder sell when a new company is coming from a demographic with which the industry doesn't have the same level of familiarity. Mitigate the possibility of rejection by coming really prepared to all meetings, whether it be prospects, potential investors or just small talk at a conference. Having all of your supplemental resources ready to go up front helps.

Emily: Totally agree with Ariadne here. I’d also add that you should get comfortable asking for help and let people show up for you. I can’t tell you how many women (and men) have proactively made introductions, shared resources, practiced pitches and just served as hype people for us since we launched in April. Your community is so important. It may feel uncomfortable at first to ask someone to read your deck or do role play with you before a big meeting, but I’ve found that most people are excited to show up for you and it helps tremendously with getting more confident. And trust us, you’ll need it!

Alex: You will face challenges because you are a woman. Some people aren’t going to give you the same benefit of the doubt when walking into the room. However, if you believe in what you are doing, you can prevail.

Jennifer: We host a popular Book Club and our community is always looking for recommendations. What are you currently reading?

Emily: I just got Kim Scott’s new book Radical Respect and I’m really excited to dive in. I also just finished Steven Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO right before we launched Edera and it was life changing. There is so much in there that gives you confidence to try hard things, embrace failure and take care of yourself while doing it. I found it super motivating and impactful.

Alex: I tend to read mostly history books about queer and transgender history. I don’t have anything specific at the moment I’d like to share, but I highly suggest that everyone should read more about these topics.