International Women’s Day 2026: Building the table, not just taking a seat

Building, Learning, and Growing as a Female Tech Startup Co-Founder.

By Roberta Castle – Chief Revenue Officer

Having spent over 20 years working in the technology sector, I thought I understood the industry well. But becoming a co-founder of a tech start-up in a completely new vertical reminded me that experience doesn’t remove challenge; it simply changes the way you approach it.

My previous 15 years had been strongly rooted in connectivity, hosting, and security. This background provided strong foundations, but stepping into the world of IoT and enterprise data has meant entering new learning ground. Understanding the market, the players, the opportunities, and the challenges has required both humility and a willingness to learn fast.

I’ve spent years in senior leadership within global organisations, including CRO and business development director positions; however, moving into a start-up environment was a completely different reality. Suddenly, titles mattered less than impact. I found myself wearing many hats at once: director, fundraiser, HR support, GTM strategist, marketing contributor, and initially, the only salesperson.

Everything we’ve built rests on the baseline of professional respect. From day one, inclusivity wasn’t just a value we talked about; it was practised. The impact that having a woman at the table brought to perspective and approach was recognised, but I was never made to feel that I was there for “softer skills.” My voice was always valued equally, and that equality created the confidence to challenge, contribute, and build.

One of the toughest parts of the early journey was investment. In the early stages, not everyone fully understood the concept behind Stacuity. Many investors backed me because of our shared history; supportive, highly successful former employers or customers who recognised the role I had played in their own growth. Their belief was incredibly powerful, but it also brought pressure I hadn’t fully anticipated.

As any founder knows, a start-up is a rollercoaster. There were moments when the question quietly crept in: What happens if we fail? How do I face the people who put their trust in me?

Sharing that pressure with my co-founders helped more than I can express. One of my male co-founders felt the same weight, and those honest conversations made the fear feel rational rather than isolating. On the difficult days, we lifted each other up and brought perspective back into focus.

Then came the go-to-market challenge. We were operating in a sector that, historically, had promised huge potential, technically and commercially, but often struggled to deliver. Some of that was timing; some of it was legacy approaches within traditional telecoms that made the economics difficult. Our opportunity was different: we had re-architected the telecom stack. But innovation alone is not enough. We had to educate the market on what was newly possible while simultaneously discovering where we truly fit and where the strongest value lay.

Selling into global brands as a start-up brought its own hurdles. Without a long-proven track record, credibility was constantly tested. Asking enterprise organisations to trust a young emerging company meant asking them to take real risks because we would become a critical part of their solution and future roadmap. At the same time, we were building resources carefully, balancing the need to support large customers while watching revenue growth and navigating the reality that progress always takes longer than expected.

Reflecting on the previous five years, my biggest learning has been that growth isn’t just measured in revenue or headcount; it’s measured in resilience, adaptability, and the quality of the team around you. Start-ups demand vulnerability as much as confidence. They ask you to lead while still learning, to make decisions without perfect information, and to keep moving even when the path isn’t clear.

As we mark another International Women’s Day, I’ve been reflecting on the distinction between women in leadership and women in founding roles. While leadership is essential, there is a unique power in shaping a company’s DNA from the very beginning. It’s crucial that women see themselves not just as leaders but as architects of new ventures.

And for anyone considering stepping into a founder journey: the learning curve is steep, the pressure is real, but the growth, both personal and professional, is unlike anything else.