My biggest achievement this year was being fully offline for four months to care for a newborn baby, and returning to the company as a new person -- a working mother. I've had to redefine the way I work which has presented new challenges in the form of setting boundaries, delegating effectively, and much more.

Parenthood provides a new perspective and it's helped me kick my imposter syndrome to the curb. I have overcome the feelings of inadequacy that used to thrive in my body as a first-time founder that is also female, that is also a minority. In particular, board meetings no longer give me crippling anxiety. To me, I used to stick out like a sore thumb and didn't feel like I belonged in the room. I felt a lot of self-pressure to 'do good' by my gender and race, and the result was always a feeling of deflation and depletion. I cut myself a break when I transitioned to parenthood - giving myself more grace, self-empathy, and self-acceptance. It took some time off (and a baby?), but I am grateful to finally embraced who I am (it's ok that I'm soft spoken and not verbose!) and recognize the immense value I bring to the table.

As our company grows, I pledge to break the bias in tech by elevating the women around me and continuing to build a diverse leadership team.