At 48, Chief Member Julia Cai was living what she thought was a very healthy lifestyle. Then she was told she needed a major, life-threatening surgery.

That experience completely changed the way she thought about wellness and longevity. “Living a long and fulfilling life is about so much more than diet and exercise,” she says. “Social connections, purpose, community, purpose, spirituality, and giving back are also incredibly important.”

Cai, a two-time Chief Technology Officer, says her natural instinct was to start looking for tools that could help her understand and monitor the different dimensions of her own life.

She couldn't find one, so she decided to build it.

The result is her company, Banjo AI.

With a user's permission, the app processes information from their digital footprint to understand how they are spending their time across seven dimensions of longevity and help them identify where they may want to make changes.

“That kind of holistic, personalized assessment simply wasn't possible at this scale a few years ago, Cai says. “I knew I would regret it if I went through this AI transformation as an observer rather than a participant.”

Her goal is to grow Banjo AI into an ecosystem for intentional living and longevity.

We asked Cai to take us inside her approach to AI-driven entrepreneurship. Here’s her advice for other women leaders who want to build something of their own.

On Her Approach to Building an AI-Native Company

Even before we wrote the first line of code, we asked ourselves: How should humans and AI agents work together? How do we create an efficient development assembly line without sacrificing quality?

Today, the vast majority of our product code is generated with AI, with humans acting as managers, reviewers, and quality-control checkpoints. I think that distinction is very important. AI can create tremendous efficiency, but humans still need to provide judgment, product taste, user empathy, and quality control.

Very early on, we also standardized around a set of tools that could help us move faster across different parts of the company. We use tools such as Linear for product management, Claude Code for engineering, Buffer and Hootsuite for social media, and Lovable for parts of our web development.

As Banjo expanded beyond engineering into areas like product, growth, marketing, research, and finance, we’ve started thinking differently about organizational design. Instead of developing a traditional organizational chart made up only of human employees, we think about each team as a combination of human employees and AI agents.

When we share knowledge, conduct meetings, document decisions, or onboard someone, we want that information to be available to both the human and AI sides of the organization. The goal is for our agents to understand the company context just as our employees do, so both can become more effective over time.

On How Leaders Can Incorporate AI Into Their Own Workflows

First, embrace change. You cannot become too attached to a particular technology, framework, or way of doing things. Throughout my career, I've probably spent around 15% of my time learning about new technologies, architectures, and frameworks. Technology changes too quickly for a leader to stop learning.

Second, be practical. Just because a technology is new, or works brilliantly for another company, doesn't mean it's right for yours. Every company has a different product, team, culture, and customer. The question I always ask is: Does this technology genuinely make our company or our customer experience better?

And finally, don't let speed lower your standards. I still care deeply about product quality, security, privacy, and the human experience tools deliver. The newest or shiniest technology is not automatically the best technology.

On What It Takes to Succeed in the AI Era

This is an extraordinary time to be a founder. Things that once required much larger teams, more capital, and specialized expertise can increasingly be accomplished by a small group of people using the right technology.

But, because AI makes it easier and faster to build, I think real differentiation becomes even more important. Can you build something people genuinely love? Can you create a great human experience? Can you earn people's trust? And can you maintain quality, security, and privacy while still moving quickly?

Speed matters, but speed alone is not enough.

On the Role the Chief Community Has Played in Her Founder Journey

Because Banjo AI serves people aged 50 and older, Chief has been invaluable in helping me understand our users. I have been able to test early ideas, have direct conversations, and receive candid feedback from thoughtful and accomplished women who are part of the demographic we serve. Many aspects of Banjo have been shaped by these conversations. This access has helped me understand our users more deeply and develop the product much faster.

At Chief, I have also met fellow members who are current or former entrepreneurs. We have exchanged notes, shared lessons learned, and introduced one another to valuable people and resources.

On a more personal level, when I first had the idea for Banjo, I needed someone I trusted as a sounding board. My friend and fellow Chief Member, Madeeha Tobiason, supported me throughout the first six months of building Banjo AI. Although her career has primarily been within established corporations rather than startups, she spent time with me and my team and supported me through the inevitable highs and lows of turning an idea into a company.

On Her Advice for Other Women Considering Entrepreneurship

Don’t be afraid to start building.

With the AI transformation happening so quickly, I think some people are still observing and wondering what it means for them. But the barriers to starting a company, particularly the technology barriers, are lower than they have ever been.

Think about entrepreneurship as an incredible learning journey. So many women I’ve met at Chief are lifelong learners and great connectors, and building a company allows you to exercise both of those muscles every single day. Every problem you solve teaches you something. Every new chapter of the business forces you to grow. Even the discouraging conversations teach you something.

And you will connect with people you never imagined connecting with. Starting Banjo has expanded my world tremendously.