Money works differently in communities traditionally excluded from formal banking, which makes designing products that really serve their needs a very different kind of challenge. People who live in the last mile often prefer cash because it’s physical. They can see it, touch it, and access it at any time.

While digital money offers many benefits, such as securely sending money over long distances and accessing new forms of credit, many don’t trust it because the places where they can access digital currency have often been too far away.

In 2017, over 500 million adults lived more than three miles from a financial access point in eight emerging markets studied by the Gates Foundation. This may not sound like much of a barrier, but for those living in the last mile, it means having to close their shops, lose a day of earnings, arrange family care, and pay for travel, which can be time-consuming and difficult, especially during rainy seasons. For low-income people, the inaccessibility of financial services has been a deal-breaker for adopting digital money. On the flip side, banks, telecoms, and other companies struggled to reach these customers because their products were not inclusively designed for them, and their distribution models failed to scale in rural areas.

Amid these myriad challenges, IDEO and the Gates Foundation saw an opportunity to introduce innovative ways to provide access to digital financial services even in the most remote areas of the world. And to make bold new bets: Could we design new digital experiences centered around the financial needs of people in the last mile? What would happen if we mobilized hundreds of actors to develop new ways to address financial access at the last mile? What if we took the most exciting financial innovations that worked in East Africa and piloted them in South Asia—and vice versa?

Working with more than 70 partners, including local startups, corporations, including Google, Unilever, Telenor, Standard Chartered, and BNI, as well as IDEO.org’s Women & Money program, LMM adopted a collaborative, ecosystem approach to drive and scale new digital financial products and systems.

A few of the life-changing innovations launched by LMM and its partners include:

• Finja’s intuitive small-business app that helps micro-merchants in Pakistan access flexible, interest-avoiding Islamic credit  to order products from fast-moving consumer goods companies like Unilever. Finja now serves 45,000 merchants and reaches 10.2 million customers.
  ‍
• Accessing government benefits can be a challenge, especially when it’s through a mobile phone, so IDEO helped Indian startup Haqdarshak develop a robust digital experience for its 52,000 community agents to facilitate access for low-income people. The agent network—70 percent of whom are women—now serves more than 7.6 million families and has unlocked $2.2 billion in social benefits for those who need it most.
  ‍
• Making micro-credit nearly instantaneous was a solution that startup Kuunda offered to financial agents in Tanzania. IDEO helped adapt the product to deliver working capital for merchants in Pakistan. Today, Kuunda continues to grow across markets in Africa, totaling 6.1 million active users and distributing $1.1 billion in loans globally.   

While the LMM program officially concluded in 2024, lessons, tools, and case studies from the program are accessible on IDEO’s Financial Futures website. Those looking to catalyze equity and inclusion in digital financial services for the last mile can consult LMM’s Financial Confidence Playbook, the open-source Digital Confidence Toolkit (created in collaboration with Google), or the Gender Evaluation Framework, among other helpful resources.

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Over 1.3 billion people worldwide in poor and rural areas are excluded from formal financial services, including savings accounts, credit lines, and insurance, making it harder for them to move out of poverty.

34M

underserved users reached by 100+ new financial products, pilots, and prototypes

70+ LMM partners

including Google, Unilever, Grab, Standard Chartered, Cargill, Airtel, Celo Foundation, and BNI

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Multinational CPGs excel at creating popular, mass-market products for large countries. When they enter smaller countries like Peru, they often parachute their brands onto store shelves and skip consumer product testing altogether, largely relying on brand recognition to drive sales. This oversight presented Alicorp and IDEO with an opportunity: flip the script and invite young Peruvian women to work together with them to create a new hair care brand from scratch. Over the course of a four-year transformational journey, IDEO worked closely with Alicorp, adopting a “learn by doing” approach to foster a culture of innovation, launch a new brand, and drive growth for the company through consumer-centric design.

The collaboration began with an inspirational trip 10,000 miles away to Seoul, South Korea, the epicenter of global beauty trends. To expand their thinking, the Alicorp/IDEO team received K-Pop glow-ups and explored other cutting-edge beauty experiences. They were inspired by the Korean market’s unwavering focus on meeting the particular hair care and skin needs of Korean women.

Back in Peru, the team conducted multiple rounds of in-depth interviews with young women, teenagers, beauty influencers, and experts across the country. They learned about their beauty goals, personal care routines, and “mixto” hair texture. They heard about women’s struggles with regional weather—the Andean region’s extreme dryness versus Lima’s humidity and the city’s hard water. The research revealed that Peruvian women wanted natural products that worked hard, wouldn’t harm their hair, and celebrated what made them unique. They wanted a brand that spoke to them honestly and authentically. That represented and empowered them. That didn’t overpromise, underdeliver, or hold up European and American beauty ideals that didn't resonate with Latin American women like the multinationals did.

Armed with these insights, the Alicorp/IDEO team developed tangible brand prototypes for women to respond to during successive rounds of user research, including in a beauty pop-up store in Lima. The team shared various bottle types, ingredient mixtures, and brand positioning options. Should the new brand’s personality be an outspoken feminist or a gal pal? Au naturel or sophisticated? The iterative feedback cycles informed everything from brand strategy and ingredient recommendations to product line-up, brand and product naming, launch strategy, and digital activations.

The final design, Amarás (“you will love”), is a personal care line that centers the needs and aspirations of Peruvian women. Hitting shelves in 2022, its shampoos and conditioners feature local, bio-diverse ingredients, including mangoes, macadamia nuts, and goldenberries, that help address the specific hair texture needs of women in LATAM and the climate realities of the Andean region. The brand’s launch campaign included TV and print ads featuring Peruvian models from every region as well as commissioned murals celebrating local beauty by artists across Peru. Most notably, the unapologetically authentic Peruvian hair care brand became a TikTok sensation, garnering over seven million organic views and more than 300 viral videos from enthusiastic new fans.

Three months after its launch, Amarás seized a 7.5 percent share of the personal care aisle—a remarkable goal it had set for year three.Since then, Alicorp has continued to expand its creative capabilities, designing personal care products tailored to the cultural and beauty needs of Latin American consumers.

Alicorp launched numerous successful brand extensions across its food and home care categories, but was unable to crack the $340M USD hair care product market in its home country of Peru.

7.5%

Amarás’ share of the Peruvian hair care market 3 months after launch—a goal Alicorp had set for year 3

7M+ organic views and 300+ organic fan videos

created on TikTok during Amarás’  launch campaign

Thirty years ago, China-based Jack Technology started as a home sewing machine manufacturer. A decade ago, the innovative global leader began investing in robotics and exploring AI, a decision that positioned it well to address today’s urgent need for smarter manufacturing solutions.

Believing that a new, strategically positioned sub-brand could draw in larger, more premium global manufacturing customers, Jack Technology and IDEO set out to understand their needs. IDEO began by visiting more than a dozen garment factories across China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, conducting in-depth interviews with factory managers, industrial engineers, pattern-making leaders, and frontline workers. It soon became clear: the apparel manufacturing industry is at a critical juncture. The way apparel manufacturers navigate the promises of intelligent technology—while addressing deep-rooted structural issues like labor shortages and working conditions—will shape the industry's development for years to come.

For premium clothing brands, garment factory compliance and worker well-being are priorities when selecting production partners, so many owners proudly showcased their improvement efforts. They discussed investing in quieter machines and air conditioning, enhancing lighting, adding greenery, and implementing no-overtime policies. Amid rows of identical sewing stations, the IDEO team noticed small human gestures, such as a small vase of flowers. As one operator said, “I just want to uplift myself during work.”

The research helped IDEO identify a core opportunity for differentiation. Create human-centered products and services that further enhance working conditions in large apparel factories, strengthen their ability to attract and retain talent, and drive the industry toward a more sustainable future. Through multiple rounds of co-creation with the Jack Technology team and key apparel-sector stakeholders, a clear brand direction for Aitu began to take shape: “Smart Machines, Uplifting People.”

Guided by this human-centered ethos, IDEO helped build a comprehensive brand system for Aitu. The idea of “uplifting people” and showcasing garment workers’ professionalism and skill is expressed throughout all brand communications, the industrial design of its smart sewing machines, and the interaction and industrial design of a humanoid sewing robot.

In the eyes of factory workers, this is the new work experience Aitu brings to life. Compared with traditional bulky industrial machinery, the clean lines and soft edges of Aitu’s new AI-powered sewing machines feel more like the professional office tools found in bright, organized workplaces. Concave surfaces and soft materials diffuse glare from overhead lighting, reducing eye strain, while clear interaction logic and icon-based visuals accommodate operators with varying levels of skill and education. AI technology, seamlessly embedded in the machine’s core functions, automatically adjusts parameters for different fabrics and tasks, allowing operators to achieve high-precision results with less effort. A soft halo-like light glows whenever the AI-assisted function is active, fostering users’ trust in both the technology and the AI-powered sewing machine as a whole. When hundreds or thousands of Aitu machines are arranged together in a factory, the overall effect is a modern, professional, and high-end work environment.

Working closely with Aitu’s robotics team, IDEO’s final design challenge was to bring a human-machine collaboration to life through a full-scale AI robot, AI10. The robot has an elegant, biomimetic silhouette. Its fabric-like outer finish features design elements commonly found in garment making, such as cutting and stitching lines, giving the robot the approachable look and the feel of a skilled tailor companion who can assist with simple, repetitive tasks. When AI10 is in operation, a circular light ring gently pulses at the sides of the robot’s ears as well as on the paired sewing machine’s display screen, clearly signaling the robot’s activity to its human co-workers.

In September 2025, Jack Technology debuted its new Aitu brand, along with its first AI sewing machine and a humanoid robot prototype, at a launch event at Shanghai Tower and at the China International Sewing Machine & Accessories Show. IFA Berlin, Europe’s largest trade show for consumer electronics, honored Aitu with a Gold Award for AI Product Innovation for seamlessly integrating AI technology and industrial design. Jack Technology’s humanoid robot is expected to go into full-scale production in 2026.

Before AI, the apparel manufacturing industry had experienced little fundamental change since the invention of the lockstitch sewing machine nearly two centuries ago.

2025 Gold Award for AI Product Innovation

from IFA, the world’s largest home and consumer tech event

Alicorp has direct operations in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Chile, manages export operations in more than 30 countries, and oversees over 150 brands. While its AlaCena sauces are ubiquitous in South America, the brand’s North American market primarily consisted of purchases made via Amazon by Peruvians living abroad. To help the CPG giant expand meaningfully and sustainably onto US grocery shelves—and achieve its ambitious $50 million retail sales goal in five years—Alicorp and IDEO collaborated on multiple projects over a two-year period. The partnership began in early 2020 with consumer research and product strategy, ultimately leading to the development of initial product branding, positioning for launch, and an in-market pilot in late 2021.

‍‍Through a combination of large-scale digital surveys and in-depth, in-person and remote research interviews, IDEO discovered that AlaCena’s Tari and Uchucuta’s hot sauce recipes resonated the most with US consumers. Made from native Aji Amarillo and Rocoto chili peppers ground using a traditional Andean “batán” technique, consumers appreciated their complex flavors and enjoyed how they enhanced, not overpowered, everyday foods like burgers and fries. The sauces’ authentic Peruvian culinary roots were also a key differentiator. In addition to consumers, IDEO consulted with industry experts—including executives from large-scale grocery chains and chief merchants of leading big-box stores—to explore retail and marketing trends and identify potential innovation partners for Alicorp in the US.

Based on the research, IDEO recommended a few changes to ensure a successful launch: Lead with the Tari brand, which was the most memorable and easiest to pronounce, and position it as an “everything sauce.” Change the packaging from a large plastic pouch to a smaller squeeze bottle to better align with consumers’ expectations and stand out on the inside of refrigerator doors. Adjust the product formulation to appeal to mainstream consumers looking for cleaner labels. And visually celebrate Tari’s Peruvian roots through bright colors, traditional textiles, and a llama, an animal closely associated with the Andes Mountains. In addition to these recommendations, IDEO provided a comprehensive go-to-market retail strategy that included potential US regions for launch, retail brokers, distributors, manufacturers, and R&D and pilot retail lab partners, as well as job descriptions for a new North American-based sales team.

While Alicorp worked on reformulation and packaging strategies, IDEO refined Tari’s initial branding strategy. Steeped in Peruvian aesthetics, the brand’s new look and feel featured a vibrant color palette, geometric patterns, and—of course—a friendly llama icon, which could also be found on all in-store point-of-sale items IDEO designed for Tari's pilot launch in late 2021.

The successful 12-week in-market pilot in Tom Thumb grocery stores gave Alicorp the confidence to have its in-house design team make the brand even bolder and more eye catching, and to launch two flavors, Amarillo Pepper and Rocoto Pepper, on Amazon and in over 50 retail stores in late 2024.

Since then, the popular sauces consistently rank among the top 50 percent of the fastest-selling products on US shelves, with 80 percent of sales revenue representing new business. In 2025, Tari expanded its offerings with three additional flavors: Zesty Verde, Tropical Kick, and Smoky Heat. Today, Tari is in transit to 3,000 major grocery stores, including Wegmans, Meijer, Central Market, and The Fresh Market, as well as available for purchase on Amazon.

Alicorp had a vision to expand its beloved and delicious hot sauces to the US market, but needed help fine-tuning the brand and product for an American audience.

3,000

major US grocers, including Wegmans and Meijer, have signed on to sell Tari hot sauces

80%

of Tari’s sales revenue represents new business, a significant expansion of the overall category

Ranked in the top 50%

of the fastest-selling products on US grocery shelves

It identifies patterns, nudges behavior, and interprets my health data in plain English. Meanwhile, my doctor toggles between screens, re-asks questions I just answered on paper, and tries to piece together my health story from systems that weren’t designed to communicate with each other—let alone with her.

This isn’t her fault. It’s the byproduct of a system designed and optimized for billing, not care. While consumer technology continues to evolve, clinical tools are stuck in another decade. And it shows.

The healthcare industry produces 30 percent of the world’s data. Yet, 97 percent of it goes unused. Physicians spend more time clicking through dashboards than connecting with patients. People receive data with no explanation, then Google their way to answers through fear and confusion.

Imagine a healthcare experience where technology takes a backseat—and human connection takes center stage. It’s possible, if we design it that way. And not only will it save lives—it will offer incredible healthcare cost savings, too. 

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The hidden opportunity in EHRs

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) offer extraordinary promise—in theory. In actuality, they’re a rabbit’s warren of seemingly disconnected information. EHRs weren’t designed to incorporate the constant, streaming flow of data from wearables, continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), and other connected health devices. They were built in a different era, for a different kind of healthcare. My doctor's EHR requires her to navigate through multiple screens just to piece together my complete health picture—information that should be seamlessly connected but is trapped in separate sections. 

In contrast, my Apple Health app, which is free and came pre-installed on my iPhone, automatically syncs data from dozens of other apps and devices, surfaces trends, and offers up easy-to-understand insights without me asking. Apple Health was designed for humans; EHRs for billing departments and regulatory compliance.

Connecting the data in EHRs is technically possible, but is often thwarted by a combination of bureaucratic hurdles, proprietary systems, and a risk-averse regulatory environment. The missing ingredient is human-centered design. We need to treat the EHRs as raw materials, not finished products. 

Meeting patients where they are

Across our healthcare work, we hear one thing over and over: patients don’t want more data. They want actionable insights.

For a person with type 2 diabetes, a glucose reading of 130mg/dL is just a number. But “Your levels stayed stable after switching to whole grain bread” provides insight. It’s actionable. It sticks. On a recent project, we interviewed a person with type 2 diabetes who asked us, “Why does my doctor get to see this data—but I don’t?” It was a great point. That question prompted us to design a way to turn numbers only doctors would see and understand into plain-spoken, personal insights for patients. 

Lead with what matters most. A simple visual cue—trending positive, stable, or concerning—invites deeper exploration. Show the big picture, then let people drill down when they want to.

Making quality care easier for clinicians

“We get 15 minutes per patient,” one doctor told us. “That barely gives us time to talk about labs.” Imagine if patient-generated data appeared automatically where and when it’s needed.

A doctor typically doesn’t need 47 glucose readings. They need to know that “levels are trending down since the patient started taking evening walks, but spike on weekends.” Give them insight, not overwhelm.

Another patient we interviewed with type 2 diabetes also used a CGM but was unsure about what to make of the numbers. We had her test a new prototype that drew inspiration from a traffic light: red numbers required immediate action, yellow signaled borderline readings with clear guidance on how to curb highs and lows, and green indicated that her blood sugar was within a healthy range. “I like this,” she told us. “It’s plain, telling me what I should do.”

Imagine a world where, before a visit, both patient and provider receive contextual insights:

• “Heart failure trending positive—activity up 15 percent this month. Consider reducing dosage.”

• “Your walking routine is working—heart rate variability improved 12 percent since last visit."

• “Medication adherence improving—blood pressure responding well to timing changes, but you’re missing weekend doses.”

Instead of parsing dashboards or reliving symptoms from memory, conversations could focus on decisions, adjustments, and next steps. It would save time during appointments and improve and clarify doctors’ visits for both parties—not to mention patient outcomes. 

The economics are begging for better design

Designing for better use of health data isn’t just compassionate; it’s also cost-effective.

By applying human-centered design principles, healthcare systems can streamline processes and improve patient engagement. For example, when a hospital in Oslo, Norway, redesigned its breast cancer diagnosis process using design thinking, it reduced the patient waiting time by 90 percent, thereby decreasing operational costs. At a major New York hospital, redesigning the surgical rounding process helped doctors submit discharge orders nearly an hour earlier and improved on-time surgical case starts by over 20 percentage points. And according to one study, patients treated in hospitals with advanced EHRs cost an average of 9.66 percent (or $731) less than patients in hospitals without them. The ROI is there for everyone paying the price of avoidable care—not to mention the benefit of better outcomes. However, real change runs into real barriers: siloed data, regulatory red tape, and business models that haven’t kept pace.

We need to design for what’s real: the 15-minute appointment, the overburdened clinician, the caregiver toggling between apps, and the patient staring at a number they don’t understand. 

That’s the kind of healthcare system people deserve. One where clinicians practice their craft—instead of decoding numbers, asking to see your app, or clicking through broken systems—and patients feel seen, supported, and part of the process. 

We’re not there yet. But we know how to design our way there if we remember that providing oceans of health data to drown in is not the end goal. It’s surfacing actionable insights to help patients and providers ride the waves toward greater health and well-being.

My phone’s Apple Health app gives me more meaningful insights than the test results from my doctor’s office.

I spent years facilitating process improvement and lean management, work that was effective at driving efficiency but rarely got into deeper questions. It lacked the rigorous patient focus I wanted to see in the efforts I took on for health systems. That frustration drew me into human-centered design (HCD). HCD opened up entirely new ways of seeing people and problems, and I was inspired to create solutions that were far more meaningful and human. Still, something was missing; I hadn’t yet found a way to connect the immediacy of design to the larger, longer-term forces shaping the world around us.

Around this time, I met futurist Bob Johansen. Listening to him describe how leaders could anticipate multiple plausible futures truly unlocked something for me. I could see how process improvement, human-centered design, and futuring could come together: the rigor of operational change strengthened by the empathy of design and the expansiveness of foresight. That moment was transformative; I had found a way to unlock real transformation. So I became a futurist. 

Fast-forward 15 years. I recently joined the Creative Confidence podcast to share lessons in strategic foresight and better decision-making. 

During the course of the conversation, so many people wrote in with questions that we couldn’t answer them all. But I didn’t want to leave these insightful thoughts floating in the ether. Here are answers to some of the most intriguing. ‍

What do you see as the biggest misconception about futures thinking?

It is about making predictions. Futuring does not predict; instead, the focus is on imagining multiple plausible futures. It enables individuals, governments, and organizations to anticipate the various ways tomorrow can unfold so that they can either capture opportunities (going on offense) or prepare for risk (going on defense). What people often overlook is that futuring is primarily about building the capacity to live with uncertainty. The true value of futuring lies in cultivating adaptability and creativity in the face of change.

Can you tell a story of a time when futuring helped unlock an innovative solution? 

In 2024, IDEO partnered with KQED to reimagine the role of public media in a future shaped by rapidly evolving technologies and changing cultural habits. By combining human-centered design, strategy, and futuring, we helped KQED’s leadership surface tensions between their legacy of trusted journalism and the demands of an increasingly fragmented and personalized media landscape. By crafting narratives and artifacts from the future, participants envisioned a more participatory, interactive, and community-embedded role for KQED, as a dynamic presence across platforms and generations. The work evolved from future visioning into a strategy-building process that engaged voices across the organization, creating a bold new roadmap and a deeper sense of shared ownership, along with a nimble resiliency in shaping the future of public media.

What are some simple ways to facilitate a futuring session with non-designers or skeptics?

Success comes from making the future tangible and human. Instead of starting with abstract scenarios or long trend decks, begin with something familiar. I like to ask participants to imagine their birthday in 2040 or to write a headline about something that will happen in their community far into the future. These provocations lower the barrier to entry for futures thinking and spark imagination grounded in the familiar.

The key is to give people something they can react to. Prototypes, such as speculative artifacts or visual storyboards, help shift conversations from the theoretical to something people can actually experience. Futurists need to help people practice balancing multiple possibilities simultaneously, which is actually quite a difficult task. When people can see, touch, or even laugh about the future, they start to take ownership of the ideas, making futuring far more actionable.

How do you actually start a signal scanning practice? How do you bring it into your weekly routine or regular process? (Where do you look? How often? How do you track what you find?)

Starting a signal-scanning practice doesn’t need to be overwhelming—it just requires leaning into your own curiosity. Think of it as building a habit of paying attention to the edges of culture, technology, and behavior. Signals appear in unexpected places that feel a little unconventional or out of step with the mainstream, such as an experimental product launch, an emerging subculture, or a policy change in a small town that hints at something larger.

I often recommend weaving it into a weekly ritual. When I started futuring, I set aside 30 minutes every Friday to scan a handful of sources: news sites, academic journals, niche blogs, and social media. The point is not just to look at the usual suspects, but to stretch into places that spark your imagination. I find myself asking, What’s weird here? What’s new? What’s showing up that feels different? Who is benefiting from this? Now I tend to capture signals endlessly, but I still carve out time each Friday to explore them, look for patterns, and so on. In the past week alone, I have gathered signals in areas as broad as agentic AI payment protocols, outsourced “moms,” lab-grown spinal cord nerves, and virtual relationships-only AI dating apps.

Tracking is key for adding structure. Many teams use a tool like Figma to quickly capture what they’re seeing and gather signals together. The tricky part is that over time, signals become stale and need to be refreshed regularly, especially in areas where change occurs rapidly, like in technology and media. Having signals in a format that allows them to be easily viewed and moved around to combine with other signals is critical. It allows patterns to emerge across the collection, sparking insights and stories of possible futures. 

What kind of mindset shift do you need to become a future-ready organization?

A future-ready mindset embraces uncertainty as a resource to be explored rather than a threat to be minimized. You have to shift from a posture of certainty and control to one of curiosity, adaptability—and above all—organizational flexibility. Instead of anchoring on a single, short-term vision, leaders must help their organizations map out multiple plausible futures at once, building the nimbleness to pivot quickly, experiment with new pathways, and respond creatively across a range of possible scenarios.

How can teams move from being risk-averse to welcoming it?

They need to value experimentation as much as execution, and treat prototyping and testing as essential tools to become more proactive, flexible, and anticipatory.

How do you measure the ROI of futuring work—especially when outcomes are years away?

When people ask about the ROI of futuring, my instinct is to turn the question around. It's difficult to calculate ROI on something that hasn’t happened yet, but the cost of failing to anticipate change can be enormous. Kodak is the best example. The company actually invented the first digital camera in 1975, but failed to see how quickly digital photography would upend film. By clinging to its film-based business model, Kodak lost market dominance and became a cautionary tale.

Traditional ROI frameworks struggle here because strategic foresight isn’t about the yield of one project; it’s about building the organizational muscle to spot signals early, test ideas, and avoid expensive missteps. You measure it by looking at the risks you didn’t take, the dead ends you avoided, or the resilience you gained by having already prototyped tomorrow. Futuring pays for itself when leaders say, “We saw that coming, and we were able to pivot.”

What’s a future trend or shift you’re excited—or concerned—about today?

One of the shifts I find most fascinating right now is around aging, specifically, what happens to work and purpose as people move into what we’ve traditionally thought of as “retirement.” Futurists are seeing a wealth of signals about how people in their “golden” years are reimagining later life: seeking out new forms of community, finding ways to stay mentally active, and extending their financial participation.

The trends and drivers round out the plausibility. Global fertility rates are dropping, life expectancies are increasing, and economies will need older workers to remain in the workforce. These factors raise provocative questions: How do we design systems of lifelong learning? What does work look like if “retirement” is no longer a given? And what shifts in behavior and policy should we be making now if this is the direction our futures are headed? These are just some of the plausible futures I’m excited to continue exploring. 

How have you been using AI in your futuring process, and any cautionary notes?

AI can be a powerful amplifier in futuring. It can help scan vast amounts of content, pulling together trends from across industries and geographies that might otherwise go unnoticed. It can rapidly outline starter scenarios, artifact ideas, or speculative narratives that expand a creative range of what’s possible. When it is used alongside human-centered design, it can iterate on a futurist’s speculative images, prototypes, or interactive experiences that stakeholders can react to. AI is also well-suited to helping teams stress-test assumptions and edge cases. AI is frequently my research assistant, helping me organize and then chase down areas to explore.

However, there are significant limitations and risks associated with the use of AI in this space. AI reflects the bias of the data it’s trained on, which means it will always reproduce “used futures,” or outdated ideas about the future that resonated in the past but are no longer relevant. That data is the sum of its experience, so AI can also magnify well-documented content and underrepresent marginalized, edgy, or more local viewpoints. As a designer and futurist, it’s important not to outsource your imagination or creativity to AI, or treat the output of AI work as anything more than a prompt or starting point for human creativity and discussion. Futuring is ultimately about culture and values as much as it is about trends and technologies, so relying on AI risks stripping away the deeply human context that makes foresight meaningful.

If you’re curious to learn more about futuring and missed the Creative Confidence episode, you can find it here. If you’d like to work with us on a futuring project of your own, get in touch.

About 15 years ago, I stepped into the role of Managing Director for Innovation and Strategy at Kaiser Permanente. My remit was broad: performance improvement, innovation, and leadership and culture development.

‍

At IDEO’s Play Lab, Dreamforce serves as a reminder of how quickly technology evolves and shapes the world our kids are living in. It prompts us to consider what’s next for people, especially young learners growing up in an AI-shaped world, and how play can serve as a powerful tool for tackling complex, often intimidating challenges with curiosity and creativity.

So, when I learned that IDEO was partnering with Salesforce on a student-focused event ahead of this year’s Dreamforce, I jumped at the chance to speak with Dr. Ron C. Smith, Vice President of Philanthropy at Salesforce. The lifelong educator and Bay Area native leads Salesforce’s global education philanthropy team, directing millions of dollars in strategic philanthropic investments to build AI literacy through public school education around the US. While some worry that AI will replace jobs, Smith is an optimist; he sees AI’s potential to unlock new interests and career opportunities. His team’s role? Preparing today’s young people to be educated and ethical AI consumers and creators so they can step into their still-being-imagined future careers—and training the adults who teach them along the way. I spoke with Dr. Smith about how to help young people thrive in a future that’s still taking shape, and why optimism, access, and play will matter more than ever.

Keren Ruth Wong: You were a former Network Superintendent at Oakland Unified School District and a classroom teacher, and now you’re leading philanthropic giving at one of the world’s largest tech companies. With your background, I imagine you have an interesting perspective on what a valuable partnership with public schools looks like.

Dr. Ron C. Smith:  For 20 years, I worked as a teacher, then principal, and then led schools and managed school transformations. Then, eight years ago, I joined Salesforce. At the heart of everything we do at Salesforce are the young people we serve, ages 13 to 22, and the teachers, counselors, principals, and superintendents who work with them.

Technologically speaking, the world we live in has changed so much. And I know it continues to change. We used to have a sense of what tech jobs are out there, but that’s all changing so quickly. I know some students feel discouraged because I often hear, “There aren’t any jobs,” but that’s actually not true. A lot of new and diverse industries are seeking tech talent, including gaming and medical and education technology, among others. On top of that, there’s what AI can offer. These types of jobs are perfect for the young people we work with. They’re not afraid of technology. They understand the concept of working across different learning modalities. People tell kids, “Oh, you have to be a doctor or lawyer,” which are great professions, but there are other paths; they’re just not recognized as careers yet.

For far too long, there has been a strange disconnect. There’s been education on one side, and the workforce on the other. But actually, there’s a through-line from education to training and skill development to a career. When you think about it like that, you can ask how to get the right resources to support that continuum. Our goal at Salesforce is to identify and support nonprofits and educational institutions that serve young people who are furthest from success, empower them, provide career counseling and mentoring, and enable them to navigate society’s uncertainties. Salesforce is not going to solve every problem, but by working with great partners like IDEO and Formula One, among others, who engage and inspire students, we can be stepping stones to change and be part of the overall solution.

‍
Keren Ruth Wong: Salesforce made a very specific choice to focus on AI education grants and AI fluency. What was behind that decision?

Dr. Ron C. Smith: AI has been around for a while, but it has only become a mainstream topic in the last two years. At that time, my team and I took a step back and embarked on a listening tour with our nonprofits and partners. We asked them, “Where do you see your work intersecting with AI now and in the future? What are your needs, and where can we support?” We discovered three things.

One: The nonprofits that focus on work and skills training said, “We need to start training young people earlier.” Two: Our partners in the education system said, “We need more support, more training, and more access for educators helping our young people dream about their future careers.” And three: everyone is preparing our young people for unknown careers. Because at the time—and even now—no one says, “I got an AI job!” What is an AI job, anyway? They’re still being created. So, we were intentional about considering partners that focus on AI literacy and fluency, specifically. That means knowing how to use AI safely and ethically, as well as being able to be an AI creator. Having that concrete baseline gives everyone a fairer starting point.

What we also knew was that we couldn’t wait. Now’s the time to invest, especially for the young people we serve, because if we waited until everybody’s ready and felt great about AI, we’d already be behind the eight ball. The education system works notoriously slowly. It just is what it is. We’re saying: let’s take a chance. What we don’t want is for our partners to wait and stay stagnant, potentially pushing those young people who are already behind further behind as they prepare for their futures. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity to engage, invest, and partner with school systems, nonprofits, and all stakeholders involved in public education.

Keren Ruth Wong: It sounds like co-creation between you, the nonprofits, and the students. You’re deciding and preparing together for whatever the jobs might be, five, 10, or 15 years from now. 

Dr. Ron C. Smith: One hundred percent. It’s also about working with school leadership. During our listening tour, we invited superintendents from our partner districts, Oakland and San Francisco, as well as superintendents, CEOs, chancellors, and executive directors from across the country, to share their initial thoughts on the role they saw AI playing in their school systems. Our goal was twofold. We wanted to learn what types of training and skills they needed, so we could find partners that could provide that. Then, we wanted to know how they, as leaders, were building AI into their overall infrastructure. Because it’s one thing for leaders to say they want to do something. It’s another if they make AI part of their overall goal, mission, and strategic plan. 

Keren Ruth Wong: As a former teacher, you were in the classroom when laptops, smart boards, and other technologies were introduced. What makes AI feel different—if it does—than any other wave of classroom technology?

Dr. Ron C. Smith: I mean, I started in the classroom with chalk. There are young people who’ve never touched chalk!

Computers, the internet, interactive smart boards: they’re all tools. They’re about accessing information. The thing that’s different about AI is that it’s interactive and personalized. You can ask deep questions, have a conversation, and get information about something that’s specifically for you, not just “What’s the capital of Montana?” When you’re talking to Claude, Perplexity, or Gemini, it’s as if you’re talking to a friend. It feels more personal and intimate—less like a tool and more like a partner or assistant. And it’s just getting stronger and wiser because it has more information. The better the questions asked of it, the more meaningful the partnership that can be developed between the AI and the human, which is key. I keep hearing this phrase, “It’s not AI leading humans to an answer, it’s humans leading AI to an answer.” We need to help young people develop the skills to ask better, deeper questions.

Keren Ruth Wong: What role does critical thinking play in helping students have intelligible, meaningful conversations with AI?

‍Dr. Ron C. Smith: When you think about reading and writing, you’re using critical skills like inference, drawing conclusions, and summarizing. Those same skills are needed when working with AI. Asking AI a simple question can get you basic information. That’s level one. What you can get by Googling. If you want to go to level three, four, or five—really go deep—you have to be able to summarize, draw an inference from the answer, rephrase, and ask it to try it another way.

I recall writing my dissertation. My editor said, “Ron, remember, it goes: good, crap, good, crap, good, crap. The second you realize every other sentence or thought is not good, you’re going to get better.” It’s the same with asking AI questions. The more you engage, the better questions you learn to ask, and the more you start to process what your own ideas are. The young people in the future who can ask the right questions will get ahead faster, and likely stay ahead of those who simply tell AI, “Find me the best restaurant.”

Keren Ruth Wong: Tech is moving so quickly. It feels like the conversation is more technology-led and technology-driven, rather than human-centered. What keeps you optimistic these days? 

Dr. Ron C. Smith: For me, it’s humans and technology working together. It’s not a war game! It’s the next evolution of a technology that’s been around for a while. We can’t be afraid of change. 

At the same time—and this is the part we must take to heart—if those who are furthest from success don’t have access to the same tools of change, the gaps that already exist will become chasms. These kids will be left behind and never catch up. And that’s something that we, as a society, should not let happen. We should be pushing everyone forward. 

Keren Ruth Wong: It’s heartening to hear that the conversations you’re having with different stakeholders in the education system are informing where Salesforce grant dollars go, eventually impacting what jobs are created and what the future looks like.   

Dr. Ron C. Smith: Look, my team is amazing. We all come to our work with deep knowledge and experience. Despite this, we believe we should never tell those who are part of the education system what to do. They should tell us what they want, and then we need to agree on how to support that. If we go in with an idea, saying, “This is what’s gonna work,” most nonprofits or education systems that are starving for resources will say yes to the money, then change the idea to meet their needs. A better, more effective path is to say, “Let’s partner. Come up with an idea that aligns with both our strategies and goals.” Now, you’re building together. 

‍Keren Ruth Wong: Are there any programs or grantees that you’re particularly excited about?

Dr. Ron C. Smith: Yes! aiEDU will be leading one of the AI sessions for the students we’ll be hosting at IDEO. They’re an amazing group. Not only do they offer AI literacy training for young people, but they also train and empower educators and school leaders to use AI tools. They understand that having a strong pedagogy to dive deep into the tools is different than using them. Having that back and forth is awesome.

Another group that will be part of our IDEO event is the Hidden Genius Project, based in Oakland. What we like about them is that they engage in a lot of hands-on learning with computers, 3D printing, and other technologies. They’re trying to infuse AI into all of their work. 

Those are just two of our high-quality partners. There are so many more.

Keren Ruth Wong: It’s been such a pleasure speaking with you. Any final thoughts? 

‍Dr. Ron C. Smith: This sounds like the start of a Star Trek episode, but we cannot be afraid of the future. Let’s play together, work together, and figure out how to drive change for those who are in greatest need.

Looking to use AI to shape the future of work and learning? Get in touch. We'd love to help.

If you live in San Francisco, like I do, October is synonymous with Dreamforce, Salesforce’s annual mega conference that gathers hundreds of thousands of technology professionals—both in-person and online—to hear about the latest advances in AI.

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By creating microbe and bio-based materials that are both durable and beautiful, it’s proving that circularity and innovation can go hand in hand, and that the future of materials can be one of abundance and delight.

Hydefy’s model is in line with IDEO’s thinking—that we can make a far bigger impact on climate if our products are sustainable, yes, but more importantly, more desirable. I’m inspired by the way Hydefy is reshaping what’s possible, not just in fashion but in how we think about the everyday things we touch and use.

Recently, I sat down with Rachel Lee, Hydefy’s General Manager, to hear more of the story behind the work. From her career spanning BCG and the Gates Foundation, to her leadership guiding Hydefy from scrappy experiments to a Paris runway debut with Stella McCartney, Lee has unlocked a method for building breakthrough solutions.

We chatted just before Climate Week NYC 2025, where Stella McCartney was honored with a “Fashion Steward” award at the first-ever NAT Gala for her pioneering role in fashion sustainability, including the use of more eco-friendly materials such as Hydefy in her collections.  

Keren Ruth Wong: I’ve admired your work for a long time, both as someone who also works in the innovation space and as a dear friend, so this is a really cool opportunity. Would you mind starting by telling us a little more about Hydefy, and how it’s different?

Rachel Lee: At Hydefy, we create high-performing, planet-friendly biomaterials. We utilize nature-derived inputs to produce textiles and leather alternatives that minimize our reliance on animals and fossil fuels. The materials we are initially commercializing—the ones featured this year in Stella McCartney’s Paris Fashion Show Spring/Summer collection—use fermentation of sugarcane inputs and a microbe from Yellowstone National Park. That’s the connective tissue to Nature’s Fynd, the parent company that utilizes the same microbe, called “Fy,” to create alternative meat and dairy protein products. Both Hydefy and Nature’s Fynd are part of the Fynder Group. We’re both interested in creating new solutions for consumers that have a lower environmental footprint.

Keren Ruth Wong: So there’s this microbe-based alternative material. And now you’re looking at many different applications, whether it’s across both food and consumer products, is that right?

Rachel Lee: Yes. We started with Nature’s Fynd, where we created meat and dairy alternatives that we commercialized nationwide, mostly through Whole Foods Market. Those initial offerings truly represent the ethos of what we’re working on: delicious and nutritious products with lower environmental footprints. I joined the company to work specifically on biomaterials because there was a rising interest on the retail side around these new types of sustainable innovations and textiles. There were no other commercial options available, actually, when we started working on it.

‍Keren Ruth Wong: When we look at other products or materials on the market that are alternatives to leather, what are those typically made of? How are they different from the material you’re working on and the material that ended up being used in the Stella McCartney bag?

Rachel Lee: Most of the vegan leathers that you see in the market are made from polyurethane or polyvinyl chloride, so they’re essentially plastic, which means, in addition to using fossil fuel resources, there are also potential health implications, depending on what type of inputs went into it. We’re trying to give consumers a third category of options that don’t rely on animals or petroleum.

Keren Ruth Wong: Let’s go back to you and your rich career journey. You didn’t start out focused on sustainable products. You’ve gone from BCG to Gates to biotech entrepreneurship with Hydefy and Nature’s Fynd. What’s the throughline that connects these experiences for you? 

Rachel Lee: The connecting theme throughout has always been the mission of the organization, or a particular passion or problem that I want to contribute to. This has served as my North Star, particularly in relation to natural resources and equity.

I became interested in the innovation and biomaterial space, in particular, because while my work at the Gates Foundation allocating resources was extremely important, I also wanted to be a part of creating new solutions. I believe that’s what’s needed for meaningful change for the next generation. So my desire to create more options for consumers led me to Nature’s Fynd and Hydefy. I definitely do not have a formal materials science background, but I think it shows that sheer enthusiasm and passion can really go a long way!

Keren Ruth Wong: Can you tell me a bit about what’s gone on behind the scenes at Hydefy? What were some unexpected changes in direction or pivots that ended up being really interesting or beneficial for the company?

Rachel Lee: The sustainability landscape is constantly changing. Initially, we responded to brand requests because we wanted to make our customers happy. Eventually, we decided that we can’t just be swayed by whatever the new flavor of sustainability is that year. We needed to be intentional, take a stand based on our principles, do something that we feel good about, and build a business around that.

One big decision: we fundamentally changed the process and formulation halfway through. We started with a more traditional, tanning-like process, similar to the one used for animal hides. We would grow these sheets of microbe and bio-based materials and use different chemistries to achieve what tanning traditionally does: making the raw material stable, durable, and giving it a nice hand feel, among other benefits. However, we realized we were trying to play the game that a traditional industry is based on. Ultimately, we needed to leapfrog that. 

To truly have an impact, we also needed to be able to handle volume. So when we took a step back and thought about what would enable that, and also play to our competitive advantage and strength of being based in the US (a lot of the best tanneries and equipment are in Europe), we decided to redesign the whole process so it actually doesn’t look anything like leather processing. Thanks to the brilliant scientists on our team, who have cross-functional backgrounds in other industries, we now utilize plastics industry equipment used to produce materials such as flooring and laminates. 

So, that was the big pivot. There were trade-offs because some properties that high-end luxury companies valued were more feasible with the older process. It was an intentional decision to adopt a more scalable process that would enable us to serve a broader audience and, ultimately, relocate anywhere, as the equipment we use is widely used globally in manufacturing.  

Keren Ruth Wong: I would love to hear more about the early days at Hydefy. What it was like just to lead your team through trying to produce a breakthrough, both in terms of product and process. I’m sure there were a few moments of scrappiness.

Rachel Lee: “Scrappy” is the greatest compliment. With any early-stage startup, it’s critical to prototype quickly, de-risk at each stage in an iterative manner, generate proof of concepts that will convince investors to provide additional funding, and be able to hire talented people. In hindsight, scrappiness went beyond extending our runway and increasing ROI. I think the biggest lesson we took away from those early, scrappy days was the importance of team culture and mindset. The positive, compounding effect of a “can-do” spirit has propelled us forward, even as the stakes and our lab continue to grow and become more professional. To this day, it’s our greatest asset.

Another effective practice at Hydefy was creating a flat hierarchy. We have a culture that encourages every person to contribute—and contribute beyond what their role might traditionally allow. Because when you’re navigating new scientific breakthroughs, you can’t just follow an existing playbook and have a former fermentation engineer and a former F35 fighter jet scientist do the same things they did at their last jobs. Everyone has to think a little out of the box. I don’t think traditional manager-led team meetings and processes would have gotten us there.

People often discuss team culture, but I think the reason it’s been a superpower is beyond making it fun to go to work every day, which is special in a hybrid work world. It’s also a smart business decision. A solid team culture means you have good retention, low to minimal turnover, and very few HR issues. Because, at the end of the day, every company issue is essentially a people issue.

Keren Ruth Wong: I want to get a little bit more into the product itself, particularly because it made such a big splash earlier this year on the Paris runway. Can you tell us, in a few sentences, about the bag you created in collaboration with Stella McCartney?

Rachel Lee: The crossbody bag is part of Stella McCartney’s newest Ryder collection. She unveiled it at her Spring/Summer 2025 runway show in Paris. Stella McCartney is a vegan brand, so they already use a lot of vegan materials—predominantly polyurethane leathers. We’re one of their few suppliers of next-gen materials. The brand has been an innovative leader, consistently showcasing as many natural and sustainable materials as possible. We created a custom color for them: silver metallic. It was a very interesting collaboration—a new design, featuring a new material, in a new color.

Keren Ruth Wong: I want to do some myth-busting here. I think that we often view vegan leathers as being somewhat inferior to luxury animal leathers. To me, as an outsider, it’s remarkable that you were able to collaborate with such a renowned fashion and luxury brand as Stella McCartney. Yes, it’s a vegan brand, but how did you convince them that a mushroom-based material could be aspirational, desirable, and luxurious? 

Rachel Lee: Our strategy of working with luxury partners and brands is very attractive for a number of reasons. It creates a feeling that these materials are aspirational, rather than inferior. In this case, there was synergy because many European luxury brands have incentives to adopt these types of materials due to the upcoming 2030 emissions targets. From a business perspective, it makes sense. Luxury brands also have the highest standards, because their items are expected to last much longer than typical fast-fashion purchases. This means the development timeline may actually be longer if innovators were to target the luxury brands, which is a bit of a risk.

When Hydefy got started, there were maybe three other companies tackling alternative leather. Now, there are over 70. Novelty will only get you so far. For a product to endure, it needs to have a unique feature, value, performance, or something that goes beyond. In our case, we anchored on performance attributes and durability. With other products in our pipeline, we offer not only performance and durability but also customized aesthetics and optical effects, providing designers with something new. When the economy is strong, sustainability may be of interest on its own. When the economy’s not doing well, some of the first things to go are R&D, sustainability, or other nice-to-haves that don’t directly contribute to the company’s P&L and performance in the short term. It becomes even more important to have product features that go beyond traditional options.

Environmental regulation is really interesting because it changes the baseline. At a certain point, the base materials that manufacturers work with may no longer be viable, in which case they might have to scramble to find other options sooner rather than later. Personally, I would not build a whole business that relies on a specific regulation being passed within a certain time frame, because we have seen how unpredictable that can be. However, if new innovators are considering which materials to pursue within the biomaterial space, regulation is worth examining, as it can completely alter the rules of the business overnight.

Keren Ruth Wong: Ultimately, the breakthrough product isn’t just going to last because it’s shiny and new. It has to be attractive enough to sustain a business.

Rachel Lee: Totally. And it needs to align with the metrics that your customers care about. In our case, there are multiple “nested” customers. There are designers who value a material’s novelty, aesthetics, performance, and so on. Then, there are the strategy and sustainability teams, which focus on risk mitigation and carbon emissions. A material needs to be able to compete on all the factors. It’s a complex ecosystem of decisions.

Keren Ruth Wong: So, Climate Week NYC is underway, and Stella McCartney is being honored for her sustainability leadership. What does it mean to you to see a brand you work with be recognized this way?

Rachel Lee: Stella McCartney is not only at the forefront of publicly advocating for more sustainable practices and influencing key decision-makers, but also acts on her words by collaborating with numerous companies, such as Hydefy, as well as with some of our peers, who are working on equally exciting, bio-based, next-generation materials. It underscores the crucial importance of partnerships among like-minded individuals and groups in driving change forward.

Keren Ruth Wong: Looking ahead, what does success look like for Hydefy, whether it’s in fashion or any other categories? Where might Hydefy be making headlines next? 

Rachel Lee: There’s, of course, the typical business success around other collaborations we’re working on, which, hopefully, we can talk about soon. And then there’s thinking about our next wave of products. We’re continually striving to enhance our materials, making them stronger, softer, and more sustainable. 

But success is not just about our bottom line. For me, success would be if we encourage new innovators to enter this space. Or, if more brands adopt some of these materials. Or, more importantly, if we can shift traditional companies, such as large tanneries or chemical companies that produce plastic to develop more sustainable products. If some of the major manufacturers adopt greener chemistry, that will truly have an impact. Hopefully, Hydefy and other innovators in this space will demonstrate that there’s demand for creating more nature-friendly alternatives to the mostly petroleum-based ones, and move everyone forward.

Keren Ruth Wong: If you could wave a magic wand and change how the world thinks about materials, what would you wish for? 

Rachel Lee: First and foremost, I would want us to think about materials more. Whether it’s the laptop that we’re working on or the clothes we’re wearing, where are these materials coming from, and where are they going in their afterlife? Once we start thinking through these questions, I want us to evolve in how we think about the cost and value of these materials. The true value of a material should encompass its lifetime value, durability, circularity, carbon footprint, and impact on human well-being throughout the supply chain. My hope is that we can start moving away from a system that views materials as commodities and begin to appreciate them for their true value, which I believe is the precursor to any meaningful change.

Looking to create desirable sustainable products or businesses? Get in touch. We’d love to help.

In a world where buying “sustainable” products can often feel like a compromise (too expensive, not well designed, not the right aesthetic), the Chicago-based materials company Hydefy is taking a radically different approach.

I help organizations cut through complexity by shaping how they show up, through brand strategy, identity, and storytelling.

Working at the intersection of brand and business, I bring an editorial eye and a bias toward making—turning ideas into tangible experiences that people can understand, trust, and believe in.

My work spans government, healthcare, financial services, media, and consumer goods, from launching Gen Z-focused ventures to building innovation labs and reimagining legacy brands. I relish moments of ambiguity and enjoy translating across teams, perspectives, and priorities to move ideas forward.

I started my career in editorial and digital design, shaping cross-platform experiences and identity systems in publishing and agency environments. That foundation still shapes how I work today: I’m detail-oriented, collaborative, and overreliant on the Oxford comma. I hold a BFA in Visual Communication from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

For 25 years, I've asked the same question: Who does this design exclude—and what are we going to do about it?

My work spans human-centered strategy, inclusive design, and qualitative research, with clients ranging from Microsoft, Google, and Verizon to the National Science Foundation, and San Francisco Unified School District.

Before IDEO, I taught elementary school in East Palo Alto and spent a decade doing design work with social service organizations—where I learned firsthand what it costs people when systems are built without them in mind.

I am currently writing User Error, a nonfiction book about digital access and the design decisions behind it. I live in Oakland, California.

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My expertise spans brand, communication, and product design across tech, education, the arts, and social impact.

I believe great work demands both high-level vision and obsessive attention to detail, and only happens through collaboration.

I bring an inclusive, hands-on approach and a deep understanding of business, which enables me to consistently deliver excellence while always asking why.

Before joining IDEO, I worked at the brand firms Pentagram and VSA Partners. I began my career as a designer, leading teams at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Milwaukee Art Museum. I hold an MFA in graphic design from Maryland Institute College of Art and a BFA in communication design from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, and have taught at some of the best design schools in the US.

I am responsible for IDEO’s long-term success in China and working with clients to use design as a tool to enable growth. Specifically, I have helped Chinese companies design holistic brand solutions through the development of their products, communication, services, and innovation teams, and I have helped multinationals expand their presence and influence in China.

I advise global leaders on developing China-led innovation and capabilities.

In over 15 years in IDEO Shanghai, I have worked on projects that use design to elevate the quality of the experience of healthcare products and services, streamline processes that increase productivity, create spaces and programs that promote and enable inclusive communities, and build next generation mobility solutions that are planet-positive.

Before joining IDEO, I worked at Philips Electronics and the Electrolux Group in Italy, the Netherlands, and Singapore on a number of breakthrough commercial products. I am a member of the Young President Organization in Shanghai.

Most AI products today are built for work—a space with clear problems and established systems. One founder noticed a gap: personal life is messier, harder to systematize, and mostly left behind by the AI boom. So she built Cue, a personal AI that lives inside iMessage and group chats, to go where the other tools haven't.

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In this episode, Becca Carroll, IDEO's Chief Strategy Officer, talks with Sida Li, co-founder and CEO of Shared Context Lab, about staying anchored to a human need while the technology around her keeps changing shape, why she treats her business model with the same rigor she'd bring to a product, and what it feels like to build a company at this particular, disorienting moment in AI.

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The conversation also gets into how Sida makes design decisions: the language Cue uses to describe itself, the tradeoffs behind building inside iMessage instead of a new app, and a real story about a business idea that didn’t pan out.

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This is the second in a two-part series profiling founders from IDEO's Startups-in-Residence program. The first conversation is with Johannes Seemann, founder of Sooner, on designing GenAI for the emotional side of money.

Most personal financial tools are built to run the numbers and optimize towards a budget. While that works for some, most people experience money as a lived relationship that does not neatly fit into a spreadsheet. Johannes Seemann and Becca Carroll discuss why money is emotional before it is mathematical, and what a human-centered approach to building a generative AI financial product looks like in practice.

Mina Seetharaman talks with Scott Shigeoka, author of Seek and Head of Curiosity Cultivation at the Eames Institute, about what distinguishes genuinely curious leadership from performative curiosity, how power dynamics shape curiosity, and why practicing curiosity can restore energy rather than drain it.

Mina Seetharaman talks with David Epstein, author of Inside the Box and Range, about why total freedom often produces average work, how leaders can design useful limits on purpose, and what organizations such as General Magic and Pixar reveal about the relationship between boundaries and creativity.