The latest candidate in our series of Q&As with influential women in the technology business is Yoobin Lee, CEO & Co-founder, Quip Medical, an intelligence layer for medical billing.
Name: Yoobin Lee
Job Title & Company: CEO & Co-founder, Quip Medical
Years in the Industry: 2 Years
The Quote That Most Inspires You: “Survive long enough to get lucky.” (Source unknown)
What drew you to a career in the consumer and/or business technology industry?
Having witnessed the problem first-hand, I wanted to fix a broken system one element at a time, so we started with billing. As a medical student, I never dreamt of starting my own company, but here we are!
Have you encountered any roadblocks along the way that were related to your gender?
I’ve been very fortunate to find strong support as a woman founder, whether that be in the form of female-focused accelerators, investment funds, champions, or programs like The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch, which creates more access, visibility and support for women entrepreneurs. It’s always been highlighted as a strength in the ecosystem, not a roadblock. I have, however, experienced a number of roadblocks related to my youth, the perceived inexperience of which may have been exacerbated by my gender. But I wouldn’t personally identify this as a roadblock.
What unique characteristics or perspective do you feel you bring to your organization as a woman?
I’m not sure if this is specific to my identity as a woman, but I do find that my approach to entrepreneurship has been less “pushy.” We’re often told that we need to demonstrate revenue growth “no matter what.” But I believe in building a foundation of relationships and trust with the customers in the earlier stages, and the revenue has followed (in a much more sustainable way).
Technology is historically a male-dominated industry, yet the use of tech is fully embraced by women, and many studies even suggest that females are the primary buyers of tech in the home. What do you feel the technology industry needs to attract more women, particularly into high-level positions?
Women have the ambition and the grit to penetrate the technology industry and achieve high-level positions (without a doubt). Historically, the infrastructure wasn’t designed to welcome women with these ambitions into the industry, which deterred women from climbing the corporate ladders in these fields. With more recent changes, I’m certain that much of the attraction has already started to blossom and we’ll see the tangible changes in the years to come. From the policy side of things, better support for maternal/paternal leave would certainly reduce certain barriers.
If you had to sum up what it is like being a woman in this male-dominated technology industry in just a few words, what would you say?
Empowering.
Are there women in the tech industry who inspire you?
TONS. Lindy Ledohowski, Julia Elvidge, Katrina Foster, Yvette Wu, Dolma Tsundu, Alida Burke.
What are some of the misconceptions/myths about women working in the technology space that you’d like to dispel?
That women can’t be great CEOs and great mothers too. I know tons of women who excel at both.
What’s one thing you wish was done differently in the industry, and why?
Small talk conversations, but that’s just because I’m not a fan of small talk.
How do you feel the latest shift to AI will impact the way you do your job and opportunities for women in the industry?
I’m excited to see how it increases our efficiency in the industry. Coding was a massive barrier for women without a technical background to enter the tech industry. With AI, the doors are wide open.
Are you optimistic for the future in general and for the industry?
Delusion and stubborn grit made me believe I could start and scale a startup in med school and it’s gotten me this far. Maybe it’s more delusion or maybe it’s pure optimism, but I’d like to believe that if we all build something to make the world a bit better than it used to be, we can create something pretty special.