Last week was crazy for CLUE co-founder Ida Tin - she went to NYC to meet investors and raise money for her female health app, delved into the first module of a fun - and scary, year-long course on sex, before calling it off in London for a panel talk on digital innovation. The hardest part? Being away from her young kids - who used to join in for investors’ meetings back in the bootstrapping days of CLUE, but are now hanging out with Ida’s boyfriend whilst she is away on business.

‘Did you check if I had sex the night before?’ the interviewer asks...

CLUE collects data from its female user base: periods, sex life, and so on. ‘Did you check if I had sex the night before?’ the interviewer asks. They happen to be a loyal user of the app. ‘No, I would never do that - I couldn’t even have access to such data’, Ida responds. When pressed about invasion of privacy and ‘the flow of data’ - a concept Ida brings up heavily, the CLUE founder is firm ‘I wouldn’t go there. I wouldn’t like myself if I did that’. Her fans and CLUE users must be thrilled at the sight of such strong moral compass.

Ida’s story is as much inspiring, as it is relatable for anyone familiar with the world of entrepreneurs. Yes, she watches Silicon Valley (‘it’s embarrassingly real’). She did meet her angel investor in an unexpected way (a hippie dance event) - and, unsurprisingly, her upbringing had a lot to do with Ida’s present start-up success (artist parents who fostered her dream to create).

... she did meet her angel investor in an unexpected way - a hippie dance event.

What can you learn from Ida’s story and the rise of her disruptive business? That resilience and a flexible mindset in the face of adversity can get you through anything. If Ida managed to survive and triumph getting fired from her first job with KPMG the night before she actually started (‘shitty corporate things’), not being a clear executor at all, and navigating as a generally ‘flat ocean’ person, then so can you! She claims the team you assemble should complement you, bring balance to the equation (‘not too many drama people, not too many quiet ones’), and - you guessed it - be genuinely passionate about the business.

Make sure to give our podcast below a good listen (there’s more great gems Ida shared with us), and do join the Factory Berlin community for more inspiring Fireside Chats to follow, the cool community we’re building for you, and our Instagrammable campuses that will make your start-up journey truly memorable (and get you some cool likes along the way!).