Most high-performing women believe they are coping. The data tells a different story. In this episode, Di Gillett sits down with Jane Smorodnikova, founder and CEO of Welltory: the world's first consumer app to use heart rate variability (HRV) to measure stress, energy and recovery in real time - to have the conversation that every woman running on empty needs to hear.
From building a 16-million-user global platform without institutional funding, to navigating the physiological cost of chronic stress as a female founder, Jane brings both the science and the lived experience. This is an evidence-based, boundary-pushing conversation about what is really happening inside the female nervous system, and what the data reveals when we stop lying to ourselves.
We explore:
• How Jane built a 16-million-user platform to profitability without Silicon Valley backing
• The personal cost of founder stress and what Jane believes triggered early perimenopause signs
• Why women experience stress differently - the 'tend and befriend' response versus fight or flight
• What signals high-performing women consistently ignore and how long the nervous system can compensate before it forces a reset
• Heart rate variability explained in plain language and why it is a more powerful measure than steps, calories or hours slept
• How HRV shifts during perimenopause and menopause, and why so many women in midlife are misdiagnosed
• The role of AI in personal health - where it genuinely helps and where caution is essential
• Who really owns your biometric data — and what happens to it when investors get involved
• Jane's daily non-negotiables for her nervous system and her one metric every woman should prioritise over productivity and weight
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Who is Jane Smorodnikova?
Jane Smorodnikova is the founder and CEO of Welltory, the world's first consumer app to use heart rate variability to help everyday people understand their stress, energy and recovery in real time. Jane took a clinical metric once reserved for elite athletes and military performance labs and turned it into a daily decision-making tool now used by over 16 million people globally. She built Welltory to profitability without institutional venture capital, navigating Silicon Valley scepticism and the very real physiological cost of high-stakes leadership.
Find Jane at:
Website https://welltory.com/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/smorodnikova/?skipRedirect=true
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/welltory/
Connect with Di & engage with Power Of Women:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/di-gillett-power-of-women/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/power_of_women_podcast/
Contact https://powerofwomen.com.au/contact/
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Credits:
Audio Editing + Sound Design: Daryl Missen – https://vinilo.com.au/
Executive Producer: George Donikian: https://www.donikianmedia.com.au/
Disclaimer: https://powerofwomen.com.au/podcast-disclaimer/
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