Influential Woman · FemHealth

Rabia Malik

Founder | Product Architect, JennABytes

Miami, FL

2Years experience

1Award received

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Bachelor's in Broadcast Journalism from University of Nevada Degree Las Vegas (UNLV) Degree Master's in Design and Technology with minor in Ethnography from Parsons Degree The New School in New York Member Entreprenesta League Member Old Girls Club Member EMERGE Americas (Miami tech accelerator) Member Northeastern in Miami (accelerator) Member ALICE (A-L-I-S Member San Francisco accelerator)

Her Story

About Rabia

I work for myself as the Founder of Jenna Bytes, which provides bite-sized health content for young girls. The idea is less than a year old, but we've moved pretty fast. We got a chance to present it at a big conference and won first place. Now we have our first users, and within weeks we've launched both a parent product and a girls' product. I come from 17 years of product design, which includes user experience, user interface, and software architecture. I design apps and video games and software for companies. My biggest strength is knowing who the user is and building a product for them. I focus on human-centered design with emphasis on AI ethics, because everybody is using AI now, so we have to make sure that it's ethical and made with human-centered design thought process so people know how to use it well. The product design work is under a separate name called Innov8er (I-N-O-V-8-E-R). That's more of what I've done for 17 years for companies and software like CBS Sports where I designed their fantasy football app, and Affirm, which is a buy now, pay later app that I got onto Amazon. But my baby is Jenna Bytes. I wanted to make sure that this gets in the hands of girls and moms. For Jenna Bytes, I had to go make community for, I would say, 13 years. I made a women's community from the miscarriage that I had, the patented bra that I made. After 13 years, those women, when they started having daughters in the right age range, they are now on board. They're all signing up with the waitlist because I made a community.

Quick Facts

IndustryFemHealth
Based inMiami, FL
Specialty FemHealth, Product Design, User Experience
- User Interface
- Software Architecture
- Human-Centered Design
- AI Ethics
Volunteers with Daily $25 donations to UNICEF, World Health Organization, And food banks

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Rabia

01What do you attribute your success to?

I think I would say life instances. Just real world hardships that come in, and I think mentors in my life in the last 5 years have made me realize not to look at it as 'why me' but 'what do I get out of this, and how do I move forward?' I've learned to reframe challenges as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles to overcome.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

In the last week, I spoke to the founder of Rocket Money in this latest accelerator that I'm a part of. I think his biggest advice was to think about how you're going to change at least one person's life outside of you. And if it's something that you can solve for yourself and that person, you've succeeded in life. So just think about one other person, that's it. This really resonated with me because it shifts the focus from personal gain to meaningful impact.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I love that question. I would say go make a community. My biggest thing that I can say after 17 years is you know exactly who you are, and if you're still trying to figure out some ideas or how to make it real, find people that are like-minded. Join communities online. Go and talk to people in real life. Because the minute you have a community, they will support you no matter what you decide to make or what step you take. Always find mentors. With Jenna Bytes, I had to go make community for, I would say, 13 years. I made a women's community from the miscarriage that I had, the patented bra that I made. After 13 years, those women, when they started having daughters in the right age range, they are now on board. They're all signing up with the waitlist because I made a community.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

I would say, because I work in tech, the challenges are this misconception that AI is ruining everything, or that it's taking over our lives. I would say that, actually, AI can't do anything without us, women, humans. So hold on and realize what that niche is that you can bring to the world. Yes, it might automate a lot of simple, basic things, but do you actually want to spend your life doing that? No. Find that niche that makes you who you are, and now the trends are changing. The more human you can be, the more human interactions you can make, the more you'll succeed and sell, so don't be scared. The world's not ending.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

Something that was said recently by a female was just always remembering to stay honest, and as long as you do it with an honest heart, it's karma. It will always come back with great benefits. But if you try to go in there and you're like, I'm gonna sneak my way, I'm gonna sly my way, or I'm gonna try to sell something and then see if somebody bites, it doesn't work out. Do it with an honest heart. Good karma will come your way, and you will succeed.

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