Her Story
About Sarai
Throughout my adult life, I explored many different career paths including apartment leasing, fine dining, aviation, and lab work, always feeling like I was meant for something bigger. A defining moment came when my managing director spit her gum in my hand at the hospital, and I realized I needed to pursue building something of my own. I decided to take a course with MIT on designing and building AI products and services, where I learned their whole technique and approach to AI and their research. What excites me about this field is that it touches on science - borrowing language from geology and biology with neural networks - which helped everything click for me as a former science major. I'm in a good spot because I'm still asking the right questions that many people aren't asking. People want to come in with an idea of a technology and bring it into a space where they need to first determine if they even have the need for it, if it's actually going to solve a problem, or if it's going to end up costing them more money. I'm currently working on my website, trying to make it look approachable because a lot of the AI stuff out there looks very techy. I want to primarily work with small business owners like my dad and my sister who have small businesses, so I'm trying to make my own mark and divert from that techy feel to make it more approachable. The strategy, the design, everything that I enjoy is in this field, and the thing right now is trying to keep up with it, which is part of the fun because you have to stay competitive.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sarai
01What do you attribute your success to?
Success, for me, has always come down to one thing: refusing to quit. I am driven by a need to create real impact, and that drive is fueled by a genuine love of learning. Not just professionally, but deeply personal learning about human behavior, psychology, systems, and communication. I have always been someone who chases answers. When something does not make sense to me, I do not move on until it does. That relentlessness is what has carried me through every career shift, every uncomfortable starting point, and ultimately into a field where asking the right questions is the most valuable thing you can offer.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I ever received was simple: follow your own direction. There are many ways to reach the same destination, and your path does not have to mirror anyone else's. In fact, the unconventional route often gives you a perspective that others simply do not have. That has proven true throughout my entire career. I did not arrive at AI through a traditional path, and that is precisely what makes my approach to it different.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Do not be intimidated, and do not let anyone make you feel like you do not belong. You know more than you give yourself credit for. There are plenty of people sitting in rooms they are not fully qualified for. What sets you apart is the self-awareness to know what you do not yet know, and the commitment to grow into it. That kind of awareness is rare and it is powerful. Do not talk yourself out of the room before you even walk in.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in AI right now is also its greatest opportunity: the pace. By the time you have mastered something, it has already evolved. The answer is not to chase every new development in a panic. It is to build the habits that keep you current — talking to people in the field, staying active in communities, and building flexibility into everything you do. The professionals who will lead in this space are not necessarily the ones who know the most today. They are the ones who are best at adapting tomorrow.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty, integrity, and the pursuit of excellence. You cannot build anything real without trust, and trust begins with honesty — with the people in your life and with your clients. It is the foundation of every meaningful relationship and every successful working partnership. Beyond that, I hold myself to a standard of excellence in everything I do, not because someone is holding me accountable, but because the quality of my work is a direct reflection of who I believe myself to be. I do not cut corners on that.
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