299: Building a Positive Workplace Culture as a Woman CEO: Ownership, AI and Leading with Joy — with Anusha Iyer

Let's talk about building a positive workplace culture. What does it take to build a workplace where people truly own their work — not just show up for it? Anusha Iyer, Founder and CEO of Corsha, joins Toni to share the unfiltered journey from software engineer to CTO to CEO — and the leadership philosophy that underpins everything she's built along the way. Corsha secures machine-to-machine communications for the operational systems that run our world, from AI agents to robotic controllers in critical infrastructure. It's deep tech solving some of the most important and underprotected problems in cybersecurity today. But this conversation isn't just about technology. It's about ownership culture, the realities of founding a company as a woman, how to pivot without destroying your team, and why joy at work isn't a soft concept — it's a strategic one. Anusha also gets into the AI thread that's running through every organisation right now: why diverse voices need to be shaping these tools while the models are still being trained, and why using AI as an assistant rather than a replacement is a leadership decision, not just a preference. What we cover: The real financial and personal cost of starting a startup — and why it's worth it How to make strategic pivots without flip-flopping and exhausting your team The power of saying no — to customers, to money, to scope creep Building a positive workplace culture through ownership: the Joy at Work framework The CTO-to-CEO transition: what changes, what doesn't, and the vulnerability that makes it work Why the E in CEO stands for evangelist — and what that means for how you lead Communication training for the whole team, not just the C-suite AI as an assistant, not a replacement — and why women need to be in these tools now The 100% job spec problem — and the mindset shift women need to make Why diverse voices matter in AI training right now, while it still counts Connect with Anusha and Corhsa: https://corsha.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/anusha-iyer/  Resources mentioned in this episode Read the book Joy At Work by Dennis W. Bakke Emma Wainer, public speaking coach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmawainer/  Listen to Emma on the Podcast:  Episode 107 - Being a great communicator with Emma Wainer Book a strategy call with Toni: tonicollis.com/lets-chat    This episode was sponsored by our guest, Anusha Iyer. Thank you Anusha & Corsha for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!