Mary Camacho on Privacy-First Wearables, Stakeholder Governance, and Listening to the Market

A chain of introductions brought host Liz Sweigart and Mary Camacho together at DWeb Camp, where a quick hello became hours of “problem-solving joy.” In this episode of Past the Profile, Mary, a longtime decentralized-tech operator, host of the Terms of Service podcast, and now founder of Cirdia, traces how a Fitbit on her wrist and a privacy gut-check turned into a company: privacy-first wellness wearables built for real people (starting with women 45+) who refuse to be “sold out” by their devices. She and Liz dive into why Cirdia incorporated as a public benefit corporation, how governance (not just privacy) is the hard problem, and what rapid market testing taught them about notifications, form factors, and dignity by design. Highlights From crypto debates to Cirdia: why health/wellness data should remain sovereign to the person—shared only by explicit choice. Governance matters: PBC incorporation now; a future community/employee ownership path to avoid the “sell to a platform” trap. Research first: 1,200+ survey responses in 30 days; women 45+ want devices that look good, don’t nag, and don’t leak data. Meaningful notifications: the mother/daughter/aging-parent reality—get the right signals on your wrist without living on your phone. Context that changed the stakes: menstrual-app lawsuits, DNA data on the auction block, and why “privacy is normal.” What’s next: Cirdia’s angel round and a waitlist ahead of the February launch. Other stuff mentioned in this episode: Rabble's Revolution.Social inaugural podcast episode with Jack Dorsey My dissertation (and the Tl;dr version) Holochain Visvere