Amelia Miller ’s path from Goldman Sachs trader to tech founder was never linear, and that’s exactly the point. Inspired by her mother’s struggle to return to work after a career break, Amelia co-founded ivee with her sister Lydia to reimagine how talent is found, valued, and reintroduced into the workforce. Her story spans finance, wellness, and now the intersection of gender equality and artificial intelligence. But throughout, her mission has remained consistent: breaking barriers that keep brilliant people out of the workplace. In this edition of People Protocol, Amelia shares her journey.
You co-founded ivee after witnessing your mother’s struggle to return to work - how did that personal experience shape your commitment to breaking barriers for those on career breaks?
My personal experience of watching my mum return to work after a career break was eye-opening. As a woman in my 20s climbing the ladder at Goldman Sachs, I wasn’t thinking about what would happen if I took time away to have children. You don’t see what’s happening to all these women in positions above you until it’s too late.
Not only did my mum face a 60% pay cut on returning, she also had to accept a role that didn’t reflect her qualifications or experience. This is far from an isolated case. 70% of women will struggle to return to work, and it’s a problem that won’t just impact the older generations. Young women are currently being set up to face the exact same barriers.
When we saw the scale of this problem, going beyond women, beyond caregiving, it became clear that no one was truly solving the issue, especially not in a way that was technologically scalable. In fact, the tech which should be making things easier, was only amplifying the problem. It’s disheartening to see how automated recruitment tools often overlook and discount anyone without a linear career.
The problem today is even bigger when we started. With the rise of AI and subsequent lay-offs, more and more people are being involuntarily shut out of opportunities, with no clear route back in.
Not many founders land four Dragon offers in one pitch! How did you and your sister mentally prepare to take on that ‘riskiest negotiation the Den has ever seen’ with less than a day’s notice?
It was definitely intense! Lydia & I had a very long train ride followed by an even longer night of prep. We didn’t have enough time to feel fazed, which was a good thing. And we know how big this problem is, and how big ivee is going to be.
We had a strict rule: no more than a 6% equity giveaway. That was non-negotiable. We’re sisters, so we’re pretty used to negotiating with each other, and can move fast when it comes to tough decisions.
We’ve both faced tough rooms before, working at Goldman Sachs and Deloitte, before trying to raise money as female first-time founders, so walking in was intimidating, but familiar. We always expect pushback, and we’re prepared for it. We know our business inside and out. We know the problem, and we know our user. There’s nothing else to it!
In the aftermath of your Dragons’ Den episode, thousands signed up overnight and millions tuned in - how are you navigating this explosive momentum while keeping your mission grounded?
It was incredible to see the exposure after the episode, but we’d never let that carry us away from our mission. It’s at the heart of everything we do. Our founding story and the brand we’ve built are what guide us, and that won’t change.
People truly remember how you make them feel, not how many times you’ve been on TV. For us, it’s about showing up in places that truly resonate with our mission and our values. As you can imagine, we’ve had a lot of media and partnership requests flooding in after the episode. The surge in demand is an incredible opportunity, but it brings a big responsibility. We’ve had to stay incredibly focused and quick on our feet to ensure that our brand stays intact and that we deliver on the promises made in the Den.
Your appointment as UN Women Delegate and your fellowship at Cambridge speak to your work in gender equality and AI - how are you blending these passions to drive change in the recruitment landscape?
These opportunities are great platforms for me to champion what I stand for, and speak out on topics that are important to me on a stage that isn’t ivee-branded.
To me, gender and AI are deeply connected. The global scale of the issue we face in gender inequality, especially in recruitment, is massive, and AI can be a key part of solving it.
At ivee, we use AI to streamline processes like everyone else, but we mainly use it to resurface the talent that other recruitment technologies filter out or overlook. Bias has been baked into these tools, sidelining millions of brilliant, qualified candidates. AI is a powerful tool, but it’s important to remember that it amplifies everything - good and bad. If we’re not intentional about how we design it, it will just perpetuate the same issues we’re trying to fix. It learns from us, afterall.
From FX trading at Goldman Sachs to leading corporate wellness and now tackling tech entrepreneurship, what’s been your biggest challenge transitioning between such diverse fields and what did it teach you?
It’s been a journey, to put it lightly. The biggest challenge has been stepping into the unknown as a first-time founder. It’s something that I speak about a lot on LinkedIn. It’s HARD. There’s so much uncertainty, no pension (lol), no clear roadmap, and a lot of trust in my instincts.
The personal visibility and personal brand-building that comes with being a founder were also new to me. As an employee at Goldman Sachs, it was easy to stay behind the scenes. I was one of thousands. Now as an entrepreneur, I’m the face of everything, good and bad. That was a huge shift.
I’ve definitely learned to get comfortable with the uncomfortable, as that’s where the real growth and excitement happens. The emotional whiplash of being a founder is real, and I won’t lie, it’s not always healthy. But that little tiny thought of ‘this could actually work’ keeps me showing up every day.
AI is transforming recruitment - how is ivee adopting AI to make return-to-work opportunities more equitable, and what excites you most about this future?
AI is shaking things up for sure, but it hasn’t been built with everyone in mind. Traditional recruitment tools tend to screen out certain groups, particularly those with non-linear careers. That’s where ivee comes in. We’re using AI to resurface the talent that other platforms overlook. Our AI understands career breaks and pivots, and focuses more on skills (including transferable ones) to match people with jobs that align with their true potential, not just their qualifications.
One of the most exciting aspects of what we’re doing is creating AI-fluent candidates. Companies are under a lot of pressure to implement AI across all areas of the business, and we’re upskilling our users in innovative AI tools (beyond just using ChatGPT), so that they are well-positioned to be an incredible asset to any team. Feeling like you’re behind on new tech is one of the main anxieties our users feel, so this helps them to feel not just caught up, but ahead of the game.
The Financial Times called recruitment an ‘arms race’, and I couldn’t agree more. Both sides are totally overwhelmed due to the use of AI, and I truly think that AI is the solution (as ironic as it sounds). This kind of tech has the opportunity to replace endless job applications and create a level playing field, focusing on skills over CVs. It just needs the right training and the right people in the centre of it all.
Hit subscribe and keep an eye out for next week’s edition. Thanks again to Amelia Miller for taking the time to speak with me. For any projects currently hiring, check out what we do at Calyptus: https://www.calyptus.co
.png)