Meet the 2026 Female Trailblazers of SaaS

Leading Through Complexity

With more than a decade of experience leading video and SaaS companies, Kathleen Barrett brings a steady, execution-focused approach to building and scaling modern software businesses. As CEO of Backlight, she guides a complex, evolving organization through transformation with clarity, discipline, and empathy, positioning the company for its next phase of growth.

Prior to Backlight, Kathleen served as SVP of Enterprise at Vimeo, where she scaled the business from under $1M to over $125M as the strategic leader of Vimeo’s B2B efforts across OTT, Live, and Vimeo Enterprise. She later served as CEO of IAC’s Mosaic Group, leading the organization through significant operational and strategic change.

What Her Peers Said: “Kathleen’s creativity, trust-building ability, and collaborative leadership style truly set her apart. She leads with clarity and discipline while keeping teams focused on customer needs and long-term value creation.

About Backlight: Backlight is a PSG-backed global media technology company that acquires and scales award-winning software businesses across video ideation, production, post-production, distribution, and analysis. Built to help organizations manage, activate, and get more value from their media, Backlight provides the infrastructure media, marketing, and production teams need to work efficiently at scale. Through its integrated suite -including iconik, Cinesync, ftrack, Celtx, Wildmoka, and Zype – Backlight combines media management, automation, and AI-powered workflows to help customers turn unstructured video into a strategic asset that can be discovered, reused, and monetized over time.

Driving Operational Excellence in Multifamily Technology

Eden Shapiro plays a central role in scaling operations at Carson Living, a multifamily resident software platform and 24/7 remote doorman service designed to modernize the resident experience. She began her tenure as Chief of Staff to the CEO and was quickly promoted to Director of Operations, where she now oversees initiatives that strengthen internal processes and support the company’s continued growth.

Known for her analytical approach and ability to build trust across teams, Eden has helped implement operational improvements that align day-to-day execution with Carson Living’s broader performance objectives. Her leadership style combines disciplined decision-making with a strong focus on collaboration, enabling the organization to move quickly while maintaining operational rigor.

What Her Peers Said: “Eden is highly goal-driven and data-oriented, consistently aligning decisions with Carson Living’s success and performance objectives. Her rigor, judgment, and deep commitment to the company’s growth make her an exceptional SaaS operator and leader.”

About Carson Living: Carson Living is a multifamily resident software platform and 24/7 remote doorman service designed to enhance the resident experience while helping property operators streamline building management. Through integrated technology and concierge-style services, Carson enables multifamily communities to improve efficiency, security, and resident satisfaction. The company recently received strategic investment from LoneTree Capital, supporting the continued expansion of its platform and services across the multifamily housing market.

Bringing Clarity to E-commerce Complexity

At Clearer.io, Jennifer Leuer leads a platform helping e-commerce merchants better understand and optimize customer acquisition, conversion, and growth. The company’s solutions simplify the increasingly complex e-commerce software ecosystem while equipping merchants with tools and insights to make more informed decisions.

Jen has more than two decades of experience launching and scaling digital and SaaS businesses. Prior to joining the company, she served as CEO of ShootProof, a software platform that enables photographers worldwide to share galleries and sell their work directly to clients. She previously led CyberScout, a global provider of identity and cyber defense services, and held multiple leadership roles across two tenures at Experian, including President of Experian Partner Solutions, where she helped launch and scale the consumer direct business ProtectMyID.

What Her Peers Said: “Jen brings seasoned strategic insight and operational rigor to her leadership at Clearer.io. Under her direction, the company has advanced internally driven product innovation, including the development of Lytical, an AI-powered solution that helps merchants uncover performance drivers and make more informed decisions across the e-commerce lifecycle.”

About Clearer.io: Clearer.io (formerly AppHub) is a SaaS e-commerce solutions platform focused on product discovery and tools that help online businesses optimize customer acquisition, improve shopping experiences, increase conversions, and streamline operations. By simplifying fragmented e-commerce software ecosystems and delivering actionable insights, Clearer.io enables merchants to better understand demand, optimize performance, and turn customer engagement into measurable revenue growth.

Redefining Retail Customer Engagement

As CEO and Co-Founder of Endear, Leigh Sevin has built a SaaS platform helping retail brands strengthen customer relationships through personalized engagement. Endear’s AI-powered CRM enables brands to connect with shoppers more effectively, increase store traffic, and drive measurable revenue growth.

Under Leigh’s leadership, Endear has continued expanding its product capabilities, accelerating the platform’s AI-driven features to help retailers better understand customers and deliver more personalized engagement across channels.

What Her Peers Said: “Leigh has built a capital efficient, product-driven SaaS company in a competitive retail market. Her disciplined execution and focus on innovation have positioned Endear as a standout platform in retail technology.

About Endear: Founded in 2016, Endear is an AI-powered CRM platform built for omnichannel retail brands. By combining customer data, messaging, and intelligent insights, Endear enables brands to deliver personalized outreach, strengthen customer loyalty, and drive sales both in-store and online. Since 2019, the platform has driven more than $800 million in revenue for brands including Reformation, Glossier, and Todd Snyder, helping increase average order value and accelerate repeat purchases.

Protecting What Matters Most

Millions of children rely on federally funded nutrition programs each day. Kam Phillips-Sadler leads the software platform that helps childcare providers, sponsoring organizations, and state agencies manage the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), a USDA-funded initiative that reimburses providers for serving nutritious meals to children and adults.

Kam’s leadership is grounded in proximity to her customers. She meets regularly with daycare providers, administrators, and USDA officials to ensure KidKare delivers meaningful, practical impact across the entire ecosystem. She often refers to “The Miss Clara’s” – a real daycare provider and customer – as a reminder that every business decision must protect those on the front lines of childcare.

What Her Peers Said: “Kam takes her responsibility to heart. She leads with integrity, empathy, and a deep commitment to the customers she serves. As she often says, ‘It’s nice to be important. However, it’s even more important to be nice.”

About KidKare: KidKare is a specialized SaaS platform that helps childcare providers, sponsoring organizations, and state agencies manage CACFP compliance and reimbursement. Through automated meal tracking, eligibility management, and audit-ready reporting, KidKare streamlines administrative workflows so caregivers can spend less time on paperwork and more time caring for children. Previously backed by Alpine Software Group, KidKare was recently acquired by Valsoft, a global acquirer of vertical market software businesses, positioning the company to continue expanding its mission of supporting childcare providers across the United States.

Redefining Value-Based Maternity Care

Coordinated maternity care in the United States has long been fragmented. Melissa Hanna built Mahmee to change that.

Recognized by Inc.’s Female Founders 100, Managed Healthcare Executive’s Emerging Health Leaders, and Goldman Sachs’ Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs, Melissa holds an MBA from the Drucker School of Management and a JD from Southwestern Law School, where she teaches corporate and technology law.

A national leader in value-based maternity care, Melissa developed one of the first wraparound care bundles in the United States and pioneered the employed workforce model for doulas and lactation consultants. She has led major partnerships with Blue Shield of California, HealthNet, Providence, Sutter, and Kaiser Permanente to expand access to coordinated maternal and infant care.

About Mahmee: Mahmee is a tech-enabled maternal and infant healthcare company delivering continuous, wraparound support through virtual services and modern in-person clinics across California. Its integrated technology infrastructure powers real-time collaboration, data insights, and scalable care delivery, enabling health systems, insurers, and public agencies to improve outcomes and close critical gaps in maternity care. Mahmee operates through both value-based and fee-for-service partnerships and is backed by MaC Venture Capital, Muse Capital, Serena Williams, Mark Cuban, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Powering the Digital Shelf

Rachel Tipograph founded MikMak to help global brands better understand how consumers move from digital engagement to product purchase. As Founder and CEO, she leads the company’s mission to provide brands with the intelligence needed to navigate an increasingly complex e-commerce landscape.

Through its software platform, MikMak enables brands to better understand where shoppers buy, how marketing influences purchase behavior, and how to optimize performance across the digital shelf. By connecting digital engagement with real purchase activity, the platform helps brands uncover insights that inform smarter marketing and distribution decisions.

What Her Peers Said: “Rachel is an absolute rainmaker and a true thought leader in e-commerce technology.”

About MikMak: MikMak is a commerce enablement and analytics software platform that helps global brands connect digital engagement to real product sales. The platform enables brands to guide consumers to purchase across retailers and marketplaces while measuring how marketing, media, and content influence the path to purchase across channels.

Architecting the Next Phase of Vertical SaaS Growth

Scaling complex technology platforms across industries has defined Keri Gohman’s career. With more than two decades of leadership experience at Xero, Capital One, Intuit, GE, and as CEO of CARET, she has built and transformed high-performance SaaS organizations at scale.

At PatientNow, she is leading the company’s evolution from a system of record to an AI-centered system of action for cash-based medical aesthetics and wellness practices. By accelerating AI innovation, deepening strategic partnerships, and integrating the Recura acquisition, an AI-driven sales engine, she is positioning PatientNow for its next chapter of growth.

Keri brings a rare combination of operational rigor and strategic vision, aligning teams around performance, customer experience, and scalable infrastructure that enables sustained expansion.

What Her Peers Said: “Keri has a unique ability to take complex, legacy systems and transform them into high-growth, performance-driven platforms. Her experience across fintech and enterprise SaaS gives her both the discipline and strategic clarity to lead PatientNow into its next phase.”

About PatientNow: PatientNow is a practice management platform purpose-built for cash-based medical aesthetics and wellness providers. Serving more than 5,000 locations, the platform integrates records, operations, patient engagement, payments, marketing, and smart automation into one system. By replacing disconnected tools with intelligent automation and data-driven insights, PatientNow helps practices drive revenue while creating space for artistry and patient care.

Transforming Provider Data into Strategic Infrastructure

With more than 25 years of experience in healthcare and workers’ compensation, April Stiles has built and led organizations focused on solving complex provider data challenges. As co-founder of both VIIAD and Perspecta, she has helped shape platforms that turn fragmented provider information into reliable, enterprise-grade infrastructure.

At Perspecta, April oversees a SaaS platform that delivers over 95% data accuracy through a combination of advanced automation and expert validation. Under her leadership, the company has expanded its portfolio to seven products, with multiple solutions designed for complex, highly regulated healthcare environments.

In 2023, she led the merger of TalisPoint and Perspecta, successfully migrating hundreds of clients to a unified platform while stabilizing operations and driving continued growth for thousands of clients. As a long-standing board member of well-known organizations including the American Association of Payers, Administrators, and Networks (AAPAN), April brings operational discipline and regulatory expertise to every stage of expansion.

What Her Peers Said: “As CEO, April leads with resilience and a people-first philosophy, cultivating a culture of mentorship, empowerment, and purpose. Her leadership style reflects authenticity, grit, and a deep commitment to building teams that perform at the highest level. She embodies the spirit of a SaaS trailblazer, delivering business results while making a lasting human impact.”

About Perspecta: Perspecta is reimagining provider data management. Through deep domain expertise and a commitment to innovation, they deliver intelligent solutions that improve efficiency, enhance experiences, and power better decision-making. Trusted by health plans, workers’ compensation, and provider organizations, our 95%+ data accuracy helps navigate complexity and optimize care. At Perspecta, we turn precision data into powerful perspectives and proven success.

Building the Infrastructure for Modern Wellness Practices

Nathalie Garcia founded Practice Better to solve a problem she experienced firsthand. As a former holistic nutritionist, she understood the operational challenges practitioners face when trying to balance client care with the administrative demands of running a business. That experience shaped the vision for Practice Better, a platform designed to help health and wellness professionals run and scale modern practices.

Under Nathalie’s leadership, Practice Better has grown into a platform used by tens of thousands of practitioners worldwide. The company has continued expanding its capabilities with advanced functionality such as ePrescribe, enabling practitioners to manage scheduling, telehealth, charting, billing, payments, and client engagement in one unified system.

What Her Peers Said: “Nathalie pairs deep customer empathy with the ability to scale a company and product effectively. Her firsthand experience as a practitioner shaped a platform that truly serves its users, and she has successfully guided Practice Better through multiple stages of growth while preserving its mission-driven culture and commitment to innovation.”

About Practice Better: Practice Better is an all-in-one SaaS platform that helps health and wellness practitioners run and scale modern practices. The platform unifies scheduling, telehealth, charting, billing, payments, and client engagement into a single system, enabling practitioners to reduce administrative burden and focus on delivering better outcomes. Practice Better supports tens of thousands of practitioners globally and has become a category-defining solution in wellness and health-tech SaaS.

Bringing AI to Multifamily Operations

As Owner and CEO of Spherexx, Becca Wilson leads one of the multifamily industry’s early adopters of AI-driven leasing and operational automation.

Through ILoveLeasing AI + Automation, Spherexx delivers a multifamily CRM platform featuring conversational AI for digital leads, Voice AI for telephone inquiries, and agnostic website AI chat. The platform was recognized as a 2024 Webby Awards Honoree in Apps and Software for Marketing and Content Management.

Well before AI became a category-wide focus, Becca led the development of Spherexx Optimize in 2013, incorporating neural machine learning to support operational optimization and stabilized asset valuation. Her leadership centers on identifying high-impact value drivers early and translating emerging technology into practical, revenue-generating solutions.

What Her Peers Said: “Becca leads with integrity and a deep commitment to her clients’ success. Her servant-leader mindset is evident in the way she supports both customers and employees, building a culture grounded in customization, problem-solving, and long-term partnership.”

About Spherexx: Spherexx provides AI-driven CRM, marketing automation, and operational optimization solutions for the multifamily housing industry. Its platforms help property operators improve lead conversion, streamline leasing workflows, and enhance asset performance through intelligent automation and machine learning.

Scaling Imaging Workflows with Precision

As co-founder of Studycast, Laurie Smith helped build one of the most widely adopted cloud-based medical imaging workflow platforms in the market. Since 2007, the company has delivered specialized solutions for image storage, zero footprint viewing, interpretation, and structured reporting through the platform.

With more than 15 years of sales, marketing, and public relations experience, Laurie has consistently driven record growth and high customer satisfaction. Earlier in her career, she increased the number of imaging systems in the field by 800% in less than one year. At Studycast, her commitment to solution selling and operational discipline has helped position the platform as a trusted platform used by hospitals, private practices, clinical research labs, and education programs across 49 US states and seven countries.

Today, Laurie serves as a member of the company’s board, continuing to support the organization she helped established and grow.

What Her Peers Said: “Laurie helped build Studycast from the ground up with a clear focus on solving real challenges for imaging professionals. Her dedication to customers and collaborative leadership have been central to the company’s growth and reputation in the industry.”

About Studycast: Studycast provides specialized software solutions for medical imaging workflows. Its cloud native platform delivers end-to-end imaging workflow on demand, enabling users to view diagnostic-quality images, generate findings, sign reports digitally, and securely share and archive studies from any internet connected device. Designed for performance and automation, Studycast serves organizations ranging from single physician practices to multinational enterprises.

Scaling Subscription Businesses for Creators

More than 13,000 creators rely on Uscreen to power their subscription businesses. Allison Yazdian leads the platform behind that growth.

Uscreen enables creators and media brands to build and scale subscription-based streaming services and branded video apps without technical complexity or reliance on third-party platforms. The company represents nearly $1 billion in gross merchandise value and reaches more than 15 million end users across fitness, education, coaching, sports, and media.

Allison brings two decades of experience scaling high-growth digital businesses. Prior to joining Uscreen, she served as Senior Vice President of Creator Growth and Success at LTK, where she led go-to-market strategy for the creator business. Earlier in her career, she drove growth initiatives at Compass.

At Uscreen, her focus is on driving strategic expansion, deepening customer value, and strengthening monetization models as the creator economy matures.

About Uscreen: Uscreen is a leading video monetization SaaS platform that empowers creators and media brands to build subscription-based streaming services and branded video apps without requiring technical expertise. The platform supports more than 13,000 creators globally, driving nearly $1 billion in gross merchandise value and reaching more than 15 million end users.