Meet the team: Georgie Powell
Georgie is a co-founder and CMO of Phase. Previously Georgie worked as a strategy consultant, before managing content partnerships for YouTube / Google across Asia-Pacific. In 2016 Georgie left Google to join the wave of tech insiders who were asking important questions about the role of technology in our lives. She has since worked in the digital wellbeing space, championing a better balance with technology, where we consciously choose tools that make life and society better, rather than mindlessly scrolling and consuming. During this time, she co-founded one of the original screentime Apps, SPACE, and then worked for the distraction manager app, Freedom.
Georgie has a supportive husband, three girls, and lives in Somerset, in the South West of the UK. She is known for her optimism, energy and relentless pursuit of new challenges. She has competed an Iron Man, swum 10km down a freezing river and walked hundreds of miles for Charity.
If you could describe your journey with this company in one word, what would it be and why?
Validation.
- That I am not alone in how I feel month in, month out.
- That women work differently to men, and forcing ourselves into the same patterns, is not the way to get the best.
- That many women’s lives will be improved by using Phase.
What's the most surprising thing you've learned about women's health since starting this company?
The journey has confirmed many existing preconceptions that women’s health is largely under-funded, under-researched and therefore, misunderstood. It’s not a pretty picture. There are several well-documented gaps in research related to women's health issues. These gaps stem from historical underrepresentation in clinical studies, gender biases in medical research, and the unique complexities of women's health.
But sadly, this isn’t hugely surprising, and luckily, it is changing. Funding and policy changes are allocating more resources specifically for women’s health research, there is a greater focus on inclusivity in research (ensuring accurate representation) and there is more education and advocacy, raising awareness about the need for gender specific research.
I think what has surprised me instead, is the number of amazing men we have met who are making a conscious effort to understanding how female biology impacts our world, and who are proactively supporting and investing in solutions to support women.
If it wasn’t for one man, who is a friend and father to three girls, Phase wouldn’t exist. He taught me about the theory of cycle syncing, something from which the idea of Phase started to bloom. Since then, other great men have stepped forward to support us, most importantly our CTO, Sam. My hope is that they are role models for many more men to come.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about yourself since starting this journey?
As a working woman, with three kids, life is busy. But I’ve learned there are two different types of pressure in life. The first is a time pressure – how to fit everything that needs to be done into a day. With good planning, prioritisation and some careful outsourcing, this doesn’t need to be a challenge. What I have found to be more important is the pressure on energy. Do I have enough to make it through the day, day after day?
Whilst working at Phase I’ve come to realise that meaningful, hard and sometimes stressful work doesn’t deplete my energy. Being bored, unrewarded or unrecognised does. It’s made me more committed than ever to ensure that I’m always working on things that matter, in a way that matters. It’s the only way to feel energised by work, rather than depleted by it.
What’s one piece of advice from your past career that you consistently apply to your work with this company?
Lazor focus. We know what we are out to achieve with Phase – and that is the sole focus of our day-to-day work. It’s easy to get distracted when building something new, but that only slows you down in the long run. All boats need to be swimming in the same direction. Over the course of my career, I’ve got better at documenting goals, workflows and measuring impact, to help stay on track.
If your company had a mascot, what would it be and why?
Wonder woman. Because hormones are a superpower and we are helping millions of women to unlock them.
What’s your favorite way to unwind after a busy day of managing the company?
It has always been about exercise and being outdoors for me. Currently I’m into cold water swimming and night time saunas on the beach. There is something so invigorating about how fragile you can feel when exposed to the wildness of the ocean. Water is a big part of my soul. I find it incredibly calming.
What is your personal mission when it comes to Phase?
I was only 38 when I first came to truly understand my cycle and the impact that it was having on my life and my work. Since then, by changing the way that I work, and the expectations that I set for myself, my life has irreversibly changed for the better.
My mission is to share this knowledge with as many people as possible, so that more women can live in sync with their bodies, rather than fighting against them.
