Lynda Wilkes-Green, Founder of Ahlya, joins Host Simon Hodgkins on this episode of VistaTalks for a powerful and deeply personal conversation about women’s health, cycle thinking, and how AI can be used for good in underserved areas of wellness.
This episode explores the intersection of personal experience, thoughtful technology design, and purposeful entrepreneurship. Lynda shares her journey from high-pressure legal environments to building a femtech platform that empowers women to better understand their bodies, hormones, and overall well-being.
From Personal Health Struggles to Purpose-Driven Innovation
Ahlya was born out of lived experience. After years of struggling with hormone-related conditions such as PCOS and PMS, Lynda found herself prescribed solutions that masked symptoms rather than addressing root causes. A pivotal moment came on her wedding day, when she realized that the status quo wasn’t working for her body or her life.
That realization sparked a deep dive into cycle awareness, hormonal health, and holistic wellbeing. What began as personal research quickly evolved into a mission: to help women understand their cycles and make informed lifestyle choices in sync with their bodies.
Ahlya officially began development in December, and within a year, it had grown into a thoughtfully designed wellness app grounded in empathy, data, and clarity.
Going Beyond Period Tracking with AI-Driven Personalization
While many users are familiar with traditional period-tracking apps, Lynda was clear that Ahlya needed to go further. The goal wasn’t just to track cycles, but to translate data into meaningful, personalized insight.
Users log menstrual cycles, daily mood, and symptoms, while Ahlya integrates with wearables such as smartwatches and rings. Built-in AI then analyzes this data to surface tailored daily insights. If a user consistently experiences specific symptoms during a particular phase, Ahlya flags it proactively, helping users prepare and adjust.
The emphasis is not on information overload, but relevance and timing.
A Holistic View of Wellbeing: Mental and Physical Together
One of Ahlya’s standout features is its holistic approach. Beyond physical symptoms, the app offers mental well-being features, including gratitude journaling and reflective prompts.
Early users consistently report that this blend of physical awareness and mindset support helps them “join the dots” in ways they hadn’t before. Small, daily check-ins encourage self-awareness, positivity, and emotional regulation, reinforcing the idea that well-being is not one-dimensional.
Designing Calm, Clarity, and Trust into Health Tech
User experience was a core priority from day one. Lynda deliberately designed Ahlya to be calm, minimal, and intuitive, resisting the temptation to overwhelm users with charts, metrics, and dense medical explanations.
Half of the development time was spent refining UX and gathering early user feedback. The result is an app that delivers just enough information, clearly and gently, respecting both attention spans and emotional bandwidth.
In a digital world driven by noise and speed, Ahlya’s design philosophy is rooted in simplicity and trust.
Scaling Women’s Health Globally and Culturally
Ahlya is already seeing downloads across the UK, Ireland, the US, and beyond, including South America and Africa. Lynda, however, is acutely aware that global reach requires cultural sensitivity.
She discusses early explorations into markets like India, working with local femtech communities to understand cultural nuances and adapt the product accordingly. While menstrual cycles are universal, how women talk about, manage, and access information about them varies widely.
Global expansion, she notes, must be collaborative, local-first, and informed by voices on the ground.
Female Founders, AI, and Building with Purpose
The conversation also dives into the realities of building a company as a female founder in today’s AI-driven tech landscape. While much of the funding and hype flows toward defence tech or developer platforms, women’s health remains significantly underserved.
Lynda is clear: if women aren’t at the table building AI products, their needs won’t be prioritized. Ahlya is her way of changing that narrative, showing that AI can be accessible, supportive, and deeply human.
She also challenges hustle culture myths, advocating for sustainable leadership, self-care, and high-impact work over burnout-driven “996” mentalities.
Looking Ahead: The Future of AI in Women’s Health
As AI adoption continues to accelerate, Lynda sees both opportunity and responsibility. There is already a gender gap in AI usage, and she believes platforms like Ahlya can help demystify the technology and invite more women into the conversation.
The future, she argues, lies in ethical, inclusive AI that enhances understanding rather than replacing human judgment. Used well, it can empower women to take ownership of their health and well-being in ways never before possible.
Ahlya is not just a wellness app. It’s a statement about how technology should serve people: thoughtfully, inclusively, and with purpose.
