STYLISA FoundHers: Shainoor Khoja on Building Purpose-Led Platforms for the People Who Need Them Most

There are founders, and then there are force-of-nature founders. Shainoor Khoja is the latter. With a background spanning private equity, social enterprise, healthcare, and tech, Shainoor has never shied away from complex challenges. As the founder of Thriving.ai and Thriving Care Inc., she’s now tackling one of the most overlooked crises of our time: the isolation of older adults. Her mission is bold, building a movement that puts humanity at the centre of innovation. In this interview, Shainoor shares her extraordinary journey from a childhood spent stocking shelves in a corner shop to becoming a global entrepreneur, changemaker, and fierce advocate for equity in ageing and caregiving.

In this month’s STYLISA FoundHers interview, Shainoor invites us into her world. A world that is dominated by a hunger for change and a desire that I share in - making the world a better place for all members of society.

Shainoor Khoja, founder of Thriving.ai - building purpose-led platforms that centre people, not just profits.

Let’s begin with your journey. You’ve built businesses across diverse sectors, from physiotherapy clinics to social enterprises in conflict-affected areas. What core values and experiences have shaped your approach to entrepreneurship?

I began life in the UK as a refugee child from East Africa. My family lost everything and shared one small flat above a corner shop my father and uncles bought with the help of a forward-thinking bank manager. From living in one room to working the till at the store, I learned responsibility early. I stocked shelves, managed orders, and delivered groceries to elderly neighbours. Service and resilience became my foundation.

My father was my role model. From grocery stores he built a chain of hotels, teaching me that trust, connection, and attention to detail create lasting value. At school I excelled in science and sport, and during an internship at St. Thomas’s Hospital I discovered physiotherapy. I pursued it with passion, graduated top of my class, and by 21 opened my first clinic. Soon I grew from one clinic, into a multi-site practice with NHS contracts, while balancing motherhood, an MBA, and work as physio to elite athletes, including England’s women’s hockey team and the World Squash Champion.

But values mattered as much as success. I taught at the Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi, learning how to innovate in resource-limited settings. Later, in Afghanistan, I founded Roshan’s CSR program, turning surplus clinic capacity into healthcare for marginalized communities. We added schools, soup kitchens, and employee programs that built loyalty and pride, our staff retention reached 98%. I saw firsthand that purpose-driven business can transform lives, even in fragile states.

These experiences shaped my belief that entrepreneurship is about more than profit. It’s about resilience, service, and creating systems where people can thrive. From stocking shelves as a child to building impact-driven enterprises globally, my journey has always been guided by one value: business is at its best when it serves both people, purpose and profit.

Thriving.ai and Thriving Care were born from a desire to serve vulnerable communities. What was the moment you knew technology could be a lifeline for isolated seniors and caregivers?

As a physiotherapist, I saw firsthand how fragmented and siloed systems left patients and families struggling. But it became personal when my own parents began to slip through the cracks. My mother, once independent and active, fell and wasn’t found for hours. Her decline changed her life, and ours, forever. I had the training to navigate the maze of health and social care, but I realised most families didn’t as I received frequent calls asking for advice, referrals and support.

I began hosting “Let’s Thrive” teas and intergenerational events, speaking with caregivers, clinicians, and providers. The message was clear: we didn’t need another app, we needed a platform that could unify care - customisable, human, and responsive. That was the spark for Thriving.ai.

As we tested it, another gap appeared. In Alberta, Canada, new immigrants, many with medical training, needed work. At the same time, older adults needed non-medical support like companionship, meals, and help getting to appointments. Out of this, Thriving Care was born as an extension for Canada: one solution addressing two problems. The lightbulb moment was realising technology could free carers to do what only humans can - care - while the platform handled admin, insights, and coordination. The challenge now isn’t vision or proof. It’s scaling in a sector that’s underfunded, highly regulated, and slow to change.

You’re a fierce advocate for youth and female empowerment. How have your own experiences informed your commitment to building talent within your ventures?

I grew up in a culture where boys were revered, so I learned early to fight for every opportunity. In my faith, we were taught that if you could only afford to educate one child, you should educate your daughter, because she will raise the next generation. That mindset has guided my work, from conflict zones to my own ventures.

In Afghanistan, we created crèches, arranged safe transport, and spoke with families so women could work. I’ve always believed that if you remove barriers, women will transform workplaces and communities. When people say, “We can’t find female coders or doctors,” I say: look harder. Talent exists. You must just open the door.

For me, merit comes first, but if two candidates are equally qualified, I choose the woman. Some push back, saying women have children or added responsibilities. But that’s life, and if you support employees through it, they will go to the ends of the earth for you. I’ve seen it: my Afghan bodyguard once risked his life for me, and my teams, often working for stipends and purpose, have done the same. When you invest in people, 90% of the time they give back in loyalty, courage, and impact beyond measure.

From private equity to purpose-led tech, your career spans very different worlds. How do you navigate those environments, and what common threads do you see between them?

I’ve worked across for-profit ventures, global nonprofits, private equity, and on national boards. What I’ve learned is simple: these worlds are deeply interconnected. Business must create value in every interaction and give back to earn long-term loyalty. Nonprofits must empower people to stand on their own, otherwise support becomes dependency.

When investments combine profit and purpose, the result is powerful: companies that thrive financially and inspire people to give their best. I’ve seen it in places like Roshan and Right Health, where employees weren’t just staff, they were part of a mission.

Startups tackling hard problems face endless hurdles, funding, regulation, skepticism. For every person who lifts you, a hundred will say it can’t be done. The only way through is resilience, belief, and purpose.The common thread I carry across every sector is this: with the right people and a shared vision for change, even the toughest challenges can be solved.

What daily habits or routines energise you, especially when you’re juggling global teams, innovation and social impact?

I start and end each day with meditation and prayer. Twice a day, I pause to give thanks, reflect, and reset. That grounding gives me clarity, gratitude, and the energy to face whatever comes next.

I also walk, swim, and listen to music. These moments connect me to nature, fill me with perspective, and remind me to see the glass as half full.

Of course, I face the same highs and lows as every entrepreneur. The difference is, I’ve built practices that keep me centred and moving forward.

Your platform is tackling loneliness and care access through technology. Can you walk us through the problem you’re solving, and the vision for change you’re building?

This platform was born out of my own journey as a caregiver. I know what it feels like to watch someone you love grow increasingly isolated, and how hard it is to navigate fragmented systems of care while trying to hold everything together. Loneliness and lack of access don’t just affect older adults. They ripple through families, communities, and entire healthcare systems. Families and care providers carry enormous stress too.

That’s why we built Thriving.ai, an AI-powered care platform that connects older adults, families, carers, and health professionals into one intelligent “circle of care.” It integrates health data, social connections, and daily support into a single, secure place, reducing fragmentation and giving everyone peace of mind.

With Thriving.ai, we are reimagining what aging can look like. We’re building a world where older adults don’t just age, but thrive - staying connected, independent, and supported. Our vision is simple yet powerful: replace isolation with connection, confusion with clarity, reactive interventions with proactive support, and administrative burden with more time for real human care.

At its heart, this is about more than technology. It’s about dignity, belonging, and creating a future where we can all look forward to aging, not with fear, but with hope.

Scaling across the UK and US comes with regulatory and cultural challenges. How have you approached localisation while maintaining the platform’s core purpose?

Aging, fragmented care systems, rising costs of institutional care, and the surge in chronic disease are global challenges. The needs are the same everywhere, some countries face them now; others are just beginning. Regulations also converge around best practices, which is why we built Thriving.ai with the UK, US, and Canada in mind from the start.

We’ve designed our platform to meet the highest regulatory standards across all three jurisdictions, knowing that Europe, Asia, and emerging markets will soon demand the same. This has meant higher costs and more complex infrastructure before revenue, but when serving vulnerable populations, there are no shortcuts.

For us, trust, security, and privacy are non-negotiable. By embedding them into our design, we preserve our core purpose while ensuring Thriving.ai can scale globally without losing the integrity of its mission.

User engagement, especially with seniors, can be challenging. How are you ensuring that Thriving.ai remains intuitive, welcoming and valuable for older users?

It’s true that technology can feel daunting for some older adults, but the stereotype that seniors can’t or won’t engage with tech is outdated. What we’ve learned is simple: if you design with their voices, not just for them, and invest in education and onboarding, seniors not only adopt technology, they thrive with it.

The data proves it. Internet use among older adults has surged worldwide, from just 14% in 2000 to over 67% by 2017. In the UK, 83% of adults aged 65–74 and 47% of those 75+ are now online. Post-pandemic, telehealth visits for people 70+ jumped from 4.6% to over 21%. AARP reports that 71% of older adults already use health-tracking apps, 59% join online fitness classes, and many use smart home tools for safety and independence. Closer to home, Age UK Bolton’s new strategy shows 83% of 65–74-year-olds and 72% of 75+ feel confident using online tools.

At Thriving.ai, we’ve built our platform around these realities. By involving older adults directly in co-design, simplifying interfaces, and offering support that builds confidence, we make technology not just usable, but empowering. The result is a tool that increasingly feels intuitive, welcoming, and genuinely valuable for seniors and their families.

Partnerships, fundraising and market entry require strategy. What has been your most successful approach to building those bridges, and what surprised you along the way?

Navigating this sector is challenging. Health and social care has been underfunded for years, and investors often prefer quick wins the “Uber for caregiving” over long-term system change. But real change takes time, education, and patient capital. Families and older adults often expect someone else to pay, and payers sometimes see only a budget line, not the wider savings in hospital admissions or workforce retention.

Still, forward-looking leaders are recognising that 80% of health outcomes come from social determinants - connection, nutrition, exercise, sleep. They see how integrated care and real-time information can keep people at home longer, reduce GP visits, avoid unnecessary ambulance callouts, and cut hospital costs. That’s where Thriving.ai fits in, and inch by inch, we’re making progress.

What surprised me most is how much I’ve drawn on my earlier experience uniting government, nonprofits, and the private sector. Each bridge we build becomes more than a win, it becomes part of our moat. Overcoming these barriers isn’t just progress; it’s protection, positioning us to deliver change others can’t easily replicate.

Social impact is at the heart of your model. What tangible difference are you already seeing, and what milestones excite you most for the future?

We’re still early, but the results are encouraging. In pilots, 90% of older users adopted the app, even those new to technology. Families report reduced stress, and our smart integrations show early promise in boosting confidence to live independently and motivating users to manage their health before crises occur.

Focus groups echo this:

• “It brings peace of mind knowing family and physicians are in one place.”

• “The health check helps track blood pressure and activity trends - things that often go unnoticed until it’s too late.”

• “Care access is slow - six weeks for a doctor’s appointment, but this fills the gap.”

Looking ahead, what excites me most is scaling these outcome, proving that technology can replace isolation with connection, and reactive care with proactive, compassionate support.

Thriving.ai operates in complex healthcare ecosystems. How are you collaborating with caregivers, clinicians and families to shape user-centred value?

We start by listening. Through LinkedIn, conferences, charities, and community groups, we gather perspectives and uncover real barriers families and carers face as more complex cases are discharged back into the community.

On dementia care, we partnered with the Northern Ireland NHS & Social Care Trust, Ulster University, and Dr. Frances Duffy, yielding powerful insights. We’re building on this with Carleton University’s SAM3 team, supported by a leading geriatrician with a passion for technology.

These collaborations shape how Thriving.ai evolves. They ensure we don’t just build technology, but solutions that reflect lived experience, and deliver real, user-centred value.

For women founders focusing on social impact and technology, what advice would you offer about staying mission-led while navigating growth and investor expectations?

First, make sure the problem you’re solving is big enough and that you have the stamina, resilience, and funding to stay the course, this is hard work.

Stay true to your mission. Listen to critics, test their doubts, and use that feedback. Sometimes it saves heartache, sometimes it sharpens your path forward.

Don’t expect mainstream investors to line up. Seek strategic partners, industry players, corporate innovation funds, grants, and later, impact and age-tech investors who understand both the challenge and the opportunity.

Most importantly, surround yourself with people who both nurture and challenge you. With the right support, you’ll have the strength to keep your vision intact while building a business that truly changes lives.

Finally, what’s next for you, and for Thriving, as a movement, not just a platform? What legacy are you aiming to leave?

What’s next for Thriving goes far beyond technology, it’s about igniting a movement. We want to transform how the world sees aging: not as decline, but as a stage of life filled with purpose, connection, and dignity. Our vision is simple: every older adult, everywhere, should have access to care, community, and compassion, and families and caregivers should feel supported, not exhausted.

The legacy we aim to leave is a future where loneliness is not inevitable, where aging is embraced, and where technology serves humanity by giving back the most precious gift of all, time for real human connection. We know this is possible. We’ve seen it in the small circles of care already created through Thriving.ai. Now, our task is to scale that impact, until thriving is no longer the exception, but the way the world ages.

I’ve seen barriers fall before. In Afghanistan, when we launched mobile money, the cost of the platform seemed impossible. Yet the overnight interest on millions of $1 deposits soon covered costs and, with transaction commissions, turned profitable. That experience taught me that what seems insurmountable today can become tomorrow’s breakthrough. I carry that same conviction for Thriving.ai, we will prove that purpose-driven innovation can scale, sustain, and transform lives.

A massive thank you to Shainoor, for being the November Female FoundHer and becoming a part of the STYLISA FoundHers community. If you’re interested in finding out more about her work:

Discover Thriving.ai and Thriving Care Inc.

 Connect with Shainoor on LinkedIn