Our lives are increasingly shaped by invisible algorithms, and our most personal data is mined in the background of everyday clicks, the role of tech founders has never been more critical. We need innovators not just to build faster apps or sleeker devices—but to ask the deeper questions: Who owns the digital future? Who benefits?
As we stand at the edge of an AI-driven society, our progress—and our protection—will depend on those bold enough to challenge the status quo and design technology that serves people, not just profit.
Enter Preska Thomas, a visionary entrepreneur and the founder of DebitMyData, who is reimagining the rules of the digital economy. With strong clarity and a mission-first mindset, Preska is building more than just a tech company—she’s building a movement to give power back to the people, one data point at a time.
Many people know your name now in the tech space, but where did this journey actually begin for you?
Preska Thomas: Thank you for having me. For me, it started with a question—a feeling, really—that something about the digital economy was deeply unfair. We live in a world where every click, scroll, and swipe creates value. But that value rarely benefits the user. I’ve worked in industries where data was treated as currency—exchanged, sold, mined—yet the people producing it had no seat at the table. That never sat right with me. I founded DebitMyData because I saw an opportunity to shift the paradigm and build a system where users could finally earn from their own data, not just be watched.
You built a tech company from the ground up in a field dominated by giants. How does one even begin to do that?
Preska Thomas: You start by rejecting the idea that you have to be like the giants to succeed. Most people try to mimic what works for big tech—scale fast, raise billions, get acquired. But real innovation often lives in the details, in places most overlook. I focused on three things: a clear mission, a small team with aligned values, and a user-centered product that solves a real pain point. You don’t need to have all the answers when you start. You just need to ask better questions—and never stop.
What would you say is the DNA of a successful tech founder in today’s landscape?
Preska Thomas: Self-awareness. In tech, it’s easy to get lost in code, metrics, funding rounds. But great founders stay rooted in their why. That clarity guides every decision. Add to that an obsessive commitment to learning, a willingness to make hard pivots, and an ability to communicate vision so powerfully that others want to build it with you.
One of my habits is journaling (even mentally) after tough days—not just what happened, but what I learned. That reflection creates patterns. Over time, you start to predict your blind spots before they cost you.
What kind of future do you see for technology in the next 5–10 years?
Preska Thomas: Technology is no longer a sector—it’s the skeleton of modern life. Over the next decade, I believe we’ll see three major shifts: decentralized ownership, contextual AI, and ethical frameworks becoming more enforceable through smart contracts and blockchain. But the real innovation will happen at the human layer—how we use tech to amplify dignity, not just productivity.
There’s also an emotional shift. People are exhausted. They want systems that feel more human. Products that don’t just track them but support them. That’s the edge where the next revolution will happen.
What’s the one metric most startups are measuring wrong?
Preska: Time-to-trust. Everyone measures CAC, churn, MAU. But very few measure how long it takes for a new user to genuinely trust you. That’s the silent lever of retention, referrals, and revenue. At DebitMyData, we watch for behaviors that signal belief. It’s our most sacred KPI.
What’s more important: product-market fit or founder-market fit?
Preska: Founder-market fit. 100%. A decent product with a founder who deeply understands the problem will always outperform a perfect product with a founder chasing trends. People can feel when you’ve lived the pain you’re solving.
If DebitMyData could be remembered for one thing 50 years from now, what would you want that to be?
Preska Thomas: That we helped rewrite the contract between users and the internet. That we created a world where people didn’t have to trade privacy for participation. And that we proved that ethics and innovation don’t just coexist—they scale together.
