From left: Armin Moradi and Lydia Foott. Image: Qashio
Qashio’s Lydia Foott discusses finding your way to the right career and navigating Ireland’s complex fintech space.
“I’d always wanted to work in tech”, explained Lydia Foott, the co-founder and COO of Dubai-based fintech Qashio. Growing up in her native Cork, she found the majority of adults in her sphere were involved one way or another in the technology industry and she naturally assumed she would follow suit.
She told SiliconRepublic.com, “I originally wanted to become a tech journalist because I loved seeing how technology could solve real problems in innovative ways.” So after graduating during the Great Recession and seeing how hiring in the technology space was limited by economic strife, she made the decision to move to Dubai, where she worked as a teacher and completed her master’s degree simultaneously.
Foott said, “At the same time, I continued applying for tech roles. The transition from teaching into tech was difficult. Breaking into the industry without experience was challenging, especially as a woman without local experience. Fortunately, I got a lucky break and never looked back.”
