Janice Taylor is a force to be reckoned with.

In just nine years, the 91大黄鸭 resident went from Googling 鈥渉ow to start a tech company鈥� to being the force behind an app that helps young people safely transition to online life. That, in turn, has sent her jet setting across the U.S. and influencing change in a male dominated industry.

Take this month for example 鈥� Taylor brought Mazu Family to meetings in San Fransisco and New York. Then she went to LA to represent Canada in a Women in Tech event at the Canadian consulate, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau had a number of U.S. speaking engagements that week, pitching Canadian globalism and the country鈥檚 new fast-track visa as reasons why Silicon Valley companies should consider Canada as a place to do business and spend money.

Canada is offering a two-week, fast-track employment permit for certain workers, dubbed the 鈥済lobal skills strategy visa.鈥�

Government-sponsored billboards in Silicon Valley pitch: 鈥淗1-B Problems? Pivot to Canada.鈥�

Taylor already sees the benefit of working in Canadian tech.

鈥淎ll my 24 staff is in 91大黄鸭 and I live there and my children go to school there,鈥� she said.

Being in transit as often as she is is a significant undertaking, but the work is valuable and that fuels her.

Mazu is a free app that gives kids, and their families, a forum to communicate on. Through it they can focus on their favourite sports teams and specific interests. For kids to use the app they have to have a parent鈥檚 approval and potentially interaction.

It鈥檚 what Taylor refers to as a 鈥渄igital village.鈥�

鈥淲e don鈥檛 use 鈥榣ike鈥� buttons, we don鈥檛 follow things,鈥� she said, explaining that its the antithesis of traditional social media, which preys on the desire to be liked, validated, and rewarded.

鈥淭he content in our digital village is tagged with our core values. We filter so there is no bad content or bad language.鈥�

There was such a gap in the online world when she started the app, that it鈥檚 turned heads and Taylor has managed to raise $7 million through angel investors to get it off the ground.

And the idea has fuelled her as she worked to navigate a male dominated industry.

鈥淚f you look at the statistics today, only five per cent of all tech companies are run by women,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n the City of 91大黄鸭 there are only two other female tech company founders and they鈥檙e co-founders.鈥�

Getting to the top of a male dominated industry has been a slog and Taylor has some war stories.

鈥淚鈥檝e had men ask, 鈥榗an I touch your hair,鈥檕r 鈥榶our hair is distracting,鈥� 鈥榳ho takes care of your kids when you travel鈥� and 鈥榓re you planning to have another baby?鈥� she said.

What鈥檚 been the worst, however, is those who doubt she has the expertise on the issues she鈥檚 trying to address through the app, to be in the industry.

鈥� It astounds me. I have 14 year old on social media, I have friends, we talk 鈥� as if I won鈥檛 understand this population,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n the last two years there鈥檚 been a 50 per cent increase in girl suicide. It鈥檚 the first time in history that girls are killing themselves more than boys. Who better to solve that problem than a mother?鈥�

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