As part of the Morning Lazziness series highlighting empowering women who are making a remarkable impact with their ideas, I had the pleasure of interviewing Myra Yu.
I come from an immigrant family and have been in the U.S. since I was 14. My mom started a construction business to support us, beginning with small bathroom renovations. After high school, I didn’t go to college, I went straight to work to help provide for our family.
After years on the job, I realized how important it was to equip myself with knowledge to build a better future. At 30, I earned my undergraduate degree from UC Davis and then returned to the family business, taking on the accounting role.
Over the next eight years, I helped grow our company from a small contractor into a mid-sized operation. We went from $2 million to over $50 million in revenue, working on residential, commercial, public, and private projects.
That journey opened my eyes to the challenges small contractors face every day: complex regulations, endless paperwork, financial guesswork, and frequent disputes caused by unclear records.
Those experiences inspired me to build a tool that makes construction accounting easier, more accurate, and more accessible for small teams. My goal has always been to help people like my mom, hardworking contractors doing their best to keep everything running.
In this candid conversation, Myra shares her journey, insights, and the strategies that have helped her build a results-driven business—and empower other entrepreneurs to do the same.
What inspired you to become an entrepreneur in the industry, and what led to the creation of your current venture?
What do you do when frustration becomes part of your daily routine, when the same problems keep showing up, day after day?
That’s exactly where I was. After eight years of repetitive paperwork and constant back-and-forth with vendors over mismatched ledgers, I couldn’t imagine spending the next 10 years stuck in the same loop. That frustration led me to create my business to change that, to make things simpler, more accurate, and less stressful for people like me.
As a woman in tech and entrepreneurship, what unique challenges have you faced, especially in the AI space, and how did you navigate them?
My business is construction accounting software, which means working across four areas: construction, accounting, technology, and language. Construction and accounting are the core knowledge. Technology and language are tools we use to deliver that knowledge to our customers in a clear and logical way.
AI is the same. It’s an advanced tool. Whether it’s good or bad depends on how you use it. That’s how I approach challenges in this space. I don’t overthink it, I focus on the problem we’re solving, and use the tools that help us do that better.
How do you manage the intense demands of building an AI-driven business while maintaining personal well-being and balance?
I actually learned the most about balancing high-pressure work and personal well-being during my time in construction. That environment taught me that there’s always a smarter way to get things done. I’ve seen people stay busy all day but deliver very little, and others who seem calm but produce great results.
Everyone says “work smarter, not harder,” but the real key is knowing how to work smarter. For me, it starts with planning ahead and thinking through problems before jumping in. And now, with AI, that mindset matters even more. Once I understand what needs to be done, I ask: is there an AI tool that can help us do this faster or better? It’s about using the right tools with intention, not just chasing trends.
That approach keeps me focused, reduces unnecessary work, and helps me manage both the business and myself with more clarity.
What networking strategies or communities have helped you most in building meaningful connections in the AI and tech ecosystem?
I regularly follow tech news and business insights to stay updated on the latest AI tools and see what kinds of solutions are being developed. This helps me evaluate which technologies are practical and how they might fit into our system. In our case, we integrated Microsoft Azure Document Intelligence to analyze invoices and receipts, cutting down on manual data entry and boosting accuracy.
How do you approach mentorship—both receiving it and offering it—and how has that influenced your growth as a founder in this space?
As a first-time tech founder, most of my relationships were from traditional business, not tech. So I started actively searching for local opportunities to connect with the startup ecosystem. That’s when I found an event hosted by the Orange County Women’s Business Center, a session designed to help local women business owners craft better pitch decks.
That event changed everything. I met my mentor there, and she taught me how to look at my business from an investor’s side. She guided me through the pitch process and helped me see the bigger picture. That mentorship gave me clarity, structure, and confidence in my direction as a founder.
What strategies have proven most effective in acquiring customers or clients for your AI product or service?
The most effective strategies for us have been social media advertising and partnership referrals.
Which marketing techniques (digital, content, events, etc.) have worked best for your brand, and how do you measure their impact?
Digital and content marketing have worked best for us. Since we offer accounting software, which is such a critical part of any business, most owners choose their solution very carefully. Once they find something that fits their needs, they tend to stick with it long-term.
That’s why we focus heavily on building trust through educational content—blog posts, how-to videos, and social media content that explains how our software works and how it can help. The goal is to help potential users feel confident before they even sign up. We measure impact by tracking engagement, demo requests, and ultimately, conversions to paid accounts.
Can you share a major setback or roadblock in your AI startup journey, and how you strategically overcame it?
One major challenge was overestimating what AI could do on its own. In the beginning, we thought AI tools could fully automate tasks like invoice extraction without much human input. But once we tested it in real workflows, it didn’t work as smoothly as expected. The data wasn’t always clean, and the results weren’t consistent.
We realized AI isn’t a magic fix; it’s a tool that needs the right setup and UI design. So we adjusted our approach. Instead of trying to automate everything, we’re building a system that combines AI with human review, giving users more control while still saving time.
What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to women who are just beginning their entrepreneurial journey in AI tech?
Focus on the problem first, not the technology.
It’s easy to get caught up in how exciting AI is, but the real value comes from solving a real problem. Don’t start by asking, “What can I build with AI?” Start by asking, “What’s broken, and who needs a better way to fix it?”
Is there a quote, mantra, or philosophy that consistently guides your decisions as an entrepreneur?
“You either start solving the problem ten years ago, or you start right now.”
There’s never a perfect moment to begin, just the choice to act or wait.
Here is our main question. “What Are The 5 Things You Need To Overcome Self-Doubt and Build Confidence?”
- If other people actually need this
Even though I had years of hands-on experience in construction, I still questioned whether my solution would truly work for others. I knew the pain points, I had lived them, but turning that into a product felt like a uncertain. I couldn’t help but imagine the worst-case scenarios: What if no one cared? What if I was just solving my own version of the problem?
That changed the moment a customer said, “This is exactly what we needed.” It wasn’t just validation, it was proof my tool can actually solve a real problem for someone else.
That moment helped build my confidence in a new way. It wasn’t about being right, it was about seeing that something I created could make someone’s life easier. That’s when I knew: this isn’t just an idea. It’s useful. It works. And that gave me the confidence to keep going.
- Trusting my direction once I’ve made a decision.
I often feel uncertain about the future when I make a big decision, because no one knows what’s going to happen next. But I’ve learned to manage that fear by doing my research, paying close attention to early results, and not changing direction too quickly. I always set a bottom line, if things cross that line, I call stop.
I can’t say I have full confidence in every decision I make. But I do show confidence in the moment I make it. And that matters, because how I carry myself directly impacts the people around me. If I show doubt, it creates hesitation. If I show clarity, it gives my team the belief they need to move forward and get the job done.
- If I have the ability to learn along the way
To be honest, I’ve never considered myself someone who learns things quickly. But I can stay consistent, and don’t give up easily. That made all the difference.
When start to design a more efficient user interface. I didn’t come from a UX or design background, but I realized that a confusing layout could cost us users. So I started studying design principles, looking at other tools, and paying attention to how users interact with each screen. It took time, but the improvements we made directly impacted how fast people could understand and use the product.
That experience reminded me: you don’t have to be naturally good at something to get better at it. You just have to stay with it, keep improving, and believe that you’ll figure it out along the way.
- Staying focused on solving the real problem
I started this company to solve specific pain points in construction accounting. Then I started to notice that our competitors were using the same messaging. We all said things like “easy to use”, but there’s no clear ranking to say who’s really the easiest.
That made me doubt whether I had truly built something different. Was I just saying the same things in a different voice?
But after we started acquiring customers and having real conversations with them. They told me they could feel the difference. They didn’t just hear it in our marketing, they experienced it in the product. That feedback helped rebuild my confidence. I realized that staying focused on the real problem, not the noise or the competition, is what creates real value.
- Background means everything?
I didn’t come from an Ivy League or a top ranked school. I immigrated to the US at 14, and English is my second language. In the tech world, especially at events or pitch sessions, people often introduce themselves with impressive degrees, startup exits, or Silicon Valley connections. As a first-time founder without a tech background, I often felt like the outsider in the room.
There were moments when I questioned whether I needed more credentials, maybe another degree or title. But deep down, I kept coming back to the product. I told myself: Keep building. Let the work speak for itself.
Then one day, an investor friend told me she wanted me to pitch to her boss what real accounting software looks like. That moment hit me. I realized I didn’t need a fancy degree to create something valuable. I just needed to understand the problem, build a solid solution, and keep showing up.
There are no rules that say only people with the right background can succeed. You just have to prove you can deliver.
Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
A few years ago, I organized a birthday concert with over 200 attendees, and performed on stage with my band. It was one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done. It wasn’t about business or visibility; it was about creating a space where people could bond, connect, and share something meaningful together.
If I have the chance, I’d love to do it again, maybe even on a bigger scale. Not just a concert, but an event that brings together creators, builders, dreamers, people who want to express something real, whether through music, tech, art, or ideas.
