Sara Khorasani

Meet Sara Khorasani, the CTO and co-founder of Flowing Bee, a Melbourne-based startup focused on using AI and machine learning to drive behavior change at scale. With a background in engineering at Williams Racing, Sara pivoted to entrepreneurship after her division was shut down, co-founding Flowing Bee to solve complex behavioral challenges.

Passionate about problem-solving and innovation, she leads the company’s technical direction, client strategy, and fundraising efforts. Sara values resilience, action, and adaptability, and is committed to fostering inclusivity for women in tech, inspiring others to take bold steps and trust their instincts.

Q1.

Your journey from working in engineering at Williams Racing to co-founding your own startups is incredibly inspiring. What first sparked your interest in entrepreneurship, and were there specific moments or decisions that set you on this path?

My journey into startups wasn’t planned; it happened because Williams shut down the division I was working in and my boss at the time asked me and a colleague if we wanted to spin out some of the work we were doing. A spin out is a startup that is born out of another company, legally. In this case, we had Williams’ full support and IP licence agreements.

When I shared the idea with some people in my life, they doubted I’d go through with it. But I wasn’t afraid or thinking about the risks or anything really. I was just 24 years old, didn’t have much to lose. I had my family as a safety net, which I realize not everyone has. It was an easy natural decision for me.

Q2.

As the CTO and co-founder of Flowing Bee, your role must be diverse and fast-paced. Could you give us a glimpse into a typical day for you, and how you balance the many responsibilities that come with running a startup?

Every day is very different, but my time is usually split across three areas:

Technical direction & product development – Making product and architecture decisions with our engineering team.
Customers & strategy – Attending client meetings with my co-founder, figuring out how our technology solves their problems, and shaping our roadmap based on real-world needs.
Fundraising & team building – Managing investor relationships, hiring, accounting, and ensuring we have the right people, tools and systems to execute.

Balancing everything is tough, luckily, I have amazing mentors and advisors (ex-startup founders) that regularly jump in and help, and also help me prioritize.

Q3.

Entrepreneurship often involves long hours and constant challenges. What do you find to be the most rewarding part of your work, and what keeps you motivated even when things get tough?

What keeps me going is that I love solving problems and building cool things. Even when things are difficult, that usually means you’re building something really defensible. That moment when a customer sees value in what you’ve built and is genuinely excited about it is what makes the tough days worth it.

Also, just working with amazing people, building a team and culture is a great privilege.

Q4.

Reflecting on your career, what are the key skills or habits you’ve developed that have played a major role in your success, both as a leader and an entrepreneur?

Bias toward action – If you wait until you feel 100% ready, you’ll never start. I’ve learned to make the best decision with the information I have or seek more information and adjust as I go. Also, making small tiny steps forwards every day.
Learning how to filter advice – Everyone has opinions, but not all advice applies to your situation. I’ve learned to separate signal from noise and to trust my gut – this is still hard!
Resilience & adaptability – Startups are chaotic. Things break. Plans change. I have learnt to be okay with failure and almost enjoy it because it means I learnt something new and have more clarity on what will work. There are some failures that still scare me, but day to day, it doesn’t stop me from moving forward.

But above everything is just the basics; eat well, sleep well, exercise, have hobbies, and surround yourself with awesome people.

Q5.

As a woman navigating both the engineering and startup worlds—two fields often dominated by men—what challenges have you encountered, and what changes do you think need to happen to make these industries more inclusive?

Another challenge is role drift—I’ve seen many technical women end up in operations or “business” roles while their male co-founders take CTO. I take on the majority of the company admin and operational tasks and can sometimes feel like I am drifting into COO territory.

To make these industries more inclusive, we need to:

Male co-founders should notice how work is split – If the female co-founder is handling all the admin, and planning, and operations even though she could/should be coding maybe they can help take some off her plate.
Change how investors evaluate technical leadership – If the bar for a female CTO is "must wear a hoody and have 10 hobby coding projects," that’s expecting us to fit a male stereotype. We can be as geeky but show it completely differently.

Q6.

Many university students are just starting to figure out their career paths, some through traditional routes, and others through more unconventional ones. What advice would you give to young women looking to carve out their own path, especially those considering entrepreneurship or entering male-dominated fields?

You don’t need to know everything before you start. I wasn’t "qualified" to be a CTO at 24, but I figured it out. No one is ever 100% ready.
Find people who believe in you. The right mentors, bosses, or co-founders make a huge difference. Surround yourself with people who push you forward.
Don’t wait for permission. If you’re doing the work, own it.

Q7.

Your experience in F1, working in a high-stakes and fast-paced environment, is fascinating. How has that background influenced your approach to leading a startup, particularly in terms of decision-making, managing pressure, and driving innovation?

Working in Formula 1 teaches you high precision and performance engineering. I was lucky to work with incredibly smart and creative people.

It taught me how important it is to surround ourselves with intelligent, and passionate people, who will work alongside you under pressure. If we had to work on the weekend, everyone would come in, including our boss to support.

It also taught me how to make data-led decisions - we would do a lot of research to know what’s been done and then develop state-of-the-art solutions to big problems.

02.03.2025

If you have any questions for Sara Khorasani, please:

1. Leave a comment under our Woman of the Week FB post, or

2. Email us at wcp.unimelb@gmail.com