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Isabella Mongalo on Opening Her Terminal for the First Time
A lot of founders discover AI through a use case. Isabella Mongalo discovered it through her terminal, a place she never thought she, as a non-technical founder, would have any reason to open. We met Isabella at WeCreate Women Build AI Night, an event she hosted at The Lab Miami's Dock Coworking Space in Wynwood, built for women to explore AI together regardless of experience level. She wasn't just attending her own event. She was also the reason it existed.
5 minute read
An interview with Isabella Mongalo ยท Founder, Dreamaker
Explore DreamakerWhat Isabella Is Building
Isabella is the founder of Dreamaker, a platform for young professionals who want to build a meaningful life, not just a resume. The premise is that clarity about who you are and what you want isn't something you're handed, it's something you build, and most people never get the tools or the space to do that work intentionally.
How AI Changed Her Process
What stood out in our conversation was how directly Isabella credited AI with unlocking her own progress, not as a marketing tool, but as a thinking partner. "Right now I'm in love with Claude on my terminal," she told us, "because as a non-technical person, I never even considered opening up my terminal. Like, why would I need to do that? And now I'm using it, and I'm making a lot of progress and having like natural conversations with my project, and it's just amazing to me how much you can do."
That experience became the reason WeCreate Women Build AI Night exists at all. "That's been the catalyst for me wanting to get more and more people like me, entrepreneurial women in general, into the world of AI," she said, "which is why I decided it was important to have a space like the event that we saw tonight, where we create so women come together and tinker with AI, ask questions, build things, because otherwise it could be very daunting."
Why This Matters Beyond One Event
Isabella's story is a good reminder that the barrier to using AI seriously is rarely the technology itself, it's the permission to try it without already being an expert. She wasn't a developer before she opened that terminal. She just decided the intimidation wasn't a good enough reason to stop.
That's the same instinct behind Dreamaker: young professionals often assume clarity about their path has to arrive before they act, when in practice it tends to show up after they start building. Isabella's own AI journey is proof of the same pattern working in her favor.
Where to Find Isabella
You can learn more about Dreamaker (spelled with one M), and follow Isabella's work at @isabellavirginia__ on Instagram.
Want to be in the room for the next Build With Her event or interview? Comment SKOOL on our Instagram and we'll send you the link to our free community for women building their businesses and their confidence with AI.
In practice
- The barrier to using AI seriously is usually permission, not expertise
- You don't need to be technical to open the tools that feel technical
- Clarity tends to show up after you start building, not before