For years, I lived a double life.

In one world, I was Dr. Ashley Montazer, solving hard problems in Silicon Valley. In the other, I was a pole dancer and aerialist, drawn to beauty, self-expression, and everything that made me feel alive.

I always felt pressure to hide one world from the other:

I refused to choose.

So I brought together the two worlds I'd been told to keep separate. I poured my heart into inventing the world's first fully automated makeup brush washer-dryer.

Working in tech showed me that when women are not in the room, the problems affecting their time and wellbeing are often not on the agenda. I made a pact to change that.

Dirty makeup brushes were not just a personal nuisance. They are an overlooked, everyday problem faced by millions.

Dirtier than a toilet seat, yet they touch our skin every day.

Our time is too valuable to spend standing over a sink, scrubbing brushes one by one.

And no one should have to sacrifice their health for beauty that was already theirs.

I wanted safe, smooth smooches for every cheek.

And it became Smoochix.

were never opposites.

They were always meant to work together.

It is my tribute to the women who came before us, who sacrificed so we could stand here. To the ones whose voices went unheard. And to every woman and little girl who has ever been told to pick a lane.