

265: Be Yourself. Believe in Yourself. Build Big Things with Anna Belova
Have you ever felt like you couldn't lead in tech because you didn't come from a technical background?
This week's guest, Anna Belova, is living proof that non-technical leaders can build cutting-edge tech companies and thrive in the most technical industries. Anna is a serial entrepreneur and CEO who has built multiple successful companies in AR and AI - including selling over 15 million AR books for kids worldwide and creating one of the leading web XR platforms used by Google and Meta. Her secret? She's never written a single line of code, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
In this episode, we dive deep into what it means to lead highly technical teams without a technical background and how to turn perceived weaknesses into creative advantages.
“I think it's one of the main powers that I have, because I'm always thinking about products for people who are not geeks or non-technical as well, like me." — Anna Belova
What You'll Learn in This Episode:
- How being non-technical gives you an advantage in creating user-friendly products
- Why "What if?" is the most powerful question for breakthrough thinking
- How to lead technical teams when you don't speak their language
- The mindset shift from "building a unicorn" to "building yourself into someone who can build a unicorn"
- Why authenticity trumps trying to fit into male-dominated tech culture
- How to turn doubt into creative power as a woman in tech leadership
Ready to embrace your non-technical superpowers?
👉 Connect with Anna Belova on LinkedIn or Facebook to continue the conversation about leading with authenticity in tech.
💬 And share your biggest "What if?" moment with us - we'd love to hear how you're thinking outside the box in your leadership journey.
**Useful links**
- Connect with today’s guest, Anna Belova:
- http://mywebar.com
- http://openway.ai
- https://www.facebook.com/aibelova/
- https://x.com/AIBelova
- If you are ready to uplevel your career, get unstuck or you are simply ready to unlock those leadership time-management techniques then join us in my monthly career & leadership coaching program exclusively for women in tech: https://www.tonicollis.com/academy
- Catch the show notes, and more details about today's episode here: https://tonicollis.com/episode265
- Check us out on Youtube.
- Join the Leading Women in Tech community in Slack where we discuss all-the-things for women’s tech leadership, covering everything from early-career leadership to C-level executives.