Cien Solon is the CEO and Founder of no-code platform LaunchLemonade that allows users to build, deploy and monetise intelligent workflow and decision-making AI agents.
She is an experienced AI developer and transformation leader, with a mission to democratise AI agent creation and empower even non-tech SMEs to build, launch and run AI agents.
Cien’s career has spanned product development, digital strategy and startup growth, building a reputation of translating complex technology into practical, human-first solutions. She also serves as an AI transformation consultant for Scale That Thing, helping organisations leverage AI strategically to drive scalable impact. In 2024, Cien founded LaunchLemonade, a no-code AI platform that empowers businesses of any size to build intelligent, revenue-generating AI agents.
Passionate about equity and inclusion in tech, Cien champions tools that close the AI literacy gap, ensuring innovation benefits all, not just the largest companies. This has garnered her industry recognition, including a shortlist in the Technology category in the 2025 Investec Early-Stage Entrepreneur of the Year (ESEY) Awards.
How did you land your current role? Was it planned?
It wasn’t planned in a linear sense. I’d built my career at the intersection of product, growth, and AI, and I’d been experimenting with AI solutions for years.
When generative AI became more accessible to build on top of (ChatGPT and open source LLMs launched), I immediately saw the lag in adoption from non techies so I started building for them. Eventually LaunchLemonade was born and I became its founder.
What are the key roles in your field of work, and why did you choose your current expertise?
There are two kinds of people in AI right now. The first are the people who can build it, and then there are people who can make it useful. The key roles are builders, strategists, governance, and the teams who actually have to use it every day.
I chose to sit in the “make it useful” lane. I’ve shipped products, led transformation work, and worked closely with teams who don’t have time for experiments. That’s why my focus is AI adoption that delivers outcomes.
Did you (or do you) have a role model in tech or business in general?
Yes. My biggest role models come from economics and behavioural science, because they explain what really makes products and businesses work including incentives, attention, trust, and the small frictions that shape behaviour.
Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky influenced how I think about judgement, bias, and trade-offs, Richard Thaler shaped how I design for adoption through defaults and nudges, and Herbert Simon’s idea of bounded rationality keeps me grounded in how people actually make decisions under time pressure.
They’ve all shaped how I build and communicate: make the next step obvious, reduce friction, and design systems that help people decide and act, not just “understand”.
What are you most proud of in your career, so far?
I’m most proud of building LaunchLemonade from scratch into something people genuinely use to do better work. We took AI from “something you read about” to practical, everyday agents that help non-technical teams move faster, stay on-brand, and stop drowning in repetitive tasks. For me, the proudest part isn’t the product itself but the impact we are making and watching knowledge workers realise they can build with AI, and seeing that confidence compound into real outcomes for their businesses.
What does an average work day look like for you?
There’s no real “average” day, which is part of the job. Most days are a mix of building, thinking, and translating. I’ll spend time with the product and engineering team shaping what we’re shipping, then switch into conversations with customers or partners and even investors.
Are there any specific skills or traits that you notice companies look for when you’re searching for roles in your field?
AI is rarely about applying a single, fixed technique. Instead, it’s about understanding messy, real-world problems and figuring out how intelligent systems can help.
Therefore, you need to be curious about problems and try to solve them. That’s it. People who can experiment, iterate and learn from failure are those making an impact in the AI industry. Analysing errors and improving systems step by step with that keen eye for detail are the key skills needed in this next phase of AI. Connecting the technical with the non-technical, translating business goals into AI solutions, fully understanding the problem before jumping to implementation – these are all valuable assets in a professional that can really drive change.
Has anyone ever tried to stop you from learning and developing in your professional life, or have you found the tech sector supportive?
Many – as a young Filipina woman, the usual biases, structural challenges and barriers faced by women in tech have reared their head, however, I’ve been very fortunate to build a community that has fully supported my mission and backed LaunchLemonade to grow and prosper. Support from female and diverse founder groups, such as Female Founders Rise, Diversity X and BAE HQ, have helped amplify LaunchLemonade and developed my ability as a CEO of a business to understand and chase investment opportunities.
But the most important person who will try to stop you is yourself. You are your own barrier. Believe in yourself and you CAN do it.
Have you ever faced insecurities and anxieties during your career, and how did you overcome them?
All the time. The market is quite competitive and investors and customers will make you uncomfortable but I have trained myself to change the insecurity into drive and keep pushing into building something that solves problems.
Entering the world of work can be daunting. Do you have any words of advice for anyone feeling overwhelmed?
Build. Build. Build.
Shift your focus away from feeling unprepared and instead move toward creating something tangible. Instead of worrying whether you know enough, you can learn by doing – experiment, write code, train models, break things, fix them and see ideas come to life. They don’t have to be massive projects – small experiments, side projects and prototypes can sharpen your skills, improve your intuition and build your momentum in the AI and tech space. LaunchLemonade was born out of experimentation – there are many other experiments I’ve made and learned from to get to this product.
You may not know exactly where you’re headed yet, but if you keep building, you’ll always be moving forward.
What advice would you give other women wanting to reach their career goals in technology?
Don’t wait to feel “ready” before you move. This new world of “vibe-ing” reward people who learn in public, test ideas early, and build momentum through action.
Learning in public is powerful. Sharing what you’re working on, what you’re learning, or even struggling with helps build visibility and confidence. It fosters feedback and collaborations that open new avenues and opportunities that would’ve been missed if you locked it all away until it felt “finished.” Instead, testing the ideas in the open gives you valuable data and insight to move forward with, all while building momentum as you grow more confident in your thought processes, builds and understanding of the problems you’re overcoming.
Credibility, expertise and leadership grows too – you make a name for yourself through connections and community. Your perspective, ideas and experiences are valued and essential in the tech and AI industry – you need to be willing to act and show them and trust that you’ll grow alongside them.
