Startups & Stability: Venture Lead Lydia Hall on Building Kids' App, Aqua

What does it look like to build a startup inside one of the world's biggest creative companies? Lydia Hall knows. As Venture Lead and Co-Founder of Aqua by Adobe, Lydia pitched Adobe's executives on a bold idea: to take the creative power of Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fresco and rebuild it from the ground up for kids. In this episode, Lydia joins Liane and Annie for a candid conversation about the intersection of parenthood, entrepreneurship, and building products that actually matter to kids — because her team tests it with their own children every single day. In this episode, you'll learn: • What a Venture Lead actually does inside Adobe's incubator program • How Aqua (free on iOS, Android, and the web at aqua.adobe.com (http://aqua.adobe.com) ) bridges the gap between kids' doodle apps and professional creative tools • Why Lydia made a conscious choice to join a big company when she became a parent — and what surprised her about startup life from the inside of a corporation • The thoughtful philosophy behind how Aqua uses AI: enhancing creativity without replacing it • What kids actually told them they wanted in focus groups — including claw machines, K-pop kitchens, and personal art museums • How Aqua connects to Adobe Fresco so kids can grow their portfolios into professional tools • The career 'car crash' that taught Lydia to trust her gut faster • Why tenacity — not polish — is the skill she credits most Lydia is a Forbes 30 Under 30 alum, Y Combinator Imagine K12 participant, and former COO of Chalkup (acquired by Microsoft). She founded her first company while at Penn Law and Wharton. This one's for the parents, the builders, the creatives, and anyone who's ever wanted to make something from scratch inside a room that's already full of greatness. #WhatSheDoes #AdobeAqua #KidsTech #WomenInTech #FounderStory #EdTech #StartupLife #Parenting #CreativeKids #AdobeIncubator