Organised by: Global Women Hub Moderator: Magali Anderson (board member, angel investor, former Chief Sustainability Officer at Tolsim) Speakers: Mallika (Michaela) Mathur Lheritier, CEO of Koaloo.fi, and her husband Alex Lheritier, co-founder

Introduction

Christine Marlet, representing Global Women Hub (a non-profit focused on reinventing gender equality through synergy between genders), opened the webinar. Magali Anderson then introduced the central question driving the discussion: can a couple be more effective as co-founders than two unrelated individuals?

Question asked by Magali, the moderator and the answer of Mallika and Alex

Who Are Mallika and Alex?

Mallika described herself as a global nomad (having lived in 15+ countries), a “capitalist for impact,” a devoted wife and mother, and a lifelong learner with a strong sense of community and a drive to give back.

Alex introduced himself — with self-deprecating humour — primarily as “Malika’s husband.” Less internationally mobile than Michaela, he is driven by the desire to make a meaningful, positive impact, which he identified as the core motivation behind co-founding Koaloo.fi.

Both met while working in banking, which gave them early insight into each other’s professional strengths and weaknesses before becoming a couple.

Question 1: How do you work together as co-founders? What are your strengths and how do you divide responsibilities?

Mallika framed their partnership around three pillars wrapped in a foundation of deep trust:

• Shared values — aligned on what matters most
• A converging vision — not identical, but consistently moving toward the same destination, with room to adapt
• Complementary skills — Michaela is a structured executor and scenario planner; Alex is the visionary idea generator

She noted that this complementarity naturally de-risks the business: when Alex sees only upside, Michaela is already preparing Plans A, B, and C.

Alex added that knowing each other so well — professionally and personally — allows them to allocate work intuitively, playing to each other’s strengths. He also highlighted the value of their distinct but partially overlapping networks, which they use to constantly scan for blind spots (referencing Rumsfeld’s concept of “unknown unknowns”). Their regular end-of-day debriefs, often at 11:30 PM in bed, help them cross-check what each has heard and learned.

Question 2: How do you challenge each other’s ideas without letting emotions get in the way?

Mallika explained that they start from a position of trust — knowing that any idea comes from a genuine desire to help the company. Their approach involves:

• Getting curious rather than defensive (“why do you think that?”)
• A framework they call “caring honesty” — being radically candid but in a respectful, intentional way
• Trying to understand the other person’s intention rather than assuming the worst

She gave a concrete example from that very morning, where Alex questioned a product decision made six weeks earlier. Her initial reaction was frustration, but she caught herself, listened, and the team ultimately pivoted — for the better.

Alex pointed out the two key traps to avoid: assuming bad intentions, and pressing emotional buttons. He recalled advice from a negotiation trainer who said your spouse is the person best placed to make you lose your cool, because they know exactly which buttons to press. The discipline is consciously choosing not to press them, even when tempted.

Question 3: How do you disconnect and set boundaries between professional and private life?

Mallika acknowledged there is no perfect formula — it is trial and error. Their rituals include:

• Founder walks — long walks through nature where they talk through important work topics in a calm setting
• No-work days or half-days on weekends
• Individual pursuits — Michaela gardens, Alex cuts trees and runs
• Running together, during which they genuinely cannot talk work (she’s too out of breath)
• Daily downloads — structured one-on-one time with each child

She also acknowledged the guilt that often comes, particularly for women, when things are not perfect — and said the key lesson has been to stop feeling guilty and accept that “good enough” on a hard day is still excellence.

Alex noted the biggest ongoing challenge is simply knowing when to stop talking about work, as the temptation is constant. Running alone on weekends is his primary mental reset.

Question 4: How do you involve your children (aged 15 and 13) in the business without neglecting them?

Alex (who was careful to note “no child labour involved”) explained:

• The non-negotiable rule: if the children need them, they always make time, no matter what
• On weekends, they work before the children wake up (easier with teenagers who sleep late) and close laptops when the kids are up
• The children are made to feel that Koaloo is a family project, not something taking their parents away from them

He shared two lovely examples: their eldest son Louis independently built a financial impact app for Koaloo (“Made by Louis Lheritier for Koaloo.fi”), and their younger son recorded a product demo video. Both were proud contributors, not bystanders. The eldest now occasionally visits the office and spends time with the data science team, aligning with his ambition to become an engineer.

Mallika added that she and Alex use this entrepreneurial journey as a live lesson in resilience, risk-taking, and applied learning for their children, pushing back against the culture of instant gratification.

Question 5: How do you stand by your values when under pressure — especially financial pressure?

Mallika said values have always been central to who she is, particularly as a woman and a minority in industries where she was often the only one. She gave an early career example of speaking up in a hiring meeting where a highly qualified African American candidate was being dismissed for discriminatory reasons — as the most junior person in the room, she redirected the conversation to the candidate’s actual skills.

At Koaloo, they have institutionalised two frameworks:

• Caring honesty — speaking truth in a respectful and intentional way, internally and externally
• FRFC (Fair, Respectful, Factual, Collaborative) — a working framework used as a “joker card” to pause and reset conversations that drift off course

Both she and Alex confirmed they have turned down investors and clients whose values were not aligned with theirs, even when it meant losing money.

Alex illustrated with a story about a data scientist they hired transparently, sharing full market salary data upfront. When the employee eventually left for a better offer they couldn’t match, he did so on good terms — and personally brought in his own replacement. Alex’s conclusion: standing by your values means being willing to lose short-term, but the long-term outcomes tend to justify it.

Question 6: What are your sources of income? Do you have side hustles? How do you handle domestic responsibilities?

Alex was candid: essentially all their income is tied to Koaloo — “all eggs in the same basket,” which he acknowledged is not ideal from a risk management standpoint. They had invested in other startups before Koaloo and hope to do so again in the future.

On domestic responsibilities, he said they divide household tasks based on who is better at or more comfortable with each — just as they divide work tasks — with the goal of avoiding an unfair burden on either partner.

Mallika reinforced this with her point about excellence: it doesn’t mean perfection every day. Some days the best you can do is “good enough,” and that is fine. She also mentioned having previously helped 40 women launch their businesses pro bono, and that both she and Alex are active mentors in startup incubators, including one shared with Magali.

Question 7: What advice would you give other couples considering this path? What would you do differently?

Alex offered the following:

• Working together can absolutely work — but only if there is genuine complementarity. Without it, resentment and rivalry can easily creep in.
• They were lucky to find that complementarity, and he remains humble about it.
• The hardest ongoing discipline is knowing when to stop talking about work.
• On decision-making: Michaela is legally the CEO. When they genuinely cannot agree, she has the final word. Alex is fully at peace with this, setting ego aside in favour of trust. He noted: if you always have consensus, something is wrong; if you have no mechanism for breaking deadlock, that’s equally problematic.

Mallika wrapped up with a practical checklist for couples considering co-founding:

1. Know yourself — your values, strengths, weaknesses, and how you handle stress
2. Be intentional about why you’re doing this and what it will mean for your relationship as it evolves
3. Understand your respective rhythms — she and Alex tend to stress about different things, so when one is down, the other is usually up, which naturally balances them
4. Plan the financial risk carefully before jumping in
5. Start early — her one genuine regret is not starting the entrepreneurship journey sooner, ideally before having children

Her closing message: “You can be an entrepreneur at any age — the earlier, the better to experiment. Don’t wait.”