From One-on-One to One Million: How a Trauma Therapist Became a Tech Founder Fighting the Housing Crisis

Meet Emily Levin, who made a stunning career pivot from trauma therapist to tech co-founder, creating AI solutions for the affordable housing crisis. In this powerful conversation, Emily shares how she went from helping individuals heal to transforming entire systems, co-founding Access—an AI platform that's already raising capital and getting families into homes faster.

🏠 What You'll Learn:

• How Emily transitioned from 15 years as a psychoanalyst to co-founding a tech startup
• The "slow enrollment of possibility" that prepared her for this major leap
• Why storytelling skills matter more than technical expertise in early-stage startups
• Her "future casting" practice for building confidence in unfamiliar territory
• How she's navigating the male-dominated startup world as a female founder
• The shocking statistics about affordable housing and why this problem matters

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Only 1 in 5 Americans who qualify for affordable housing actually receive it
• It takes property managers 80 hours to lease up one affordable housing unit
• Female-run startups receive only 1.4% of venture funding
• Your existing expertise is more transferable than you think
• Community and mentorship are essential for courage-building

🎯 Perfect for:

• Women considering major career pivots
• Anyone interested in social impact entrepreneurship
• Therapists or helping professionals wanting to scale their impact
• People curious about the affordable housing crisis
• Anyone building courage to start something new

Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction to Emily Levin

01:48 - The kitchen table moment that changed everything

04:46 - The "slow enrollment of possibility"

07:00 - Leading a tech company without tech background

10:19 - Navigating the male-dominated startup world

11:47 - The power of play and "future casting"

13:00 - Finding community in the Robin Hood accelerator

15:02 - Getting support from her 82-year-old father

17:19 - Bringing her daughters into the business

21:04 - The affordable housing crisis explained

26:25 - Future plans: scaling nationally and writing a book

27:45 - Advice for "words and feelings" people entering business

28:41 - How to support Emily's mission

About Emily Levin

Emily Levin co-founded Axccess, the first AI platform that streamlines affordable housing processes. After 15 years as a psychoanalyst and trauma therapist working with chronically mentally ill New Yorkers transitioning from the streets into stable housing, Emily recognized that individual healing wasn't enough—the system itself needed to change. Axccess is already raising capital, signing customers, and generating revenue while getting families into safe, affordable homes faster.

If You Loved This Episode, Listen to These

Start with Emily's Nominator:

• Susannah Ludwig - The woman who saw Emily's courage and nominated her for this show

Fellow Founders Breaking New Ground:

• Susie Jaramillo - First Latina CEO of a media company in the US
• Jenny Jing Zhu - From village maid to $100M company founder