Female Founder Friday: In Conversation with Cien Solon, founder of Launch Lemonade

It’s a joy to sit down with product leader turned founder Cien Solon, now at the helm of Launch Lemonade, to explore her journey from digital marketing to building AI agents for non-technical businesses.

In this candid chat, Cien opens up about resilience, rebooting after a co-founder departure, and why experimentation (and the occasional massage) are her non-negotiables.

FC: Could you summarise your professional background?

CS: I started out in digital marketing during the height of “digital transformation”. That naturally evolved into product management, where I led cross-functional teams, engineers and data scientists, mainly in fintech, one of the earliest adopters of AI. Earlier in life, I travelled and tried everything from teaching to nannying to summer-camp counselling, even living in China for a while.

I’d been building websites since I was 11, so eventually I channelled those technical skills into product and, ultimately, founding. Looking back, the variety of my career—creative, technical, and people-focused—gave me a broad toolkit that I now lean on every single day as a founder.

FC: What sparked Launch Lemonade—and what does it do today?

CS: In late 2023 we asked, “How do we help non-technical businesses make money from AI?” Back then, many equated AI with a simple website chatbot. Through getting out there, talking, and testing, the product evolved into an agent-orchestration layer.

Anyone can build an AI agent on our platform using 21+ models—chat, image, and voice—then configure it with their own knowledge and tools without any coding or fine-tuning. Crucially, they can monetise those agents with a few clicks: white-label, ship, and start earning.

Over time we’ve seen people create everything from sales assistants to niche educational tutors, and it’s incredible to watch founders with no coding background launch something powerful and income-generating within hours.

FC: What differentiates you from the pack?

CS: Accessibility and monetisation. We remove the friction: no dev team, no integrations, no code.

Some customers are already generating passive income from their white-labelled agents. And we’re now pushing into agent-to-agent collaboration, so agents can discover, negotiate with, and transact with other agents on your behalf.

What excites me is not just that it’s easier, but that it actually changes who gets to participate in the AI economy. We want a world where someone with no technical background can compete on equal footing with a developer or big tech firm.

FC: How have you approached funding so far?

CS: We bootstrapped for around 18 months and were profitable from the start. We’re now raising to scale—not out of necessity.

It’s been a journey: we even paused an earlier close after a co-founder’s sudden resignation. I took a morning to cry, then made a plan, paired nightly to knowledge-transfer, and hired a team of brilliant fractionals. We’re back on track.

That moment taught me that sometimes the biggest shocks can actually become catalysts—you find hidden reserves of resilience, discover who you can count on, and realise you’re capable of more than you thought.

FC: Do you prefer founder life over being employed?

CS: Absolutely, though I did miss the steady paycheque for a while! The best bit now is solving problems at scale without endless stakeholder hoops. You decide, you ship. That autonomy is addictive.

But it’s also more than that: as a founder, you get to shape not just the product, but the culture, the way of working, and even the little rituals that make the journey enjoyable. It’s deeply personal in a way employment never was.

FC: Have you faced specific challenges as a woman in tech and fundraising?

CS: Of course. There are benefits too, but you are often asked to play a ‘game’. Choosing not to can be risky. I’m motivated by proving people wrong—and building a company that speaks through results.

At times, you do feel the unspoken bias—like being asked more defensive questions in pitches than male counterparts—but I’ve learned to flip those into opportunities to highlight the upside and vision. It’s a balancing act, but it fuels my determination.

FC: For founders hesitant about AI—where should they start?

CS: Start small and experiment. Today, validation doesn’t require a dev team or investment. With £0–£100 you can test a hypothesis or automate a stubborn process. Passivity is the real risk. Be curious, build something tiny, learn, iterate.

And don’t underestimate the compounding effect; even small experiments teach you faster than endless planning. The barrier to entry has never been lower.

FC: What qualities do you think matter most for founders and fundraisers?

CS: Resilience, yes—but also the ability to not take everything too seriously. You’ll have tough days. Keep it fun where you can. And genuinely book the massage, go for the walk, look after your body. It keeps you going.

Also, I’d add storytelling. Being able to communicate your vision clearly, whether to investors, team members, or customers—is often the difference between momentum and stagnation. It’s a skill I underestimated early on.

FC: Any near-term updates we can watch for?

CS: Agent-to-agent collaboration. Think of it as letting your agent build its own network, find partners, negotiate, and transact—so you don’t have to. Our fundraise will help us scale that vision.

We’re also exploring integrations with vertical-specific platforms, so a founder in, say, e-commerce or real estate can instantly deploy tailored agents. There’s a lot happening, and the next 12 months will be pivotal.

If Cien’s journey has sparked ideas about how AI can power your business—especially if you’ve felt “non-technical” isn’t welcome—connect with her on LinkedIn and keep an eye on Launch Lemonade’s next chapter.

🔗 Launch Lemonade Website
🔗 Cien Solon on LinkedIn
🔗 Launch Lemonade on LinkedIn

Author: Gideon Stott, Digital Marketing Executive at FounderCatalyst