Rebuilding the Safety Net: Siran Cao on Benefits Access, Care Infrastructure, and Founder Resilience

Описание: In this episode of First Builders, Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Siran Cao, Co-Founder and CEO of Mirza, a company simplifying how families access public benefits. Inspired by her childhood navigating fragmented systems and later by scaling frontline operations at Uber, Siran is on a mission to modernize the safety net with dignity at its core. Mirza offers a streamlined, mobile-first platform that helps families apply for childcare, nutrition, and health benefits through one unified experience.

Siran explains why the care economy is not just a social issue, but critical workforce infrastructure. When childcare is inaccessible, labor participation declines. When benefits are too complex, billions go unclaimed. This conversation explores what it takes to build in a shifting policy landscape and how technology can help restore trust in the systems families rely on.

We cover:
The “benefits cliff” and how current systems discourage upward mobility
Designing for dignity when serving families who have been failed by institutions
Why trust, not just awareness, is the real barrier in benefits access
Navigating legacy government systems built on decades-old infrastructure
Expanding from childcare to nutrition and healthcare benefits without losing focus
Translating impact into economic data for policymakers and partners
Lessons from early Uber: moving fast without asking permission and knowing when not to be combative
Founder mental health, responsibility, and the weight of building mission-driven companies
Why care work is foundational workforce infrastructure and largely AI-proof

This episode is a powerful look at building technology in service of equity - and at what it takes to lead with conviction when the stakes are both deeply personal and nationally consequential.

FOLLOW SIRAN CAO
Website: heymirza.com

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