Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
On this episode of Empowered, host Elizabeth Naumovski sits down with Robin Petrogiannis, CEO and founder of OurPwr, proactive, predictive, preventative safety solutions for women.
Robin shares how being sexually harassed at 17 led her to build a company by 20, and why every safety product she found was reactive instead of empowering. She breaks down how OurPwr's Digital Witness captures video, audio, location and time to end he-said-she-said situations, how the Circle connects you to the responders geographically closest to you, and how the proactive heat map shows you how long help would take to reach you before you ever enter a risky situation.
With college move-in behind us, Robin also explains the Red Zone, August to November, the most dangerous stretch of the year for sexual assault on campus, and the safety conversation parents need to have with their daughters. Plus the myth that danger is a stranger, why 80% of attacks come from someone the woman knows, and hard-won lessons on non-dilutive funding, incubators, cold outreach and being underestimated in rooms full of investors.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — Intro: the one safety conversation parents need to have
01:08 — Harassed at 17, founder by 20: why Robin built OurPwr
02:05 — What she wishes she knew: non-dilutive funding and incubators
03:04 — Being underestimated and turning doubt into fuel
04:25 — The one person who believed in her first
05:43 — What OurPwr actually does
06:38 — The Red Zone: August to November on campus
07:02 — Digital Witness, panic mode and your Circle of responders
10:19 — The biggest myth: danger is a stranger
12:22 — Why it isn't just for students
13:16 — The business lesson no one tells young female founders
17:11 — Fundraising: warm intros, cold outreach and creating FOMO
20:32 — Where OurPwr goes in the next five years
GUEST
Robin Petrogiannis: CEO & Founder -OurPwr
Empowered
Host: Elizabeth Naumovski
FOLLOW US
• Subscribe: youtube.com/@TheNewsForum
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/thenewsforum_
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/the-news-forum
TAGS
#thenewsforumca #Empowered #ElizabethNaumovski #RobinPetrogiannis #OurPwr #WomensSafety #PersonalSafety #SafetyApp #FemaleFounder #WomenInTech #WomenInBusiness #Entrepreneurship #StartupLife #CampusSafety #RedZone #CollegeSafety #ParentingTeens #SexualAssaultAwareness #TrustYourGut #SafetyTech #PredictiveAI #WomenSupportingWomen #YoungEntrepreneur #Fundraising #VentureCapital #CanadianStartups #TNF
On this episode of Empowered, host Elizabeth Naumovski sits down with Robin Petrogiannis, CEO and founder of OurPwr, proactive, predictive, preventative safety solutions for women.
Robin shares how being sexually harassed at 17 led her to build a company by 20, and why every safety product she found was reactive instead of empowering. She breaks down how OurPwr's Digital Witness captures video, audio, location and time to end he-said-she-said situations, how the Circle connects you to the responders geographically closest to you, and how the proactive heat map shows you how long help would take to reach you before you ever enter a risky situation.
With college move-in behind us, Robin also explains the Red Zone, August to November, the most dangerous stretch of the year for sexual assault on campus, and the safety conversation parents need to have with their daughters. Plus the myth that danger is a stranger, why 80% of attacks come from someone the woman knows, and hard-won lessons on non-dilutive funding, incubators, cold outreach and being underestimated in rooms full of investors.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — Intro: the one safety conversation parents need to have
01:08 — Harassed at 17, founder by 20: why Robin built OurPwr
02:05 — What she wishes she knew: non-dilutive funding and incubators
03:04 — Being underestimated and turning doubt into fuel
04:25 — The one person who believed in her first
05:43 — What OurPwr actually does
06:38 — The Red Zone: August to November on campus
07:02 — Digital Witness, panic mode and your Circle of responders
10:19 — The biggest myth: danger is a stranger
12:22 — Why it isn't just for students
13:16 — The business lesson no one tells young female founders
17:11 — Fundraising: warm intros, cold outreach and creating FOMO
20:32 — Where OurPwr goes in the next five years
GUEST
Robin Petrogiannis: CEO & Founder -OurPwr
Empowered
Host: Elizabeth Naumovski
FOLLOW US
• Subscribe: youtube.com/@TheNewsForum
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/thenewsforum_
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/the-news-forum
TAGS
#thenewsforumca #Empowered #ElizabethNaumovski #RobinPetrogiannis #OurPwr #WomensSafety #PersonalSafety #SafetyApp #FemaleFounder #WomenInTech #WomenInBusiness #Entrepreneurship #StartupLife #CampusSafety #RedZone #CollegeSafety #ParentingTeens #SexualAssaultAwareness #TrustYourGut #SafetyTech #PredictiveAI #WomenSupportingWomen #YoungEntrepreneur #Fundraising #VentureCapital #CanadianStartups #TNF
