AWARD WINNER: Fifth Place in the 2025 Ivey Women Investing in Leadership Case Writing Competition
This case examines the entrepreneurial journey of Angela Shi, a Chinese international student who transformed herself from a finance executive into Australia’s leading female AI entrepreneur. Founded in February 2023, Empathetic AI developed Luna, Australia’s first AI tax copilot, and has grown to serve over 800 businesses with innovative AI solutions for finance professionals. The case captures Angela’s strategic decision-making at a critical juncture in August 2025, where she must choose between three distinct growth strategies: organic bootstrapping, international expansion, or strategic partnerships. Set against the backdrop of Australia’s challenging gender dynamics in start-up funding—where only 2 per cent of capital goes to all-female-founded teams—the case explores themes of resilience, strategic leadership, and breaking barriers in male-dominated industries.