In a sector often dominated by the same stories, the journey of Edera’s three co-founders—Alex Zenla, Emily Long, and Ariadne Conill—offers a refreshing and empowering alternative. Not only have they built a cutting-edge software company focused on secure container technology, but they have done so by breaking conventions, sharing power, and rewriting the rules of leadership in tech.

Founded in 2022, Edera has quickly established itself as a key voice in developer tooling and security. But behind the sleek branding and technical milestones lies a story rooted in collaboration, community values, and a fierce determination to make the software world more inclusive and resilient. As women leading a deep-tech start-up in a space often saturated with venture capital bravado and Silicon Valley stereotypes, Zenla, Long, and Conill are quietly shifting the paradigm.

Edera – From IRC to innovation

Alex Zenla, Edera’s CTO, traces her entry into technology back to the early days of Minecraft IRC channels and open-source communities. It was there, amid pseudonyms and text-based friendships, that she began shaping the mindset that would later drive Edera’s engineering ethos: curiosity, rigour, and deep respect for contributors. Her background includes hands-on work with major open-source projects, and she remains active on GitHub, where she continues to advocate for collaborative and transparent development.

In interviews, Zenla has spoken about the challenges of building secure container isolation—a problem at the heart of Edera’s mission. “Most people are trying to run things faster,” she says. “We are trying to run things more safely.” The company’s flagship technology, rmc (runtime micro containers), is designed to create secure environments for running untrusted code—a crucial feature in today’s threat landscape. Zenla’s engineering vision has been instrumental in driving this innovation, but her approach is refreshingly unpretentious: deeply technical yet rooted in real-world application.

Leadership with empathy and structure

Emily Long, Edera’s CEO, provides the operational and organisational backbone that has enabled the company to thrive. With a background in both research and start-up management, Long is known for her thoughtful leadership style and focus on long-term impact. In a recent interview with Pulse 2.0, she reflected on how Edera was built intentionally to avoid many of the cultural pitfalls that plague tech start-ups.

“We did not want to recreate the same systems that have failed people elsewhere,” she explained. Instead, Edera was structured as a worker-owned cooperative from the outset. Decisions are made collectively, transparency is paramount, and the team shares not only responsibilities but also the company’s rewards. This model has attracted both talent and admiration across the industry—not just for its novelty but for its success in retaining highly skilled engineers who value autonomy and purpose.

Long believes that leadership must be “deeply human.” That means building systems that work for people—not just for performance metrics. Her commitment to equity is not theoretical; it is embedded in the way the company operates, from hiring practices to technical architecture.

A foundation of trust and community

Ariadne Conill, the third co-founder, brings years of experience in free and open-source software development and a strong commitment to the ethical dimensions of technology. Her role in shaping Edera’s organisational culture has been subtle yet profound. As a long-time advocate for digital autonomy, Conill has helped root the company’s vision in the values of trust, accessibility, and sustainability.

Her career has included contributions to major Linux distributions and infrastructure projects. At Edera, she has helped ensure that security does not come at the expense of usability or inclusivity. She often speaks about the need for tools that are not only powerful but also empowering—especially for underrepresented users and developers.
Together, the trio have created more than just a company. Edera stands as a symbol of what is possible when technology is led by those who have traditionally been excluded from decision-making spaces. Their work reminds the industry that security is not only a technical challenge—it is also a cultural one. And in this regard, they are building differently.

While many tech firms chase scale and exit strategies, Edera is focused on longevity and contribution. The company’s story is still unfolding, but the foundation is strong: three women who chose to lead without compromise, to build without ego, and to change the system by reimagining it entirely.