"I grew up in a family that embraced constant change. My mom's half Japanese and my dad's Dutch. They met in Tokyo, fell in love, and then my mom moved to Europe pretty soon after. They went from Brussels to Finland then all the way to Texas and adapted to each new country. I learn early on in life that the chaotic beauty of change is also moving forward."
In a family shaped by constant reinvention, Elena witnessed firsthand how quickly things can change, how entire industries can shift, and the stories that matter in daily conversations can easily slip away if we stop paying attention. Inspired by her family's entrepreneurship spirit, she also sought out valuable insights that might come from spaces others might avoid.
As a Mechanical Engineer Stanford student, she started visiting sketchy scrap yards in California, trading physical metals and navigating an industry built on handshake deals and family relationships. That experience grounded her understanding of how value is created in unexpected places, and how human trust and memory shape even the most physical of industries. That's where the idea of Taya was born, a wearable technology startup that builds AI-powered devices in the form of personalized jewelry.
Taya isn't just about recording conversations using AI. It's also about becoming the friend who remembers that you mentioned loving wine six months ago. It's about preserving the texture of our relationships in a world that's moving faster than ever. It's about honoring the fact that our human stories—the small moments, the passing comments, the dreams we share—are what make us who we are.