Helen McGuire

About Beyond Cubicles

📢 #BeyondCubicles is a weekly LinkedIn series created by Carolina D’Souza, born out of her own experience transitioning from a corporate career to independent consulting. Since its launch in June 2024, the series has evolved into a platform that showcases the inspiring journeys of several founders who have redefined the traditional 9-to-5.

Through authentic narratives, #BeyondCubicles highlights themes of courage, resilience, and purpose. The stories feature individuals from diverse industries—ranging from tech and education to wellness and adventure—who share their experiences of stepping away from conventional roles to pursue passion-driven careers. 

✨ Note: All features in this series are unpaid and shared as a way to honor and amplify real stories of transformation.

“I asked questions. I made mistakes. I learned fast.”

Helen McGuire had what looked like a dream career in the UK: working with media stalwarts like BBC Radio 1 and BBDO.

But when she moved to Dubai and became a mother, something shifted.

A maternity leave photography class became an unexpected turning point. “I found myself surrounded by brilliant, capable women who weren’t working, not because they didn’t want to, but because they couldn’t find flexible, fulfilling opportunities,” she says.

That disconnect between workplace ideals and real-life barriers sparked Hopscotch, a careers platform for women.

“It was hugely successful in its own right,” says Helen, “but didn’t solve the problem of bias in the workplace, nor was it scalable or acquirable.”

Her next venture aimed to fix what Hopscotch couldn’t.

Diversely, a tech solution that helped hiring teams shortlist candidates without bias, raised hundreds of thousands, launched globally, and was later acquired by The Access Group in 2023.

The milestone placed her among just 0.5% of female founders to exit, and fewer still who did so while raising three children across two countries. It also led to her first book, The Female Founder Formula. “I went from a seasoned comms pro with one 7-month-old to first-time founder… with three kids under 4,” she says.

Her journey spanned Dubai, Singapore, and four territories where she built new categories. Joining Antler, a global founder community, accelerated progress. “I sat in a room full of people who were smarter than me… I asked questions. I made mistakes. I learned fast.”

Reflecting on becoming a certified CBT and Reiki practitioner, she says, “Business isn’t just strategy; it’s psychology, too.”

This personal growth now means Helen wears two hats: most recently as Founder of The Founder’s Sanctuary, an inclusive online membership that’s fueled by founder wellness as much as business growth, that she says she wished had existed during her own “lonely, messy middle stages of building”.

As she pivoted, she approached personal branding with authenticity and now works with those in leadership to do the same as an Executive Visibility Strategist. By sharing the messy middle, not just the highlights, she built a following of over 80k. “What I’ve learned, I share generously, and I’m rewarded in so many ways in the process.”

Now based in Dubai, where she moved in 2013 for “work and warmer weather”, Helen owns her time. “Meditation, movement, mindset are all daily ‘jobs’ for me.”

Her lessons? “Sales keep you in business. Ask for help sooner. Build something for someone real.”