From PhD Theology to Tech CEO: Why Human Connection Will Beat AI in Building Lasting Habits

Tanya's unique journey from PhD theology to building BuddyHub, a human-centric habit app. Learn why accountability partnerships outperform AI in creating lasting behavior change in the $38B habit market.

July 19, 2025

5 min read

By Rachit Magon

Here's a startling question: How many of you have paid for a gym membership and never gone back? If you're like 92% of people who abandon their New Year's resolutions, you're not alone. Despite the explosion of habit-tracking apps in the $38 billion market, we're not actually getting better at building lasting habits.

Today's conversation is with someone who's figured out exactly what's broken in this space - and her solution might surprise you.

Meet Tanya, CEO of BuddyHub, who brings the most unconventional background to tech entrepreneurship: a PhD in theology. While most founders focus on AI-powered habit tracking, Tanya is building something radically different - a platform that prioritizes human accountability partnerships over algorithmic nudges.

Her thesis: In an age of increasing AI dependence, authentic human connection is becoming the rarest and most valuable ingredient for lasting behavior change.

Key Takeaways: Building Products That Create Real Human Change

The Contrarian Insight:

• 65% higher goal achievement with human accountability partners vs. solo efforts
• AI teaches dependence; humans teach lasting transformation
• Character matters more than cultural differences in behavior change

Immediate Actions (Next 30 Days):

• Focus on one specific pain point rather than multiple features
• Test your core hypothesis before building complex systems
• Build community and retention into your product DNA from day one

Strategic Framework (3-6 Months):

• Design for human connection first, technology second
• Plan for what your product offers users in months 2-12, not just day one
• Create multiple touchpoints for long-term relationship building

Q: You have one of the most unique backgrounds in tech - from PhD theology to running a global habit-building platform. Take us back to your theological dissertation. What was it about?

Tanya: Honestly, I was always an entrepreneur from childhood. My hobby was diving deep into philosophical approaches to everything - specifically human-centric philosophy.

I started when I was 18 with research based on Leonardo da Vinci's human-centric philosophy: what does it mean to be human, what humanity means, what values humanity has. Later at Oxford University, I studied political philosophy and explored how human-centric philosophy could influence the world through politics.

Then I started my dissertation on theology of education - how we should educate ourselves and our children to make them human, not bots or robots, but to stay human.

This human-centric approach and horizontal connections - like we have now, where we're talking, having dialogue, listening to each other - that principle is inside the BuddyHub project. We're about human-centric connections, not about faking something like Instagram or speaking about success and billions like LinkedIn. BuddyHub is absolutely about being human and having this human-centric approach.

🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: This philosophical foundation is precisely what most habit apps are missing. While competitors focus on gamification and streaks, Tanya's building from a deeper understanding of what actually motivates lasting human change. It's the difference between dopamine hits and genuine transformation.

Q: You've run museums, media companies, and now a tech startup. How did museum leadership prepare you for building BuddyHub?

Tanya: It doesn't matter what kind of business you have - people matter. Being CEO of a museum means I interact with people every day. Being CEO of any company means I interact with people.

All the businesses I was in were about people. That's why I integrate my human-centric approach into all the businesses I'm involved in. I highly recommend all entrepreneurs integrate this approach - for example, the CEO of Chanel today is integrating this human-centric approach in doing business.

I think that will be the next level of entrepreneurship.

🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: This insight is becoming more valuable as tech becomes more automated. While AI handles transactions, the companies that understand human psychology and cultural dynamics will own the relationship layer. Tanya's museum experience gave her something most tech founders lack: deep expertise in human engagement and cultural transformation.

Q: You're building a global product from the UAE, speaking four languages. What have you learned about building technology that works across cultures?

Tanya: I actually don't believe much in cultural differences. I believe in differences in character.

There's a good proverb: there are no bad nations, there are bad people. We're not about cultural differences. We look at characters. For example, in India, Germany, or France, there could be people with very strong characters who want to change their lives, transform their lives, build habits. There could also be people who don't want anything - they're just into Instagram or other social networks.

Character means everything, and it doesn't matter what culture you belong to. For transforming your life, culture doesn't mean much. It's about character. I've communicated with different people with different backgrounds, but character means everything in your life because only by having strong character can you transform your life and build something.

It's not about cultural differences - it's about human nature and character.

🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: This perspective cuts through the noise of cultural customization that obsesses many global startups. Instead of building different experiences for different markets, focus on the universal human elements: character, motivation, and genuine support. It's simpler and more effective.

Q: BuddyHub focuses on accountability partnerships. Research shows they increase goal achievement by 65%. How do you balance technology with the human element?

Tanya: Technology ends when you are matched with your buddy inside the app. Technology is all about the AI algorithm to match you with the best buddy possible, to track your aims and goals. But the technology ends and the magic begins when you are matched with another human.

BuddyHub is also about inspiring you to decide for yourself - not to give the responsibility of your decisions to AI or even your buddy, but to decide for yourself whether you want to change something in your life or not.

We have this technology basis - building the app, having AI for tracking goals, all the metrics and characteristics - but when you're matched with another human, the magic begins.

We combine these two elements like yin and yang, like alpha and omega. We cannot live without technology now, and we have to integrate it on any level, but we should always remember that we are humans. In five, six, ten years we will feel unhappiness if we integrate too much technology.

We have to maintain this golden balance between technology and humanity, like Leonardo da Vinci said. When we have this balance, we can really enjoy the fruits of this balance, and the results will be amazing.

🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: This is the future of human-AI collaboration. AI handles the matching and tracking (what it's good at), humans provide the empathy, accountability, and genuine care (what they're uniquely good at). Most apps try to replace humans with AI; BuddyHub uses AI to connect humans more effectively.

Q: Do you think AI is disrupting the balance between technology and humanity?

Tanya: AI teaches people to be dependent. We lose our independence to decide something - like whether we would like to eat something or not, we use ChatGPT to scan our food. Year by year we'll be left behind. We won't be able to decide what partner to choose, what book to read, how to communicate with our parents. We'll be dependent on that bot.

This psychological dependence is much stronger than any medical or other dependence because it's connected with our brains, with our emotions. AI is much deeper than just a bot - it's integrated into our lives.

I'm actually afraid that people will understand this too late. Therefore we are preparing BuddyHub so you can go there, find a good buddy, and transform your life - do sport, run marathons, read books, whatever.

🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: This is one of the most insightful takes on AI dependence we've heard. While everyone debates job displacement, Tanya identifies something deeper: the erosion of human decision-making capacity. BuddyHub isn't just a habit app - it's a platform for preserving human agency in an increasingly automated world.

Q: The habit market is projected to reach $38 billion. What's the biggest misconception people have about habit formation products?

Tanya: The one thing many entrepreneurs lose when they start any business is retention - how this product will live in 30 days. Will there be enough people returning to the product in 30 days? What's next?

It's like sailing on a ship and seeing one island, but that's not enough. There's much more ocean there. You should have this vision for the bigger picture.

Building any business isn't about emotions - about how cool your product is. It's very egocentric. You should be concentrated on business metrics. Focus on metrics and plan what your product will give your user in one month, two months. Will it be the same as during the first days?

Also, BuddyHub isn't only about habit building because it's boring - okay, habit building, I'll build one habit and then go away. It's all about community. Build a good community for your project.

Second is retention, as I mentioned. Third is to have something more, like Steve Jobs said - connecting the dots. You have one dot, then another, then another, and you connect them. It's a lifelong journey, not a one-day product.

We have surprises for our customers and users to be in this long-term relationship. We're very serious - we're for long, serious relationships with our customers and users. That's what I want all entrepreneurs to remember: don't forget about the big picture.

🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: This is brilliant product strategy disguised as habit advice. Most apps optimize for day-1 engagement; Tanya's building for month-12 value. The "connecting the dots" philosophy creates natural expansion opportunities - from individual habits to community transformation to lifelong personal development.

Q: People say it takes 21 days to form a habit, but that varies significantly. How does BuddyHub approach individual differences in habit formation?

Tanya: AI is not integrated into habit building because we want to inspire people to decide for themselves and transform their lives themselves - to be the rulers of their life, not the AI.

You can build a habit in 28 days, yes, but it depends on what kind of habit you're building. For some habits you need 28 days - like making your bed. For more serious habits you need more time.

In BuddyHub we have different quantities of days - it all depends on the goal. It's very personal, a tailor-made thing. How many days you need is very personal. Sometimes you need more than your neighbor, friend, or parents. And that's okay. We are all humans, we are all very individual.

For example, inside the company, I invite everybody in the team to start "buddying." I was myself a buddy for two of my colleagues, and we were forming habits together - habits to learn, habits to read books. It was an amazing experience.

For one person it takes three days to start integrating a habit; for another it takes one month. But I'm here, I'm your buddy - I can wait as long as you need. It's very supportive.

What I miss in Instagram or LinkedIn is that it's not supportive. Sometimes you feel like an outcast if you don't post any success or metrics. We should be more kind to each other and express more love. Love is support and patience - I am patient with you that you do not build a habit in three days, and that's okay.

More kindness and more support - that's what we need.

🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: This patience-based approach is revolutionary in a world of instant gratification apps. While most platforms create pressure through streaks and social comparison, BuddyHub creates safety through unconditional support. It's therapy principles applied to habit formation - and it's exactly what people need in our high-pressure digital culture.

Q: Your theological background emphasizes free will, but BuddyHub influences behavior. How do you think about the ethics of behavior change technology? Where's the line between helpful guidance and manipulation?

Tanya: Manipulation is a very strong word. I mentioned kindness and support. When you are supportive, you cannot be manipulative. If you're manipulative, you are not part of the BuddyHub community.

If we speak about life, manipulation is not about love. Manipulation is not about support. Manipulation is about anger and unhappiness. Unhappy people are very manipulative.

In theology, specifically Christian theology, it's all about free will. God gives us free will and it's up to us to decide what side we take. That's a beautiful thing - we all are humans and we have this free will to decide whether to be manipulative or supportive, to build a habit or stay on the couch and do nothing.

It's not only a habit building app - it's an app that's building your internal values as well. What's important for you? What do you value in your life? Do you spend time with Instagram or spend time with your buddy learning another language?

It's like an onion - many layers.

🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: This theological framework provides a powerful ethical foundation that most tech companies lack. By framing behavior change as supporting free will rather than manipulating it, BuddyHub creates genuine empowerment rather than addiction. The "onion layers" metaphor is perfect - surface behavior change leads to deeper value transformation.

Q: We're seeing AI systems help people build habits. If ChatGPT was helping someone build habits, is that self-improvement or external programming?

Tanya: From the semantical point of view, if we take the language "artificial intelligence" - it's artificial. When we try to build something with something that is artificial, you should think about the results you might have. Will it be lasting or not lasting?

You can ask ChatGPT to give you a plan, an agenda, what to do, how to fix things, but will the results be lasting? Only human can help another human to have lasting results. Artificial intelligence is just a computer that cannot guarantee that you have lifetime results later.

Being with a human means you have this warmth. The computer cannot be warm to you, cannot be friendly - okay, it can be friendly if you tell the artificial intelligence to be friendly, but human warmth is much more beautiful.

You know, we're talking now and I cannot imagine myself talking to AI - it's like a joke. It's about values, long life, and lasting results. What do you want? Many buddies can become real friends after that, and I think that's an amazing result.

🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: This cuts to the heart of the AI productivity debate. AI can optimize processes, but humans create lasting transformation through emotional connection and accountability. The "artificial results" insight is profound - behaviors learned through AI assistance might be more fragile than those developed through human support.

Q: You've built teams across continents and time zones. What's your framework for international team building?

Tanya: The first thing you should think about when you build a team is the values you share. If you have different values, what is good for you should be good for your team. Your team should have the same values.

I saw many businesses collapse because the values of the founders differed from the values of the team. For example, if you want to change the world and your team wants just money, that doesn't work. Money is good, but if you want only money, money will be the only thing you get. You will not have impact.

You should have common values. Second, trust matters. You should trust - it's like jumping with a parachute. You should trust a person because it's something you do together. It's like in a relationship - you should trust your partner or it doesn't work.

The third thing is what I'm reading about now - there's an article called "Leadership Is a Conversation." The old school is "I'm a leader, you obey." The new school is about conversation. I can listen, I can hear you, I can give you independence. You can do whatever you think is appropriate.

This is all possible when you have the first two - values and trust. Then you can do whatever you think is important because I trust you and we have common values.

These three pillars are very important.

🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: This framework - shared values, trust, and conversational leadership - is becoming critical as teams become more distributed and diverse. It's particularly relevant for mission-driven startups where cultural alignment matters more than traditional hierarchies. The "parachute" analogy perfectly captures the vulnerability required for remote team building.

Q: You're building from the UAE. What opportunities do you see there for entrepreneurs and developers?

Tanya: It's a good place to start a business because they have a very good tax system and very easy protocols to register companies. They are on the side of entrepreneurs. They are friends of startuppers - they really are very supportive. That's a good advantage.

But personally, I'm now in Europe because it's very hot there. If the weather is okay for you, go for it - for me it's too hot. I prefer Europe.

For building a startup, it's a very good system there. I definitely recommend it because it's very friendly. But for living there every day, it depends individually - there are people who cannot stand the heat or don't like the ecological aspects, like dust from cars.

It's a very personal question. Personally, as a businessman or entrepreneur, I like Dubai for the possibilities they share with startups and entrepreneurs. They have a very broad spectrum of possibilities. As for living there individually, I don't think the climate is appropriate for me. I prefer more mild weather.

🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: This honest assessment is refreshing - most people either completely praise or dismiss the UAE startup ecosystem. The separation of business benefits (tax, regulation, support) from lifestyle considerations (climate, culture) helps entrepreneurs make informed decisions based on their priorities and preferences.

Q: Final question - one piece of advice for someone building their first app who feels overwhelmed with possibilities?

Tanya: There's a golden rule for me, my team, and my co-founders: focus on one thing. The rule of one thing.

It means one pain of your future customers, one idea, one pain reliever - what you will sell - and one solution and one product.

When you're very enthusiastic about your idea, you imagine all the ways possible. You lose focus and start doing this and that and that. Just focus on one pain, one customer segment - one thing. You should be concentrated on solving one problem, not multiple problems. It will be later, all right?

So just focus on one thing and test your hypothesis. You should write down the hypothesis of your project and test it because sometimes you should not put too much energy into a hypothesis that will not work. Test it before going to market.

And the third one: if you really believe, do it. Don't listen to me. Take it and do it. Make it because there are many examples of people who did not test anything. They just had that crazy idea and made it.

Listen to your heart, listen to your gut, and if you believe, do it.

🔥 ChaiNet's Hot Take: This three-part framework - focus, test, believe - strikes the perfect balance between systematic validation and entrepreneurial courage. The "rule of one thing" is particularly powerful in today's feature-bloated app landscape. Sometimes the best advice is knowing when to ignore all advice and trust your instincts.

The Human Connection Revolution: Why BuddyHub's Approach Matters Now

Tanya's journey from theology to tech reveals something profound about where technology is heading. While the industry races toward AI-everything, she's building the opposite: a platform that uses technology to enhance human connection, not replace it.

Her insights reveal three critical trends:

1. The Dependence Crisis: As AI handles more decisions, humans are losing the muscle of choice and self-determination
2. The Authenticity Premium: Real human warmth and support are becoming more valuable as they become more rare
3. The Character Focus: In a globally connected world, character matters more than cultural differences

BuddyHub isn't just another habit app - it's a bet on humanity's enduring need for genuine connection and mutual accountability. In an age of artificial everything, authenticity becomes the ultimate differentiator.

Her three-pillar framework for building companies - shared values, trust, and conversational leadership - offers a blueprint for the kinds of organizations that will thrive as work becomes more distributed and purpose-driven.

Most importantly, her theological background brings an ethical framework that tech desperately needs: the idea that technology should enhance human free will and dignity, not erode it.

Connect with Tanya: You can find her on LinkedIn, email, or Telegram - she emphasizes being "human-centric" and open to connections and advice.

The MVP launches in August 2025. In a world of AI habit coaches and algorithm-driven behavior change, BuddyHub's human-first approach might just be the contrarian bet that wins by remembering what makes us fundamentally human.