Ashley King and Sophie Lovett run the international side of Pearl, the AI company that reads dental radiographs — and they turn up as a self-confessed package deal.
The chat starts with what the tech actually does (a second opinion for clinicians, and a way to help patients finally see what's going on in their own mouths), but it doesn't stay there for long. Payman, Ashley and Sophie get into US versus UK dentistry, the state of the NHS, why trust beats price every time, and how AI is creeping into everyday work.
Then it gets personal: women and AI, the awkwardness of asking for a pay rise, what happens when a woman out-earns her partner, and whether having children is selfless or selfish. Honest, funny and occasionally controversial — this one wanders well beyond the X-ray.
In This Episode
00:00:50 - Life at a start-up
00:02:20 - Life on the road
00:04:35 - Distributors or your own office
00:06:05 - What Pearl does
00:09:30 - Accuracy and limits
00:10:45 - A controversial take
00:12:45 - AI and the future
00:18:35 - A cottage industry
00:21:20 - US vs UK dentistry
00:24:40 - NHS vs private
00:30:20 - Getting set up
00:34:00 - The price
00:35:40 - Why trust is everything
00:37:45 - The word "sell"
00:40:35 - Living in London
00:46:50 - The worst of America
00:51:50 - Politics
00:56:05 - AI in their own work
01:00:50 - Women and AI
01:02:30 - The pay rise problem
01:05:20 - The gender pay gap
01:08:25 - Femininity as power
01:11:00 - Relationships and self-reliance
01:13:55 - Children
01:16:30 - Out-earning a partner
01:25:10 - "I'm just a hygienist"
01:26:30 - Business influences
01:33:50 - Biggest business mistakes
01:38:40 - Competitors and USP
01:45:40 - Guilty pleasures
01:49:05 - Fantasy dinner party
01:54:00 - Ministry of Sound
About Ashley King & Sophie Lovett
Ashley King leads international partnerships at Pearl, having started out in dental back in 2018 at VOCO; she's from North Carolina and now calls London home. Sophie Lovett heads up Pearl's international market development and, despite only three years in dentistry, talks the clinical language like a native. The two are best friends as much as colleagues — which is exactly why they turned up to record together.
