Living Your Values & Building a Business That Outlasts You with Fable Co-Founder & Executive Chair, Alwar Pillai #142

Extrology: Mastering People, Performance & Purpose

Extrology: Mastering People, Performance & Purpose
Living Your Values & Building a Business That Outlasts You with Fable Co-Founder & Executive Chair, Alwar Pillai #142
Jan 20, 2026 Episode 142
Lee Cooper

Most digital products reflect the people who build them, not the people who use them. 

That insight led Alwar Pillai to build Fable, a company with 70% of its workforce living with a disability - they’re a business that wholly promises to practice what they preach.

They’ve brought people with disabilities into the heart of product development for some of the most recognised brands in the world; Microsoft, Walmart, Meta and Figma to name but a few.

So how did Alwar build something that’s scaled true to her vision, and how has she navigated the journey from designer to Founder, to CEO, and back out again? Join us on this week’s episode of Extrology.

Lee and Alwar discuss:

  • Designing beyond the “average user”
  • The journey from compliance to usability in accessibility
  • Building Fable as a bridge between disabled users and tech giants
  • Leadership, succession, and letting go as a founder
  • AI bias and the future of inclusive products

Alwar Pillai:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alwarpillai/

Fable:

https://makeitfable.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/makeitfable/

Send a text

Get in touch: lee@extrology.com

Extrology:

https://www.extrology.com/

https://www.instagram.com/extrologypodcast/

https://www.tiktok.com/@extrology

https://substack.com/@extrology

https://www.youtube.com/@extrology

Lee Cooper:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecooperrecruiter/


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