For decades, Preska Thomas has sat where most people don’t even know decisions get made. In the backrooms of global risk strategy. Inside the digital fault lines where cyber attacks start before headlines ever catch up. She has advised governments, negotiated silence, and architected stability. But this time, she’s building for the people—not the systems.
And she’s doing it on her terms.
Her creation—DebitMyData—doesn’t promise empowerment. It codes it in. This isn’t just a platform. It’s an economy. A signal to the internet that passive participation is over, and ownership has a new blueprint.
Where most tech founders talk about changing the world, Preska is busy mapping it.
But behind the platforms, behind the success, is a mind shaped by deep systems thinking. A strategist who sees past trends into infrastructure, past problems into architecture.
We asked her to unpack the principles that guide her work—and what emerged was a blueprint for anyone who wants to build things that last in a world that’s always shifting.
Here are Preska’s 7 unbreakable rules for building powerful, ethical systems in chaotic times:
“Anyone can go viral. But only a few can build something that still functions after the world changes.”
Preska never designs for the press release. Her thinking begins at the end—asking what a system needs to survive when markets evolve, users mature, or technology outpaces itself. DebitMyData wasn’t built for launch day—it was built for the long tail of trust.
“We don’t need more platforms. We need more value returns—to the people who generate them.”
Her work is rooted in a core philosophy: power must flow back to the user. If a system extracts more than it empowers, she walks away. This principle shaped every layer of DebitMyData—from how users manage their data licenses to how compensation is structured.
It’s not just ethical. It’s sustainable. Because when people feel ownership, they stay.
“Transparency isn’t just a feature. It’s a foundation.”
Preska’s background in crisis mitigation taught her that shielding people from complexity only delays collapse. Whether it’s digital contracts, behavioral tracking, or financial structures—she believes clarity is power.
DebitMyData isn’t just secure. It’s legible. The user dashboard isn’t there to impress—it’s there to inform.
“We are addicted to velocity in tech. But integrity requires friction.”
In today's world, where startups rush to scale, Preska is comfortable slowing things down. She favors structural integrity over cosmetic velocity. In her words: “If it doesn’t hold under pressure, it doesn’t matter how shiny it looks.”
It’s why DebitMyData has moved intentionally—refining infrastructure, vetting ethical partners, and rejecting growth that compromises its mission.
“Code can evolve. Human patterns are harder to redesign.”
Many systems fail not because the technology is weak—but because they misread the human layer. Preska’s systems are built around behavioral reality—how people opt in, how they protect themselves, how they emotionally respond to control and trust.
That’s what makes DebitMyData different: it was built for real people, not just “users.”
“We’ve normalized designing for addiction. I design for an agency.”
Preska doesn’t believe in dark UX, forced engagement, or emotional nudging. She builds with consent, not coercion. DebitMyData isn’t engineered to keep users hooked—it’s designed to let them exit anytime, knowing their value isn’t lost.
Because a system built on manipulation doesn’t just harm the user—it eventually turns inward and collapses.
“True empowerment means people don’t need you forever.”
This might be her boldest principle: design yourself out of the equation. Preska believes platforms should evolve, yes—but they should also teach. Educate. Elevate. A great system is one that doesn’t gatekeep, but unlocks.
DebitMyData is just the first step in what she calls “data fluency for everyone”—a world where individuals can become sovereign over their digital lives and earn from their data.
