#023 — 40% of American households believe that it is bad for society if mothers work. Because sexism is a global phenomenon, you might believe this statistic to be universal as well—but it just isn’t. In fact, this kind of maternal bias against women in the workplace is a strictly American phenomenon. Diverse cultures from deeply feminist Iceland to ‘one-child policy’ China simply do not have stay-at-home moms. Today Sarah explains how this staggering statistic manifests itself in the our culture, from the wage gap to maternity leave policy to overt sexism on the job. I ask her about the need to dismantle the patriarchy and her experience of maternal bias in the workplace. She shares her journey from ‘cool girl’ sexism denier to fierce feminist, explaining how becoming a mother allowed her to find her power as a woman and gave her the confidence to start her own business. Listen in as we discuss the way that calling out bad behavior is shifting the world of work and how to go about changing the narrative of the young, single working mother, startup founder. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes with episode quotes, photos, and time stamps at www.startuppregnant.com/023. EPISODE SPONSOR & SPECIAL OFFER: Thank you to the sponsor of this episode: HippoGive! HippoGive is a new app that donates your change by rounding up your everyday transactions to the nearest dollar and gives it to the charities and non-profits of your choosing. If you’ve been wanting to donate to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, or disaster relief you can use this app and it’s a piece of cake. All you need to do is create an account, choose your charity and then set a weekly donation cap. Head to HippoGive.com to sign up. All of our sponsor offers are available on our website for you to grab the perks and discounts offered to podcast listeners: http://startuppregnant.com/sponsors. LEARN MORE ABOUT SARAH LACY: Sarah Lacy is the founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief of investigative tech news organization PandoMedia. An award-winning reporter based in Silicon Valley, Sarah was a columnist for Bloomberg Businessweek and senior editor at TechCrunch before striking out on her own. She has fifteen-plus years of experience covering technology news and all things startups, making her a sought-after speaker at tech and business conferences around the world. Sarah is the critically-acclaimed author of several books, including the recently published A Uterus is a Feature, Not a Bug. A Uterus is a Feature, Not a Bug: The Working Woman’s Guide to Overthrowing the Patriarchy by Sarah Lacy Email mom@chairmanmom.com Chairman Mom Pando Sarah on Pando Sarah on Twitter Sarah on Instagram RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Courtney Martin at On Being “The End of the Cult of the Founder” in Wired Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change by Ellen Pao THE STARTUP PREGNANT PODCAST & HOST:
#019 — Core Value #7: You don’t have to do things the way they’ve always been done. And startups are one of the best places to imagine new futures. It’s okay to break things, to rebuild things, and to do things differently than the way that they’ve always been done. Startups and Pregnancy have a lot in common because they are both creators of new things—ideas, businesses, structures, life—and to do so, they harness a huge range of power. They require both creation and destruction. Sometimes, things fall apart. Things break. And things are destroyed. Part of the nature of creation, of making new things, is that through the act of birth, you are creating both life and death. While the pop culture phenomenon in Silicon Valley likes to glamorize disruption, making it sound glib and peaceful (“We’re going to be the Uber for burritos and disrupt the food industry,”), true destruction can wreak havoc. We’ve seen it in the onset of digital publishing, the contraction of the magazine industry, upending the cab industry, and there’s more coming in the future. These each have far-reaching creative and destructive aspects to them. And on the pregnancy side, inviting a new human into your life is inviting chaos into your world. You start with yourself, or your family unit, or the way your partnership looks, and then you add an entirely new human into it, and it’s not just the child that’s born, it’s the mother, the father, the parents, the grandparents, the siblings — everything changes. Inviting a child into your life is disruptive. The potential here is the idea that you don’t have to do things the way that they’ve always been done. As a mother … you don’t have to do things the way they’ve been done before. As a business owner … you can invent new ways of doing business. As a startup … your entire goal is to not do things the way they’ve been done before. As a person, … you don’t have to work within the framework that you’ve been working. We have the power to do things differently than they’ve been done before. You don’t have to do things the way they’ve always been done before. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes at www.startuppregnant.com/019 Questions of this episode: What do you think about doing things they’ve always been done, versus doing them in a new way? If you had the power to one thing differently, what would you change? THE STARTUP PREGNANT PODCAST & HOST: Startup Pregnant Startup Pregnant on Facebook Startup Pregnant on Twitter Sponsor the Podcast
#022 —Core Value #10 — Culture change starts with stories. Stories are the first part of culture change. In order to create a new future, we have to tell the truth. Part of the process is unearthing all of the stories of what has already happened, and what is currently happening. For Startup Pregnant in particular, so much of the stories of motherhood and parenting are hidden or silenced, not public. To change the narrative of motherhood, we need to start by first telling the stories of what motherhood looks like, from a place of truth, honesty, and compassion. The same is true for the entrepreneurship landscape. To be an entrepreneur can be lonely, frightening, and difficult. It can also be exhilarating, wonderful, and amazing. And again: it can be ordinary, steady, routine. The stories we tell will encompass all of these experiences. How do we begin to make change? Through storytelling. Empathy is the ability to understand what you can’t ever experience. We begin to experience the lives of others through the power of shared language and storytelling. In our work as peers and humans, we’re being called to greater levels of empathy— in both the workplace as well as in our social and family structures. Your voice matters because it’s in a thousand voices that we change the culture. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes at www.startuppregnant.com/022 Questions of this episode: What stories have you held true in your life? Which ones have changed over time? When in your life have you woken up and realized that a story that you believed in was no longer true for you? Talk to us about a time when your story changed, or when your expectation changed. Overall: Reflecting on all 10 core values: What have you learned through this exercise of sharing our core values? What principles have been true for you? Do you have your own core values? THE STARTUP PREGNANT PODCAST & HOST: Startup Pregnant Startup Pregnant on Facebook Startup Pregnant on Twitter Sponsor the Podcast
#021 — Core Value #9 — Most of us have a sixth gear we don’t know about. We’re all capable of far more than we can imagine. At Startup Pregnant, we believe in the power of human potential, both individual and collective. Parenting often teaches us that we have a previously-unknown-to-us “fifth gear,” and then when faced with a challenge, maybe even a sixth gear we can tap into. I first heard of this phrase from Mathias Jakobsen when we were chatting about the difficulties and challenges—and transformations—of parenting. Watching humans give birth is one of the most extraordinarily humbling and simultaneously awe-inspiring feats of strength and power and courage. We also see this in the startup landscape, when people dig in, find their resolve and resilience, and make things happen despite all odds. But there’s an important note to this core value: this does not mean that people are operating at full-tilt, 150%, all-the-time, driving themselves to the ground. The idea of “hustle” as an always-on phenomenon is not what we’re suggesting. Within the rhythm of life, there are times when you press the pedal down and accelerate to use your sixth gear. And there are times of rest. Listen in for the conversation about this core value: Most people have a sixth gear that they don’t know about. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes at www.startuppregnant.com/021 10x10 CONTEST: THE QUESTION From November 13th — November 30th, 2017, we're having a contest on www.startuppregnant.com/thanksgiving-contest! Head to our website to read the rules and prizes, be sure to listen in and leave a comment on every episode released during these two weeks. Head to the show notes listed above to be a part of the contest by leaving a comment on this episode with the question below. Ends November 30th, 2017. Questions of this episode: When have you tapped into your own sixth gear? How does it feel to know that you might have one? Leave a comment with your responses on our blog over at Startup Pregnant. THE STARTUP PREGNANT PODCAST & HOST: Startup Pregnant Startup Pregnant on Facebook Startup Pregnant on Twitter Sponsor the Podcast
#020 — Core Value #8: Feelings Matter. Carl Jung says that the paradox is one of our most valuable spiritual possessions. So it makes sense that this episode is both difficult and simple—the paradox of life, as always. Our emotional landscapes, who we are inside, and all of our feelings — they matter. But in the business culture and work life today, feelings are often ignored, undervalued, or actively suppressed. Here at Startup Pregnant, we believe in the call for a greater emotional dexterity. We believe that it’s important for each of us to experience our emotions. Not just experience them, but feel them, name them, and work with the entire range of emotions that we’re given. To us, this means that you’re allowed to be your whole self. All of you is welcome here. Does this mean we act on every emotion? Not necessarily. But we feel them first, because feelings are important, and they have a lot to teach us. And in the world of business, which boasts of companies that solve customer pain points for a living, wouldn’t it make sense to start to tap into this vital range of understanding? Listen in for the conversation about this core value: Feelings Matter. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes at www.startuppregnant.com/020 10x10 CONTEST: THE QUESTION From November 13th — November 30th, 2017, we're having a contest on www.startuppregnant.com/thanksgiving-contest! Head to our website to read the rules and prizes, be sure to listen in and leave a comment on every episode released during these two weeks. Head to the show notes listed above to be a part of the contest by leaving a comment on this episode with the question below. Ends November 30th, 2017. Questions of this episode: How do you access your own emotions and feelings? What works have you not (ever) used to describe your emotions and feelings? And what is your response to the idea that feelings matter? THE STARTUP PREGNANT PODCAST & HOST: Startup Pregnant Startup Pregnant on Facebook Startup Pregnant on Twitter Sponsor the Podcast
#018 — Core Value #6: What work looks like today is broken. The current version of work—the idea that we work in offices, that we work from 9 to 5, that we’re continuously productive throughout the day, at equal measures—there is overwhelming evidence that this isn’t true. Research shows that we aren’t effective in an 8-hour workday. We’re seeing the results of a broken workplace with the amount of people dropping out, the lack of diversity in the workplace, and more. Work is especially broken for women. And when we layer in parenting, and we try to make all of it fit together, within the paradigm that currently exists, well, what we see is that across the board, it doesn’t fully work. In this core value, we take the stance that what work looks like today can be wildly improved on. We believe that the future of work can be far better than what we see today. So, in this project, as part of the work of Startup Pregnant, we’re asking: Why is work so broken? What does the future of work look like? FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes at www.startuppregnant.com/018 RESOURCES MENTIONED: Episode #002 on Work Flexibility with Annie Dean 10x10 CONTEST: THE QUESTION From November 13th — November 30th, 2017, we're having a contest on www.startuppregnant.com/thanksgiving-contest! Head to our website to read the rules and prizes, be sure to listen in and leave a comment on every episode released during these two weeks. Head to the show notes listed above to be a part of the contest by leaving a comment. Ends November 30th, 2017. Questions of this episode: What should work look like, and what will look like? More specifically: what does it mean to have your work, well, work, for you? What does a world of work look like in your vision? THE STARTUP PREGNANT PODCAST & HOST: Startup Pregnant Startup Pregnant on Facebook Startup Pregnant on Twitter Sponsor the Podcast
#017 — Core Value #5: Plans are important. And things rarely go according to plan. A wise doula told me that in preparing for birth, she encourages women to consider the range of birth experiences and possibilities. In this way, designating “preferences” instead of a “plan,” we would be able to plan for something that was, effectively, unplannable. Babies are the ultimate plan-changers! Inviting a human into your life is inviting chaos in. They have their own ideas and what happens is often different than what we planned or expected. In life, making plans is great. We love plans and goals and ideas and visions. And we also know that more often than not, things don’t always go according to plan. So we act in the present, with the information we have, staying resilient and agile, understanding that the process is as important as the outcome. The ability to show up and be messy with it, as things are changing, is a skill we value. But we also have to know that we don’t have control over everything. There’s no right or perfect time to start the business, or to have kids. If you wait for the perfect moment, you’re just waiting. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes at www.startuppregnant.com/017 Questions of this episode: When, in your life, have you had something not go according to plan, and what happened instead? How does making plans in the face of uncertainty make you feel? When do your plans go better than your wildest dreams? When have things not gone according to plan, and change you because of it? THE STARTUP PREGNANT PODCAST & HOST: Startup Pregnant Startup Pregnant on Facebook Startup Pregnant on Twitter Sponsor the Podcast
#016 — Core Value #4: Life is not all hard labor, and it’s not an all-out hustle sprint. In pregnancy, there are distinct phases and changes, with deep periods of fatigue, moments of sickness, periods of high energy and excitement, and everything in between. When the days come when you’re set to deliver, the periods of labor and delivery represent an intense period of work for the mother birthing the child; and immediately afterwards, there’s a need for intense rest and recovery and adaptation to a new normal. The cycles and seasons of life come in rhythms and there isn’t one mode to dominate all of them. Therefore, at Startup Pregnant, we don’t belief in the perpetual chase of “hustling harder.” There are certainly times for intense work! But not ALL the time as the default paradigm. Instead, we champion matching your energy and season with the work ahead of you, experimenting with new ways of showing up in parenting and work, and in bringing ideas of flexibility to the forefront of the conversation of what work can look like. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes at www.startuppregnant.com/016 Questions of this episode: What does it mean to hear this idea that we don’t have to hustle all the time? And when you reflect on your own life and work culture, what would you say your “dial” is set to? Where are you dialed in to, and what is the expectation of a baseline? THE STARTUP PREGNANT PODCAST & HOST: Startup Pregnant Startup Pregnant on Facebook Startup Pregnant on Twitter Sponsor the Podcast
#015 — [10x10] Core Value #3. In today’s episode, we unpack Core Value: #3: Work-life balance is a myth. There is fit and there is tension. The strive towards some sort of perfect work/life balance is a myth and a fruitless exercise. Life is always changing, and our goals—many of them—are often in tension with each other. That tension often creates interesting results; for example, many women have shared that they adore their businesses and work lives, and their families have created a hard edge and new set of boundaries in how they approach work. Instead of some idealized “balance,” we strive to find the right fit for us as individuals, in this moment, in this season. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes at www.startuppregnant.com/015 10x10 CONTEST: THE QUESTION From November 13th — November 30th, 2017, we're having a contest on www.startuppregnant.com/thanksgiving-contest! Head to our website to read the rules and prizes, be sure to listen in and leave a comment on every episode released during these two weeks. Head to the show notes listed above to be a part of the contest by leaving a comment. Ends November 30th, 2017. Questions of this episode: When you let go of the need to achieve a perfect set of balance, what does that free you up to do instead? How do you feel about the term work-life balance? Is it something you laugh at, struggle with, or want? Why or why not? RESOURCES MENTIONED: Cal Newport’s Deep Work Susan Cain’s Quiet Fallacy of the Open Office The Work Revolution THE STARTUP PREGNANT PODCAST & HOST: Startup Pregnant Startup Pregnant on Facebook Startup Pregnant on Twitter Sponsor the Podcast
#014 — [10x10] Core Value #2. In this special mini-series, we’re looking at the 10 Core Values of the Startup Pregnant Philosophy. These are the values that underscore everything we do, how we do it, and even how we design our interviews! In today’s episode, we unpack Core Value: #2: There is deep power in community and collaboration. By and large, we aren’t meant to go it alone. The myth of and belief in individualism in Western society is pervasive, yet at Startup Pregnant, we believe we are meant to live, work, raise families and grow businesses together. We aren’t born to live alone, and we’re not meant to parent alone, either. We are a social and communal species. For us, this translates across our startup, business, parenting, and pregnancy lives — and how we build and embrace communities of support across all of these experiences. We need teams, we need diverse communities, and especially at the beginning of adventures in entrepreneurship and parenting, we need lots and lots of support. There’s an outsized burden on parents, and mothers, to try to do it all or somehow be everything to everyone. It’s an impossible goal, and something that sets us up for failure. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes at www.startuppregnant.com/014. 10x10 CONTEST: THE QUESTION From November 13th — November 30th, 2017, we're having a contest on www.startuppregnant.com/thanksgiving-contest! Head to our website to read the rules and prizes, be sure to listen in and leave a comment on every episode released during these two weeks. Head to the show notes listed above to be a part of the contest by leaving a comment! Ends November 30th, 2017. Question of this episode: What’s one way in which you’re trying to do it all yourself, and is there a way to ask for more help? How can you build in and prioritize discomfort in your life in the short-term in exchange for more long-term happiness? RESOURCES MENTIONED: On Being Becoming Wise by Krista Tippett Curiosity Podcast: How The Best Marriages Work The New Better Off, by Courtney Martin Happy Documentary Ellen Langer from Harvard THE STARTUP PREGNANT PODCAST & HOST: Startup Pregnant Startup Pregnant on Facebook Startup Pregnant on Twitter
#013 — Core Value #1. In this special mini-series, we’re looking at the 10 Core Values of the Startup Pregnant Philosophy. These are the values that underscore everything we do, how we do it, and even how we design our interviews! Over the next ten days, we’ll be releasing short 10-minute episodes looking at each of the core values of our philosophy. In today’s episode, we unpack the first Core Value: #1: “We speak first using the words ‘in my experience.’ Listen in to hear why these three words are critical for any conversation, and why we can’t strive for “one perfect woman” archetype to be. There are multiple stories of what it looks like to be a parent and to be an entrepreneur, and there isn’t one size that fits everyone. The first principle or philosophy guides us and reminds us of this. In this vein, we take a generous stance. What works for one situation might not work for all situations. It can be a challenge in our human ways of understanding to operate from this place of “multiple perspectives.” Cognitive dissonance works against us, telling us that our past decisions must be ‘right’ and to defend against other choices that people make as ‘wrong,’ if they violate what we would have chosen. The wisdom calling is to see how different decisions can be right for people at different times. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes at www.startuppregnant.com/013. 10x10 CONTEST: From November 13th — November 30th, 2017, we're having a contest on www.startuppregnant.com/thanksgiving-contest! Head to our website to read the rules and prizes, be sure to listen in and leave a comment on every episode released during these two weeks. Head to the show notes at www.startuppregnant.com/013 to be a part of the contest by leaving a comment! Ends November 30th, 2017. THE STARTUP PREGNANT PODCAST & HOST: Startup Pregnant Startup Pregnant on Facebook Startup Pregnant on Twitter Sponsor the Podcas
#012 — We want the best for our kids. We can’t bear to listen to them cry, we don’t want to see them hurt—not even for a second. But is it really best to swoop in and save the day every time our kiddos face a challenging situation? Or are we missing an opportunity to teach them patience as well as the related skills of coping with frustration and delayed gratification? Are we missing an opportunity to teach ourselves? In Bringing Up Bébé, author Pamela Druckerman explores the idea of ‘the pause,’ taking a moment to exhale fully and breathe a full cycle of breath before moving forward. Today on this mini-episode of the podcast, I explore the practical applications of this concept, sharing how it can be applied not just to parenting, but also our working lives. I describe specific scenarios in which implementing ‘the pause’ has helped me practice patience, from the playground with my child to that moment just before hitting ‘send’ on an impulsive email response. I talk honestly about how I am working to incorporate a pause in my morning routine—with the goal of curbing my impulse to turn immediately to social media and email. ‘The pause’ doesn’t have to revolutionize your approach to parenting or work, but the simple practice of taking a moment to breathe can help you embrace a little calmness and make conscious decisions. Listen in and consider how you might implement the idea of ‘the pause’ in your own life. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes with episode quotes, photos, and time stamps at www.startuppregnant.com/012. EPISODE SPONSOR & SPECIAL OFFER: Thank you to the sponsor of this episode: Taskerly! They’re a virtual assistant company that helps busy parents and entrepreneurs get more done at work by doing the things you can outsource of don’t have time for. Check them out at www.taskerly.co and mention the Startup Pregnant Podcast to get 10% off of your first three months working with them. All of our sponsor offers are available on our website for you to grab the perks and discounts offered to podcast listeners: http://startuppregnant.com/sponsors RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman Bébé Day by Day: 100 Keys to French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman The Tim Ferriss Show THE STARTUP PREGNANT PODCAST & HOST: Startup Pregnant Startup Pregnant on Facebook Startup Pregnant on Twitter
#011 — How often do you stop and really tune into your body, taking time to recognize what you are feeling and how it is impacting you physically? What if we allowed ourselves radical honesty without judgement? What if we gave ourselves the space to tell the truth about what we are feeling—without having to do something about it right this minute? What if we took advantage of this feminine tool and learned to trust what our bodies are telling us? Molly Mahar was an overachiever who ‘did what she was supposed to.’ After earning her BS in Hotel Administration from Cornell, Molly spent five years in the industry and eventually landed a coveted job on the sales team of a sexy boutique hotel in Seattle. Then she had a quarter-life crisis and quit her job to travel the world with her now-husband Ken, figuring out what she was meant to do. Molly started the Stratejoy blog in 2009 because she needed it. She needed a place to talk about ambitious dreams, fears that she didn’t want to admit to, and how she feels about everything—from work to sex to money to motherhood. Now Molly has built a thriving community where women can be themselves without judgement and support each other in the pursuit of authentically joyous lives. Today, Molly shares the Stratejoy journey, from inception to its current exponential growth. I ask her about the stories women aren’t telling and her ‘word of the year’ practice. Listen in as Molly reveals how exploring the word PLEASURE impacted her relationship with her husband and how she incorporates stillness into her busy life as a busy entrepreneur and mother. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes with episode quotes, photos, and time stamps at www.startuppregnant.com/011. EPISODE SPONSOR & SPECIAL OFFER: Thank you to the sponsor of this episode: Aeroflow Breastpumps. They are dedicated to making the hassle of getting your breast pump a little bit easier—actually, a lot easier! Head to www.aeroflowbreastpumps.com/startup to have them help you qualify for a free breast pump through insurance. All of our sponsor offers are available on our website for you to grab the perks and discounts offered to podcast listeners: http://startuppregnant.com/sponsors LEARN MORE ABOUT MOLLY MAHAR: Molly Mahar is the founder and CEO of Stratejoy, a vibrant training and coaching company aimed at empowering women to practice joy in a messy world. She is passionate about building a thriving community that helps women find joy in the tiny moments, go after the
#010 — Motherhood transforms you. There is no ‘bouncing back’ to your previous life. Being a mom requires that you ‘transform forward,’ creating a new, better version of yourself. And the feminine qualities essential to motherhood—loving, caring, nurturing, listening—also happen to be the qualities that the world is most yearning for in business, politics and the social sphere. Stephanie Jhala enjoyed a healthy, medically uneventful pregnancy. But at the very end of the planned home birth, something went wrong. Her baby was not breathing. After a transition to the hospital, Steph’s newborn daughter was on put on life support in the NICU, consigned to a cooling sack and connected to countless tubes. Doctors predicted her death. But Stephanie knew instinctively that her daughter would be fine. And she was right. Her daughter improved by leaps and bounds, and is now a thriving, feisty 10-month-old. How did Steph access that intuition? How does she continue to trust and cultivate her mind-body connection on a daily basis? And how is she using the tools she learned in her business as a leadership consultant to become a leader in motherhood? Steph created All the Mama Feels for her own sanity. The Instagram and Facebook accounts, along with the in-person meetup in Vancouver, function to show the real side of motherhood and provide the tools women need to reframe the context of motherhood from one of diminishment and invisibility to that of empowerment. Today she shares her definition of intuition and offers advice around accessing that instinct in the hospital environment. I ask Steph about the mind-body connection and how the gap in generational wisdom impacts our idea of mother’s intuition. Listen in to understand how the qualities required of motherhood translate to the business world and why we have a dire need for transformation in the workplace to make organizations more sustainable and family-friendly. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes with episode quotes, photos, and time stamps at www.startuppregnant.com/010. EPISODE SPONSOR & SPECIAL OFFER: Thank you to the sponsor of this episode: Meet Edgar! Grab your free two-week trial of Meet Edgar, a social media scheduling tool that allows you to create content once and re-use it as much as you need, at http://ed.gr/startuppregnant. All of our sponsor offers are available on our website for you to grab the perks and discounts offered to podcast listeners: http://startuppregnant.com/sponsors
#009 — Having children invites chaos into your life. So if your work focuses on minimalism and simplicity, how do you align those themes with the bedlam of being a parent? For Erin Boyle, she says she seeks out the simple moments: The time spent reading stories to your kiddos at bedtime. The moments when your child is calmly eating cantaloupe. The five minutes in the morning you spend sitting on the kitchen floor with your three-year-old, drinking a smoothie. The entire day isn't simple, but parts of it can have calm and peace. Erin Boyle is the writer of and editor of the lifestyle blog, Reading My Tea Leaves. Based in Brooklyn, Erin spent time living in a 173-square-foot apartment which inspired her path towards a more minimal, and beautiful, lifestyle. She believes that the elements of living simply are beneficial and accessible to us all, no matter the circumstances. Now that she is the mother of two children under the age of four, with a six-month old in the house, simple moments are even more precious to Erin. Today she shares how her background in history and public humanities led her to explore the idea of ‘living small.’ I ask Erin about her gentle approach to self-improvement and how she defines courage within the context of being a parent. Listen in to learn how getting comfortable with uncertainty a big part of parenting, why she cautions against speaking about pregnancy in universal terms, and how you can embrace the ‘idyllic and beautiful’ moments in your life. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes with episode quotes, photos, and time stamps at www.startuppregnant.com/009. EPISODE SPONSOR & SPECIAL OFFER: Thank you to the sponsor of this episode: HippoGive! HippoGive is a new app that donates your change by rounding up your everyday transactions to the nearest dollar and gives it to the charities and non-profits of your choosing. If you’ve been wanting to donate to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, or disaster relief you can use this app and it’s a piece of cake. All you need to do is create an account, choose your charity and then set a weekly donation cap. Head to HippoGive.com to sign up. All of our sponsor offers are available on our website for you to grab the perks and discounts offered to podcast listeners: http://startuppregnant.com/sponsors LEARN MORE ABOUT ERIN BOYLE: Erin Boyle is a minimalist who loves a good story. Her approach to living simply recognizes that life isn’t always simple, ‘but the curtains can be.’ She grew up in a very old house on the Connecticut shoreline and developed an interest in what life looked like in the past. E
#008 — “My greatest satisfaction has not come—ever—from doing more. It’s come from being really present doing the things that matter the most.” It’s hard to argue with Kate Northrup’s contention that the eight-hour workday doesn’t work from a productivity standpoint. Study after study shows that only three (or so) of those eight hours are productive ones, and I think we can all get on board with the idea of getting better results—while putting in less time at work. The problem is, how do we shift that mindset? How do we shift the idea that tells us the only way to get what we want is to do more and more work? Kate Northrup always knew she wanted to be a mother, and she pursued entrepreneurship partly because of the freedom it could afford her to be there for her kids. What Kate wasn’t counting on was the way pregnancy would change her drive and refocus her energy when it came to the business. She admits that it took her a long time to "get back in the game," and that her husband and business partner, Mike, picked up the slack. But Kate credits having her daughter, Penelope, with initiating a personal evolution that allowed her to clarify her desires and ultimately renew her interest in the business and the way she thought about showing up for work in the first place. Perhaps there was something revolutionary here: because, as she shares in this episode, she found that she was able to achieve more even while doing less. And that some of her most productive weeks happened when she was working only 20 hours a week on the business. Today Kate shares her "shocking and awesome" birth experience, explaining how parenthood impacted her business as well as her marriage. I ask her how she and Mike make their relationship work, and her take on what women need moving forward. Listen in to understand why it’s important for us all to initiate the difficult conversations around current events like Charlottesville, and how her latest project, Origin Collective, works to help entrepreneurial moms achieve greater results from doing less and showing up more fully with each other. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes with episode quotes, photos, and time stamps at www.startuppregnant.com/008. EPISODE SPONSOR & SPECIAL OFFER: Thank you to the sponsor of this episode: Taskerly! They’re a virtual assistant company that helps busy parents and entrepreneurs get more done at work by doing the things you can outsource of don’t have time for. Check them out at www.taskerly.co and mention the Startup Pregnant Podcast to get 10% off of your first three months working with them. All of our sponsor offers are available on our website for you to grab the perks and discounts offered to podcast listeners: http://startuppregnant.com/sponsors LEARN MORE ABOUT KATE NORTHRUP
#007 — Rebuilding war-torn Columbia. How do you work your way back after experiencing the severe trauma of a great loss? What if that trauma was wrapped up in living through an armed conflict, either as a victim or aggressor? And what if a culture of violence was the only life you’d ever known? Today we talk to Natalia Quiñones of Dunna: Creative Alternatives for Peace. The people of Colombia have been endured armed conflict since the mid-1960’s, when the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and other guerrilla movements began fighting for influence in the country. Propelled by marked inequality in Colombian society, the violence among the FARC, the Colombian government, and paramilitary groups led to the deaths of more than 220,000 people, most of them civilians. More than five million civilians were displaced from their homes between 1985 and 2012, and one in three of the 7.6 million registered victims of the conflict were children. A peace agreement between the Colombian government and FARC was finally reached in November of 2016. Natalia Quiñones grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, but knew little about the armed conflict. She was born to a privileged family and educated by American teachers in private bilingual schools, so it wasn’t until after graduation that Natalia became aware of the violence born of disparity that was happening right around the corner. Yoga had helped Natalia cope with the loss of a close friend, and she believed that it could help heal and rebuild war-ravaged communities in Colombia—but the practice was only available to the elite. In 2010, Natalia and María Adelaida López founded Dunna: Creative Alternatives for Peace, to introduce basic poses to both the poor, mostly rural victims of the conflict and the guerilla fighters who once terrorized them. The yoga classes have proven to reduce the symptoms of PTSD and equip locals with the tools to heal themselves. Today Natalia shares the science behind yoga’s ability to heal, the similarities among victims and aggressors of the conflict, and her surprise at people’s capacity for change. I also ask about her unique parenting journey as part of a gay couple who adopted a daughter, which had been illegal in Colombia until November of 2015. Listen in to understand how becoming a parent changed Natalia, revitalizing her commitment to make the world a better place and cultivate creative alternatives for peace. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes with episode quotes, photos, and time stamps at www.startuppregnant.com/007 EPISODE SPONSOR & SPECIAL OFFER: Thank you to the sponsor of this episode: Aeroflow Breastpumps. They are dedicated to making the hassle of getting your breast pump a little bit easier—actually, a lot easier! Head to www.aeroflowbreastpumps.com/startup to have them help you qualify for a free breast pump through insurance. All of our sponsor offers are available on our website for you to grab the perks and discounts offered to podcast listeners: http://startuppregnant.com/sponsors LEARN MORE ABOUT NATALIA QUINONES Natalia Quiñones is the Co-founder and Legal Director of Dunna, a nonprofit created to research, design and implement intervention models in yoga and the arts, with the intention of constructing a peaceful society in Colombia after the armed conflict. Natalia is also a partner with Quiñones|Cruz, a consultancy in international taxation and tax litigation. She has served as both the president and chair of the Scientific Committee of the International Fiscal Association’s Colombian Branch as well as the editor-in-chief of the Colombian Institute of Tax Law Review. Natalia received her degree from the New York University School of L
#006 — Tamsen Webster, the Executive Producer of the oldest and one of the largest locally organized TED talk events in the world, describes herself as "pattern-driven." But pregnancy changed everything. Today, we talk about her journey into parenting, and how her ideas for pregnancy (and even marriage) were very different than reality. She dove into her first pregnancy with a plan: she would have a natural birth and breastfeed her baby, as the research suggests. Her employer was supportive, agreeing to a shifted schedule when she returned from maternity leave. But nothing went according to plan. And later, when she returned to work, Tamsen discovered she had a new boss who wasn’t okay with the predetermined agreement. “Once you’ve been through a series of things that are so defying of … what you thought you could handle, it resets your horizon—higher, broader, better.” Today, Tamsen shares her challenging parenting journey, admitting that having her sons ‘knocked her sideways.’ I ask her how pregnancy and motherhood prepared her for entrepreneurship and why we have such a narrow view of what it means to have children. Learn how the divorce made Tamsen a better mom, and listen in for her take on doing the ‘right thing’ as a parent. The birth of her second son presented its own set of unexpected circumstances, and having kids exposed cracks in her marriage. Tamsen made the difficult decision to leave, but the resilience she gained from surviving those challenges, and the support of her second husband, helped give her the courage to take the leap into entrepreneurship. Today, Tamsen Webster is a sought-after keynote speaker, ‘idea whisperer,’ and message strategist. She helps people and organizations like Verizon, Ericsson, and Disney uncover and communicate the power of their ideas. Tamsen also serves as Executive Producer of TEDxCambridge, one of the largest locally organized TED events in the world. FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes with episode quotes, photos, and time stamps at www.startupparent.com/006 EPISODE SPONSOR & SPECIAL OFFER: Thank you to the sponsor of this episode: Meet Edgar! Grab your free two-week trial of Meet Edgar, a social media scheduling tool that allows you to create content once and re-use it as much as you need, at http://ed.gr/startuppregnant. All of our sponsor offers are available on our website for you to grab the perks and discounts offered to podcast listeners: www.startupparent.com/sponsors LEARN MORE ABOUT TAMSEN WEBSTER: Tamsen’s Website // YouTube // LinkedIn // Facebook // Twitter // Speaker Lab Podcast RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Tamsen’s Make-Sense Mandate Post The Barefoot Executive: The Ultimate Guide for Being Your Own Boss and Achieving Financial Freedom by Carrie Wilkerson ‘On Children’ by Kahlil Gibran Sweet Honey and the Rock
#005 — Why do we only show outgoing, extroverted, and confident business people as the model for success? In a world where most successful entrepreneurs and business owners are afraid to show any weakness, Morra Aarons-Mele is a breath of fresh air. The author of Hiding in the Bathroom: An Introvert’s Roadmap to Getting Out There (When You’d Rather Stay Home), Morra admits that we’re all just faking it, as she explores how to harness the power of your “only-ness” and make the work environment work for you. “My daily life is a negotiation between the piece of me that wants to hide and stay in bed … and the piece of me that wants to get out there and kick butt.” — Morra Aarons-Mele By the time Morra turned 30, she had quit nine different digital marketing jobs. Assuming the work itself was making her unhappy, she applied to graduate school to purse social work and began freelancing to finance her education. Much to Morra’s surprise, she found herself working harder than ever and truly enjoying the job. It wasn’t the work itself that had her crying in the bathroom, it was how she had to do it. As an extreme introvert, the flexibility of freelancing afforded her the opportunity to do her best work. Today, Morra shares her approach to working from home, explaining what her ideal work week looks like and how she maintains a connection with peers. She addresses her ambition to speak up for people who don’t normally have a voice, her struggle with antenatal depression, and her ongoing quest for balance between professional satisfaction and quality time with family. I ask her about the challenges that come with being a ‘hermit entrepreneur’ and how her parenting journey aligns with the evolution of her business. Listen and learn how to sell as yourself and navigate the professional world as an ambitious introvert. SPONSOR SHOUT-OUT: HippoGive is a new app that donates your change by rounding up your everyday transactions to the nearest dollar and gives it to the charities and non-profits of your choosing. All you need to do is create an account, choose your charity and then set a weekly donation cap. Head to HippoGive.com to sign up. For every user that signs up through the Startup Parent podcast, they’re going to match your first one-time donation AND send you a $5 amazon gift card. Use the promo code PREGNANT to go help people and get yourself a gift card. Thanks, HippoGive! Check out the rest of our sponsor offers and grab the perks and discounts offered to podcast listeners: http://startupparent.com/sponsors FULL SHOW NOTES: Get the complete show notes with episode quotes, photos, and time stamps at www.startupparent.com/005 LEARN MORE ABOUT MORRA AARONS-MELE: Morra Aarons-Mele is the founder of Women & Work, an award-winning social impact agency, and the author of Hiding in the Bathroom: An Introvert’s Roadmap to Getting Out There (When You’d Rather Stay Home). A prominent figure in the world of digital marketing, Morra has been working online since 1999, launching campaigns for the likes of the United Nations, the Malala Fund, Hillary Clinton for President, President Obama, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She has written for a number of well-known publications including The Harvard Business Review, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, and The Guardian.
#004 — Most new moms head back to work about 12 weeks after giving birth. The problem is that this is often several months before women are physically and emotionally ready. Scientific data and anecdotal evidence point to the six-month mark as the time when moms start to feel adept again (and for some women, it takes longer). The United States is one of the worst countries in the world (bottom three) offering zero paid maternity leave for new parents, often putting women, partners, and children in tricky to dire situations that don’t help with those early days of recovery and new life. But return to work we do, and Lauren Smith Brody, the founder of The Fifth Trimester movement and the former editor of Glamour magazine, dubbed those sleep-deprived transition months after the newborn days the “fifth trimester,” or the period when the working mom is born. So how do we navigate this ‘fifth trimester’ when we’re still in the newborn haze? By asking for the things we need. When Lauren Smith Brody returned to work after having her first son, she was very transparent about what she was going through. As the executive editor of a prestigious magazine, she wanted to mentor younger colleagues and change the perception of parenthood in the workplace. And after having her second son, Lauren was inspired to take her mentorship to the next level, making the shift from publishing to entrepreneurship. She wrote The Fifth Trimester, a book to help new and expectant mothers prepare for working motherhood, and now she’s moving to Phase B of the business, consulting with companies to upgrade policy and foster support of new parents in the workplace. Today, Lauren shares her advice for new moms returning to work and her vision of ideal workplace culture. I ask her about the impetus for writing The Fifth Trimester, the shift from publishing to entrepreneurship, and what she would say to aspiring entrepreneurs. Listen to learn what friends and family can do to support new moms, the concept of self-soothing for parents, and your most important job as a woman and a new mother: getting really good at asking for what you need—both at home and at the office. Sponsor offers, full show notes and more from the episode: Thank you to the sponsor of this episode: Taskerly! They’re a virtual assistant company that helps busy parents and entrepreneurs get more done at work by doing the things you can outsource of don’t have time for. Check them out at www.taskerly.co and mention the Startup Parent Podcast to get 10% off of your first three months working with them. All of our sponsor offers are available on our website for you to grab the perks and discounts offered to podcast listeners: http://startupparent.com/sponsors And get the complete show notes with episode quotes, photos, and time stamps at www.startupparent.com/004 Learn more about Lauren Smith Brody Lauren Smith Brody had a 16-year career in publishing culminating in the role of Executive Editor for Glamour magazine. After becoming a mom, Lauren conceived of the Fifth Trimester Movement to help parents and businesses revolutionize workplace culture. Her bestseller, The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom’s Guide to Style, Sanity, and Big Success After Baby was released in April 2017.