Debbie Sanchez - Smash Gyms (Episode #006)

Shannon McLaughlin - Ubuntu Baba (Episode #012)

Shannon McLaughlin — Building Products People Love, Creating Brand Ambassadors, Fourth Trimester Struggles, I Am Because We Are, Making People Matter, Whole Body Yesses, and More (#012)  

“When I hired, I always said that it was going to be half-day jobs for everyone, because we are moms. So when we had the shop, we didn't open from nine to five, we opened at half past eight in the morning, and we closed at 1:30pm, because whoever was in that shop was a mom, and she had to fetch her child from school and then go spend the afternoon with their child.” —Shannon McLaughlin

Shannon McLaughlin (@shannonmarymac) is the Founder and CEO of Ubuntu Baba Baby Carriers (@ubuntubaba) . Shannon’s business launched in February 2015, just six months after her son was born, out of a personal need to help her baby sleep for longer periods of time and to have more freedom as a struggling and overwhelmed first-time mom.

Before Shannon launched Ubuntu Baba, she was a freelance web designer, who worked mainly with female startup businesses. 

Shannon’s goal was to create an easy to use, breathable and comfortable carrier that could be used from the newborn days onwards. When Shannon launched her business, she started with one machine ist who worked part-time making baby carriers. Today, Ubuntu Baba has a full-time team of six who manufactures the carriers, as well as another team of six that helps Shannon run the business. 

Please enjoy this wide-ranging conversation with Ubuntu Baba Founder, Shannon McLaughlin, and Moms Who Build host, Margie Chuang! 

Show Notes

• The inspiration behind creating Ubuntu Baba Baby Carriers. [2:39]
• Shannon’s fourth trimester experience. [4:14]
• The 3-month journey to building the first prototype. [7:25]
• Shannon’s experience with postnatal depression while building Ubuntu Baba. [10:23]
• Recognizing postnatal depression and getting help. [12:18]
• Building a product people love and how Shannon grew Ubuntu Baba to 10,000 customers. [14:53]
• Getting feedback, moms helping moms, and selling the first Ubuntu Baba baby carriers. [17:00]
• Building a community beyond the product. [22:19]
• Growing a beloved brand and Ubuntu’s slogan: To A Happy Now, #toahappynow. [25:22]
• More than a brick and mortar shop. [29:40]
• The impact of the global pandemic on Ubuntu Baba’s operations and shop in South Africa. [32:18]
• Persevering through the challenges of running a company and lessons learned. [36:23]
• Living the professional and personal life you want. [40:36]
• Building a parent-inclusive workplace. [41:32]
• How Shannon prioritizes and organizes her life. [45:03]
• How Shannon prepares for interviews and public speaking engagements. [50:10]
• Advice Shannon would give to her past self and how to handle feedback. [52:55]
• Learning to say no and the whole body yes. [53:47]
• What’s next for Ubuntu Baba? [55:23]
• Rapid Fire Questions. [57:01]
• Parting thoughts and encouraging words. [1:00:21]

For more about this episode, visit https://www.momswhobuild.com/home/shannon-mclaughlin-ubuntu-baba-episode-012. 

*** 

Connect with Shannon McLaughlin on: 

Website | Twitter

Connect with Ubuntu Baba: 

Website | Instagram | Facebook | Blog

***

If you have a moment, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. It helps us to get more amazing guests on the show and grow the podcast. Thank you!

***

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Nominate Someone for the MWB Podcast!

***

For past interviews with inspirational moms building inspirational things, visit momswhobuild.com. 

Connect with Margie & Moms Who Build:

Twitter: twitter.com/momswhobuild

Instagram: instagram.com/momswhobuild_

Facebook: facebook.com/momswhobuild

YouTube: bit.ly/youtube-channel-momswhobuild

Mimi Chan - Littlefund (Episode #011)

Mimi Chan — Building Three Companies, Overcoming Self-Doubt, Fundraising while Pregnant, Fighting Over the Home Office, Creating Productivity, Exciting News, and More (#011)  

“Thinking back to those early days, those long nights, those moments where I had to pick myself up from the disappointment and push through it, surviving through this pandemic. And somehow with the combination of luck and preparation and just the belief and conviction in what we’ve been doing with Littlefund, we were able to have this amazing outcome.” —Mimi Chan

Mimi Chan (@mimitoday) is the Founder and CEO of Littlefund (@littlefund), a financial gifting app for modern families to save with family and friends for their child’s journey. In continuing her passion for early childhood education and quality of life improvement, Mimi started Littlefund as a second time tech entrepreneur. 

She realized after becoming a new mother that parents were overwhelmed with the rising costs of raising children but lacked a simple way to save for those milestones, especially when family and friends were part of a generation that was okay with giving cash gifts instead of material gifts. Ultimately, Mimi saw this as a start to tackling a fundamental problem with tremendous future implications. 

Littlefund’s mission is to help everyone invest in a child’s future, one gift at a time, to prepare and build sustainable futures using technology to reimagine savings and gifting on the path to financial wellness.

Prior to Littlefund, Mimi led Pencils of Promise as the Founding COO, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit providing global primary education. Today, Pencils of Promise has built over 500 schools that serve over 100,000 students. Currently, Mimi resides with her family in Oakland, California.

Please enjoy this wide-ranging conversation with Littlefund Founder, Mimi Chan, and Moms Who Build host, Margie Chuang!  

Show Notes

• Mimi’s journey building three companies. [2:47]
• What inspired Mimi to start Littlefund; her idea to create a financial gifting platform. [7:03]
• About Littlefund and how a child’s financial journey can become a family affair. [11:50]
• Mimi’s upbringing and early lessons in frugality and spending that taught Mimi about financial wellness. [17:54]
• Mimi and Margie share stories about what it was like to grow up as children of immigrant parents. [18:30]
• Mimi and Margie share how they talk to their children about financial wellness [24:07].
• Feelings of insecurity and self-doubt and the emotional rollercoaster of running a start-up. [28:07]
• The invisible work of launching a company and what it feels like to raise money as a female founder. [32:05]
• How Mimi overcomes self-doubt and paralysis. [33:14]
• Mimi’s take on the relationship between Jay-Z’s song lyrics and fundraising [35:40]
• How to get people to believe in your product. [39:04]
• Finding a cofounder. [39:34]
• Getting your first users. [44:42]
• Mimi speaks candidly about what it's like to fundraise and build a company while raising a family. [45:54]
• Mimi and Margie open up the doors of vulnerability and share what their lives are like at home. [54:49]
• Mimi’s self-care routine. [59:56]
• Building a parent inclusive and women empowered workplace. [1:03:03]
• Planning Mimi’s fertility cycle around the fundraising cycle. [1:06:18]
• Mimi’s reflections on creating more predictability in her life as a mother and entrepreneur. [1:10:23]
• What’s next for Littlefund? [1:14:04]
• Mimi gets the official word to share some exciting news about Littlefund! [1:15:22]
• Rapid Fire Questions. [1:19:12]
• Parting thoughts and encouraging words. [1:22:40]

For more about this episode, visit https://www.momswhobuild.com/home/mimi-chan-littlefund-episode-011

*** 

Connect with Mimi Chan on: Instagram

Connect with Littlefund: 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook  

***

If you have a moment, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. It helps us to get more amazing guests on the show and grow the podcast. Thank you so much!

***

Be a Guest on the MWB Podcast!

Nominate Someone for the MWB Podcast!

***

For past interviews with inspirational moms building inspirational things, visit momswhobuild.com. 

Connect with Margie & Moms Who Build:

Twitter: twitter.com/momswhobuild

Instagram: instagram.com/momswhobuild_

Facebook: facebook.com/momswhobuild

YouTube: bit.ly/youtube-channel-momswhobuild

Cherie Hoeger - Saalt (Episode #010)

Cherie Hoeger — Modernizing Reusable Period Care, Menstruation Education, Changing Stigmas, Believing the Mission, Building Pro-Family Workplaces, and More (#010)  

“And so we realized that there was so much power that one period cup could have to literally keep girls in school, break cycles of poverty, help their confidence, help them become young women and mothers who could provide for their families.” — Cherie Hoeger

Cherie Hoeger (@cherie.hoeger) is the CEO & co-founder of Saalt (@saaltco), a company aiming to modernize reusable period care. In 2018, Saalt launched its flagship product—the Saalt period cup—with the vision of making cleaner, more sustainable period care accessible to everyone. 

Leading Saalt's social impact efforts, Cherie began networking with impact partners to provide their period cups to underprivileged girls and women so they could confidently manage their periods, stay in school, and lift themselves out of poverty. Now in their third year in business, Saalt has donated over 12,000 cups in over twenty-two countries to create a wave of informed cup users who then act as mentors for other donation recipients. 

Before starting Saalt, Cherie had been an entrepreneur in multiple ecommerce ventures and worked as a technical writer with fifteen years of publication experience. Most recently, she co-authored seven editions of collegiate textbooks in the field of fitness and wellness. 

Cherie is the mother of five daughters, and considers them her greatest success.

Please enjoy this wide-ranging conversation with Saalt co-founder, Cherie Hoeger, and Moms Who Build host, Margie Chuang!  

For more about this episode, visit www.momswhobuild.com/home/cherie-hoeger-saalt-episode-010. 

Show Notes

• What inspired Cherie to start Saalt and how she developed a reusable, sustainable menstrual cup. [2:10]
• How Cherie learned about the menstrual cup market. [6:54]
• The opportunity to change stigmas and modernize reusable period care. [8:18]
• Saalt’s product and branding design process. [8:25]
• Saalt’s early milestones and the stories behind them. [10:41]
• The intricate tie between menstruation and education. [12:20]
• Saalt’s “Back to School for Her Too” campaign. [13:10]
• How Cherie was able to take the Saalt cup mainstream and get Saalt products onto the shelves at Target. [14:38]
• One of the best decisions Saalt made before launching. [18:20]
• Getting to 1,000 members and Saalt’s launchpad. [18:30]
• Building Saalt’s community. [21:10]
• About the Saalt Cup Academy and how it took on a life of its own. [22:29]
• Selecting charitable partners and how to navigate those partnerships. [23:42]
• Cherie and her family’s trip to Nepal to teach women and young girls about the benefits of the Saalt cup and how to use it. [27:42]
• Margie and Cherie talk openly about their individual period experiences. [34:02]
• Building Saalt’s progressive pro-family workplace. [37:54]
• Cherie’s approach to worklife optimization. [44:15]
• Entrepreneurial lessons that Cherie hopes to pass along to her children. [48:15]
• What quality can make entrepreneurs successful. [53:50]
• What’s next for Saalt and innovation in product technology. [55:16]
• Rapid Fire Questions. [56:09]
• Parting thoughts and encouraging words. [59:09]

For more about this episode, visit www.momswhobuild.com/home/cherie-hoeger-saalt-episode-010.

***

Connect with Cherie Hoeger on: Instagram

Connect with Saalt: 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Saalt Cup Academy

***

If you have a moment, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. It helps us to get more amazing guests on the show and grow the podcast. Thank you so much!

For past interviews with inspirational moms building inspirational things, visit momswhobuild.com. 

Connect with Margie & Moms Who Build:

Twitter: twitter.com/momswhobuild

Instagram: instagram.com/momswhobuild_

Facebook: facebook.com/momswhobuild

YouTube: bit.ly/youtube-channel-momswhobuild

Hannah Levy - Modern Fertility | Tech Ladies (Episode #009)

Hannah Levy — Fertility Knowledge & Empowerment, Female-Led Startups, Elevating Underrepresented Groups, Parent Inclusive Workplaces, and Much More (#009) 

“I approached motherhood as a ‘oh, now I need to be completely selfless’ mentality, where I was just like, ‘hey, now I’m a mom, I matter less, I need to put my kid above myself in all forms’. And that worked for about a month until I broke down. The guilt around putting yourself first or taking time has been very difficult. And so, I have slowly regained boundaries and space. And trying to figure out what does it mean to prioritize myself, what does it mean to prioritize other people, my friends, work, my partnership above my child in certain times. What are the trade-offs, risks, and rewards?” — Hannah Levy 

Hannah Levy (@hnnhlvy) is a content strategist who has spent the last twelve years helping brands build communities and connect with their customers through creative storytelling. She specializes in high-impact content campaigns that maximize engagement with a brand’s audience.

Hannah has worked across several industries, but has always returned to healthcare because she believes that understanding what's going on with our bodies, and getting high-quality affordable care, are basic human rights. Hannah is currently leading content marketing at Modern Fertility, a women's reproductive healthcare company focused on making fertility information more accessible for women everywhere.

Hannah is also dedicated to supporting underrepresented groups, something that she works toward as a community manager for Tech Ladies, a community of one hundred thousand members, and growing, that connects women, trans, and non-binary folks with the best opportunities in tech.

Please enjoy this wide-ranging conversation with Hannah Levy and Moms Who Build host, Margie Chuang!

For more about this episode, visit https://www.momswhobuild.com/home/hannah-levy-modern-fertility-tech-ladies-episode-009. 

Show Notes

Hannah and Margie have a candid discussion about fertility research and empowerment, the rewards of working for a female-founded, female-led startup, elevating women and underrepresented groups, and how workplaces can be more inclusive for parents and breastfeeding moms. They also talk openly about navigating early motherhood, feeling a sense of urgency to “figure it all out”, experiencing identity crisis after having kids, and mom guilt.

• Hannah’s career journey and her work with Modern Fertility and Tech Ladies. [3:21]
• Information asymmetry in healthcare and personal finance. [4:08]
• About Modern Fertility. [7:27]
• About Tech Ladies. [9:00]
• Hannah's personal mission. [12:04]
• Navigating privilege in professional networks. [18:29]
• Where the magic happens in communities. [24:14]
• Hannah’s approach to allyship. [26:54]
• Working for a female-founded, female-led company versus a male founded, male-led company. [31:07]
• How companies can empower women and parents to succeed in the workplace. [33:46]
• Writing content for startups. [39:00]
• Hannah’s thoughts on prioritizing time for herself, her family, her work, her community. [49:38]
• Hannah’s experience interviewing at companies while navigating new motherhood. [55:15]
• Margie and Hannah talk openly about navigating early motherhood, feeling a sense of urgency to figure it all out, going through an identity crisis after having kids, and mom guilt. [57:55]
• Lessons Hannah hopes to pass along to her daughter. [1:03:34]
• How Hannah applied the idea of value-based decision making to her personal and professional life. [1:05:26]
• Building empathy and meeting people where they are. [1:06:25]
• How Hannah learns and retains information. [1:09:49]
• Rapid Fire Questions. [1:11:32]
• Parting thoughts and encouraging words. [1:15:46]

For more about this episode, visit https://www.momswhobuild.com/home/hannah-levy-modern-fertility-tech-ladies-episode-009.

***

Connect with Hannah Levy: 

Twitter

Connect with Modern Fertility: 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Connect with Tech Ladies:

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

***

If you have a moment, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. It helps us to get more amazing guests on the show and grow the podcast. Thank you!

***

For past interviews with inspirational moms building inspirational things, visit momswhobuild.com. 

Connect with Moms Who Build host, Margie Chuang: 

Twitter: twitter.com/momswhobuild

Instagram: instagram.com/momswhobuild_

Facebook: facebook.com/momswhobuild

YouTube: bit.ly/youtube-channel-momswhobuild

Subscribe to Moms Who Build on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, RadioPublic, or your favorite podcast player. 

Margie Chuang | Why I Created Moms Who Build (Episode #008)

In my first solo episode, I talk candidly about why I started building Moms Who Build and what’s coming up on the show this month.

“I didn’t feel this way all of the time. I mainly felt this way when someone, and it didn’t matter who, but anyone asked me what I did for a living. I would reply that I was a stay-at-home mom and would almost immediately follow that up with, ‘oh, but I also volunteer as a special events coordinator for a nonprofit organization’, ‘oh, I also . . .’ fill in the blank for whatever I was doing at the time. And I was making it up in my own head that the person asking me was judging me for choosing to be a stay-at-home mom for my career, but again, that was in my head— no one ever said that to me. 

Fast forward to me driving home from Zumba and I was thinking about the kids growing up, about what I wanted to do. I was thinking about being surrounded by inspirational moms and women who were building things, and I thought, ‘huh, if I were made up of little cups of fulfillment, which cups needed a refill or to be filled in general?’ ” — Margie Chuang

***

For past interviews with inspirational moms building inspirational things, visit momswhobuild.com. 

Connect with Moms Who Build host, Margie Chuang: 

Twitter: twitter.com/momswhobuild

Instagram: instagram.com/momswhobuild_

Facebook: facebook.com/momswhobuild

YouTube: bit.ly/youtube-channel-momswhobuild

Subscribe to Moms Who Build on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, RadioPublic, or your favorite podcast player.