Why Mum’s the word in being a brilliant tech start-up entrepreneur

Welcome to the third in our series of interviews celebrating the inspiring world of working mums! In celebration of International Women’s Day, we discover how motherhood may well be the answer to being an even better businesswoman and entrepreneur.

Today’s interviewee Cerise Bird is a tech start-up entrepreneur. Tell us about your business Cerise?

Hi Helen, Thank you for having me, it’s great to be here for #IWD2019. I started Thrivve a wellness tech brand just over a year ago with the idea of designing a reusable water bottle that takes the struggle out of being properly hydrated by keeping track of how much you drink and reminding you throughout the day to drink up. Designed with a long-lasting approach it also helps to curb the flow of pollution caused by plastic and electronic waste into landfill and the ocean. We want to help you drink well and waste less, for a healthier you and a healthier planet. The planned launch is early summer.
Cerise is a mum to: Ella, eight in year 3 and Hattie, four in reception, and they live in London with their Dad, Cerise’s husband Alistair.

For me, it was the other way around. I discovered my business whilst being a mother. When it came time to start thinking about going back to work, I struggled with the idea of leaving them to go back to a career and culture that made me unhappy. If I was going back to work and being away from our children, then it had to be for more than the money and to work on something I believed in.

2. Did having children change your career aspirations and goals?

Yes, completely. I’m not sure I had career aspirations before having Ella and Harriet. I was just blindly following the Corporate path without much thought, doing what I was expected of me – climbing the corporate ladder. Now I’m doing something that is super challenging but makes my heart sing.

3.  What are the biggest challenges you have faced running/setting up your own business after having children?

Learning to let things go was a big challenge for me – picking my battles – not with the kid’s mind you, but with the notion of how things should be. We soon figured out what was really important for our family – I learned to get over our often messy house and the mountain of washing, but I always try to make sure Ella and Hattie eat a healthy meal. Another challenge was not having much childcare in the early days and now having to work around school hours. This mean I miss a lot of networking events, and as a bootstrapped startup this is something I’m still yet to figure out – it can be very lonely at times.

Yes, I think it’s possible, but you need the right support network. For us, it was important that Alistair was onboard, and that the chores and responsibility were shared. It’s a massive shift and we don’t always get it right, but the intention is there. It really isn’t possible if you’re trying to be the stay at home mum and run a business. Everything is a choice and running my own business means I get to make the ones that work for us – this helps with getting a good balance.

5. Do think you have missed out on any part of being a mum, due to running a business at the same time?

No, I don’t feel like I have. I made a conscious decision to take things slowly with the business until Hattie started school. That was very hard as it felt like I wasn’t making much progress, and I felt a rush to develop the product and get it on the market. I probably would have launched sooner if I hadn’t made that decision, but it was the right decision for our family, and by being patient and sticking to what I believed to be the right way I’m now finding that now is a better time to launch. It’s all about timing.

6. Is there anything you have learned from running a business that has helped you with being a mother or vice versa?

I try to live in the moment by keeping the monkey mind at bay and focus on one thing at a time. I make sure to carve out time to give the children my undivided attention at least once or twice a day. I’ve also learned to focus more on what’s important and not be constantly reacting to what’s urgent.

Mainly having the choice to put my values at the centre of everything I do. Working on my own terms and having flexibility. Giving Hattie and Ella a different perspective on what work looks like – we often talk about the business at home. Ella’s school is taking part in the Keep Britain Tidy – The Great Big School Clean Up, and it’s wonderful being able to chat with her about the links between my business and what she’s doing. Do you think it’s more difficult for women to run a business after having children than men? Yes, because there is always the assumption that women will take care of the children.

8. Are there any myths you have heard about being a working mother that you would like to dispel?

Multitasking is often something people think working mums do well. But I’ve learned the hard way that this isn’t true. Trying to juggle running a house, looking after the children and running the business. It was impossible? The busyness of multitasking sure doesn’t mean you’re any more productive. For me, it just meant I did everything badly and made more mistakes. (I’ve just proven that to myself, yet again, by trying to cook dinner and write this – I burnt the dinner.)

Absolutely, navigating the challenges that come with each development stage of having a baby/child has helped me become quicker at adapting and making decisions. I respect my time more, and Ella and Hattie make me question my assumptions every day about what is possible. They’ve taught me to dream big and not to be afraid to try new things. We learn so much from being a mother and from our children.

10. What are your goals and aspirations for the future? Will your children growing up affect these plans?

To successfully launch my product in June, and to continue pushing through the barriers and challenges of being a woman in tech and in the startup world. That means being true to myself, continuing to find my voice and rising above the preconceived expectations of a working mum. Ella and Hattie will continue to be part of what inspires me.

Have you enjoyed this article? Find out more about Thrivve on their Instagram page.

If you’ve loved learning about Cerise’s story as much as we have, then check out more stories from working Mum’s we’ve designed for. Jo Lennon tells us how sleep deprivation inspired her (honestly!) Ruth Jacobs shares the wins with her family.

We can’t thank Cerise enough for her inspiring and straight-talking insights. As a new Mum I’ll certainly be taking on board some of her mantra’s and we feel very honoured to have designed for her brand.