I was 90% closed on my pre-seed round for my startup when the strip turned pink. After navigating a secondary infertility diagnosis for a year, and enduring nightly injections, I was finally pregnant — a Christmas miracle and, at first glance, a New Year’s tragedy for my company.
It had taken me two years to get here: a solid, revenue-generating MVP, an almost-closed pre-seed round backed by a celebrity and notable advisors. And yet, I felt like I was simultaneously passing “Go” and being sent back to start.
At 6 weeks, we heard a heartbeat. At 8 weeks, two heartbeats — twins?! After throwing a 200-person launch party, I threw up in the cab ride home. The chaos was brewing, but like a duck gliding on water, I kicked furiously underneath, holding still on the surface.
Entrepreneurship and parenting a toddler had taught me one thing: navigating the unexpected is part of the deal. Grinning and bearing it through the chaos? Bring it on.
Once the first trimester nausea lifted, my husband and I started imagining life as a family of five. I decided to tell my team. But what about my investors and advisors — many of whom had just bet on me? Everything I’d learned told me to hide it. But everything in me told me to share it. So, I did. I agonized over the draft, put my insomnia to good use, and wrote from the heart.
To their credit, they all replied enthusiastically. Two were twin parents themselves. Still, there was an unspoken question in the air: How will you succeed at all of this?
The Economist reports that motherhood negatively impacts women across every industry: fewer promotions, less compensation, more burnout. Founders aren’t exempt — we’re just expected to keep the hustle alive, even as bottles, diapers, and school pickups join our calendars.
That famous America Ferrera monologue from Barbie comes to mind: the impossible contradictions women are expected to manage. I wondered: what if I stopped trying to fit into those contradictions? What if I just was, doing it my way?
In four years of parenting and years of entrepreneurship, I’ve learned a vital skill: stop measuring days as good or bad. Success isn’t a linear story — it’s about showing up, day after day.
Taking up space as a pregnant founder feels radical. But isn’t being an entrepreneur, at its core, about creating the world you wish existed?
I’m showing up bigger and bigger every day. A small but mighty protest on the path of founderhood. I’m creating the future I wish existed, one where women and mothers take up space not just when they’re pregnant but beyond it, with their seats in the board room, with their beautiful bold ideas, and even more expansive actions.
I am more excited and invigorated than ever and I can promise you this, I am just getting started. As one of my best friends replied when she heard the news, “Can’t you do anything halfway?!” No, no I can’t. âš¡
This piece originally appeared on LinkedIn, and was published here with permission. Featured maternity photo taken by Chellise Michael.
