Female Founders Challenge @ Unbound London

It’s been a week since Unbound London and something has been on my mind since then.

I was going to write this yesterday but my brain was occupied with an intense panic that my pale northern self might perish in the insane heat that turned London into an environment fit only for baking pasties.

Now we are back to normal (i.e pouring rain in July) I feel I can just about put my feelings into words.

Our Founder & CEO, Jo Eckersley was invited to participate in a pitch battle with five other female-founded companies – these being GoJauntly, Grey Parrot, Sustainably, Marshmallow Games and the eventual winner, Step Ladder. Do yourselves a favour and check them all out. Each company has a unique offering and amazing potential.

But this isn’t actually about the companies.

As I sat in the audience, beaming with pride at our own involvement, I was struck by each founder’s story. With just 3 minutes on the clock, each one of them stunningly detailed their own journey, the inspiration and need behind their product and the ethos of their respective businesses.

These were women who had been through a lot. The passion in their voices, the looks on their faces. They reminded me of someone. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Then at the end of the battle, they were each asked to say a little something about themselves – and there it was. They were mothers. They were aunties. They were people who had (in some cases single-handedly) raised children while not just holding down a career, but actually innovating, creating things for the good of the world. Raising and nurturing an idea and sending it out into the world, just like they will do their own children.

That’s not to say people without children that do this aren’t amazing. Because they truly are.

This just resonated with me on such a personal level that I was compelled to call my mother and thank her for being so brilliant.

To which her reply was “Are you drunk, love?”

She’s had this kind of call before…

Unbound London was, of course, a fantastic event where we met and chatted with a huge variety of brilliant folk. A lot of whom we are looking forward to talking with again in the near future.

But this little piece is my tribute to Hana Sutch (GoJauntly) Purdey Collier (Step Ladder) Mikela Druckman (Greyparrot) Cristina Angelillo (Marshmallow Games) Loral Quinn (Sustainably) and of course, Jo Eckersley (Bubbl)

You are all fantastic and an inspiration. High fives all round!

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