Back in 2015, The Telegraph reported that businesses run by mothers with children 18 or under generated £7.2bn for the UK economy…and this number is only going up. In fact, it is estimated that by 2025, this economy is expected to grow to £9.5bn – a significant boost for UK entrepreneurship.
But this rise isn’t just about women in business, it’s about women who are re-defining what a work/life balance looks like, especially when it comes to families.
Here, we spotlight some inspiring “mumpreneurs” across the UK and Europe who are making an impact both at home and in the boardroom.
Our Entrepreneurs
- Alex Sudron, Founder at Plia Parasols
- Katrina Young, Founder at Aggregator Digital
- Ali Skidmore, Founder of EaseTwist
- Reena Gohil-Khetani, Founder at Kari Sako and Surya Chamak
- Wendy Killin, Founder at Sparkwell
- Stephanie Dunn-Moorhouse, Founder at SilverGuard
- Monica Soni, Founder at Tres London
- Sakshi Chhabra Mittal, Founder at Foodhak
- Ashley Verma, Founder at Bizzi
- Becks Perfect, Founder of The Sidechain
- Leanne King, Founder at Beauty Favours
- Maya Manseau, Founder at She Creates Peace
- Caroline Marshall, Founder at Upsource
- Lottie Whyte, Co-Founder and CEO at MyoMaster
- Mari-Carmen Sanchez-Morris, Founder of FIT MAMA
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
Alex Sudron, Founder at Plia Parasols
Alex Sudron is a mum to two boys and has just launched her startup Plia Parasols. Last summer, looking for a parasol for her own garden, she spotted a gap in the market. Plia Parasols designs and makes luxury outdoor umbrellas, with interiors-worthy fabrics. Forget plain, boring parasols, these are made with fabrics you’d normally imagine seeing as curtains or lampshades inside the home.
The hardwood parasol frames are made to the highest standards and all parts are fully replaceable, so that they need never head to landfill. The fabrics (sourced from across Europe) are all created for outdoor use and are water, mould and fade resistant.
Alex’s previous business (a consultancy working with creative businesses) grew to 70 people, with global clients, and was acquired by Venture Capital firm Cow Corner in 2022. After taking a senior directorship role at another business within the VC portfolio, Alex felt that employment was not going to be compatible with motherhood’s responsibilities, and her appetite for the flexibility of entrepreneurship was set off once again
Katrina Young, Founder at Aggregator Digital
Katrina Young, a mother of two and a tech powerhouse, is celebrated for her prowess in steering digital innovation. Named among the top 40 Digital UK Women in 2020 and an Innovation Champion Award finalist in 2023, she wields her expertise as a CTO and business consultant to usher in tech-driven progress across industries. Katrina champions ‘Preparing to Raise’ – a supportive venture for startups, magnifying her influence as an advocate for inclusive, empowering technology that underscores her robust career of resilience and achievement within the tech ecosystem.
Aggregator Optima is an AI-infused platform innovating digital transformation through sustainability-focused data integration tools. Mother-founded and leading the charge in eco-innovative tech, it arms businesses with a suite of features: DiagnosePro for website audits, OptimaCheck for performance tracking, and PerformaView for analytics insights. Reputation and security are paramount, tackled by RepCheck360 and KeyWatch360.
Essential to its mission, CarbonReduceIQ and GreenCheckAI navigate businesses towards minimising their environmental impact. Aggregator Optima empowers enterprises with the intelligence to thrive online, fulfilling the founder’s vision of tech as a force for positive, ecological change.
Ali Skidmore, Founder of EaseTwist
Ali Skidmore came up with the idea for EaseTwist while struggling with the buckles and straps on her children’s car seats and pushchairs.
Her patent-protected technology allows straps to be tightened with equal tension and released in one simple action, saving valuable time for emergency responders and improving safety/security all round.
The buckle system is being trialled by a wide variety of end users, including firefighters, trauma response teams and paramedics, divers, the military, motorsports and leisure industries. Whatever the end use case, all EaseTwist products deliver the same four key benefits:
- Quick deploy and release – meaning they’re easy to attach and adjust, saving valuable time
- Tension limiter – removing the risk of of over tightening
- No dangling straps that can snag or cause a trip hazard
- Less likely to slide out of position than traditional straps – delivering greater security
Ali is currently taking part in BetaDen – the ‘Best Technology Accelerator in the UK’ according to the UK Business Tech Awards 2022 – which is based in Worcestershire, UK.
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
Reena Gohil-Khetani, Founder at Kari Sako and Surya Chamak
Reena found the inspiration to start not just one, but two businesses after having her children – Kari Sako, an ethical children’s clothing brand, and Surya Chamak, a waterproof jewelry brand.
The idea for Kari Sako came to her during the pandemic, when her daughter was just 2 years old. She wanted to create a brand that supported slow fashion, ethical working practices, and celebrated my Indian heritage. Fast forward four years, the first SS24 collection is released!
Surya Chamak, on the other hand, was born from her passion for jewellery, which she had put on hold after becoming a mother. Frustrated with the hassle of constantly taking jewellery on and off, she discovered waterproof jewellery and decided to launch Surya Chamak in February 2024.
Launching these businesses has allowed her to show her children to never give up on their dreams.
Wendy Killin, Founder at Sparkwell
Dr Wendy Killin, NHS GP and Lifestyle Medicine Doctor founded her own business, Sparkwell Health Ltd, in Aug 21 during maternity leave with her second son.
Sparkwell is a Lifestyle Medicine Consultancy. she teaches corporate clients how to prevent and reverse illness using the 6 pillars of Lifestyle Medicine (Sleep, Movement, Nutrition, Social Connections, Stress Management and Avoiding risky substances). In addition, she works in a busy GP Practice in a deprived part of Glasgow. She has seen first hand the illnesses that patients’ present with where their lifestyles can play a part.
This includes chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancers, lung conditions, obesity and more. She has just had her third son and 6 weeks after giving birth she was teaching a workshop with Aegon on Stress and its management. She loves working for herself and empowering people to take control of their health and wellbeing using simple and easy to implement Lifestyle Medicine strategies.
Stephanie Dunn-Moorhouse, Founder at SilverGuard
During lockdown while juggling home schooling, self-isolation, and everything else in between, Tahira, Lynn, and Stephanie, three mums from East London, came together to establish SilverGuard. As a pioneering antimicrobial textiles business, we develop innovative products to help people stay safe at home.
The idea of launching the company had been floating around the school gates for a while, but the pandemic provided the opportunity. With backgrounds in healthcare, textiles, and sustainability, and over 8 years of being on the PTA together, we knew the partnership would work.
Recognising the growing consumer awareness of health, hygiene, and sustainability, we developed a range of bed linens that introduced IONIC+ technology into people’s homes. In 2022, we launched an organic cotton towel collection, followed by SilverSense baby and children’s clothing.
We’ve prioritised skin kindness in all our products and were elated to receive dermatological accreditation from the Skin Health Alliance, making us the only textile brand to achieve this recognition. Additionally, we have been awarded multiple industry and consumer awards across our product collections including a coveted Mother & Baby and LuxLife awards.
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
Monica Soni, Founder at Tres London
Monica Soni is the Founder and Creative Director of newly launched UK-made, contemporary kidswear brand, Tres London. A mother of two, Monica Soni is an American, ex-womenswear designer, trained at Parsons, The New School of Design in New York, now living in the UK.
On moving to London and becoming a first-time mum, Monica noticed a lack of kidswear options that matched her clean, minimalist and modern aesthetic. Equally she was shocked at the heavy gender bias of kidswear design. Tres London aims to disrupt the industry by bringing quiet luxury to the market, elevating kidswear to reflect the modern parent’s effortlessly cool aesthetic as well as their modern values.
They are proudly Designed and Made in the UK. Central to our mission is the importance of sustainability and empowering the hard-hit UK manufacturing industry by producing small-batch runs with their Yorkshire-based manufacturing partners.
Tres London debuted its first micro-collection of elevated daywear in late December 2023 and will be dropping their second collection of seasonless go-to pieces in Autumn/Winter 2024.
Sakshi Chhabra Mittal, Founder at Foodhak
Sakshi is a mother of two and was diagnosed with a rare liver diseases during her first pregnancy. She reversed this illness using an Ayurvedic diet as a form of medicine and then decided to turn this experience and passion into a business. Foodhak is a revolutionary food delivery start up that uses AI technology as a key pillar of its work.
Foodhak use proprietary AI-technology to read thousands of the latest scientific research papers helping the team to understand which foods are the most beneficial for our long-term health. The team of chefs use this information to reinvent and reimagine classic dishes into popular meals. The chefs ensure that there is no compromise when it comes to the taste, striking the balance between flavour, health and convenience to create the perfect recipe.
Sakshi has a background in biotech, having earned a Biotechnology degree from the University of Birmingham and an MBA from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She began her career at Pfizer, moving from clinical trials and regulatory affairs to manufacturing. Sakshi led the life and food sciences, and deep tech investment vertical at the Softbank Vision Fund for five and a half years.
After launching, Foodhak saw huge growth with subscribers were growing by 25% every week. Within a matter of weeks Sakshi had already completed on a $5 million first investment round, landing Holland & Barrett and Brent Huberman’s vehicle Firstminute Capital as hero investors alongside angels.
Ashley Verma, Founder at Bizzi
Ashley Verma’s background is wholly centred in fitness, wellness and living an active lifestyle as a mother. Ashley launched Bizzi to empower those wanting to make healthy lifestyle choices to fit into their busy schedules with a range of products that harmonise flavour and health.
Ashley’s career spans the stages of Broadway and venues worldwide, with performances in acclaimed productions such as “The Producers”, “Cats”, “Chicago”, “A Chorus Line”, “Pippin”, “Follies”, “Big Fish” and “Gigi”. Alongside her theatrical success, Ashley seamlessly transitioned into the world of fitness, establishing herself as a sought-after celebrity trainer in New York City.
Never one to shy away from new challenges, Ashley ventured across the pond to inaugurate her flagship fitness boutique gym, Define London, in mid-2018. Amidst her professional endeavours, Ashley embraced motherhood, welcoming her daughter just before the onset of the global pandemic in 2020.
Like countless others, Ashley found herself amidst a sea of change and transition. Seeking avenues to share her experiences and connect with others on a deeper level, she embarked on a new venture in April 2022- the creation and hosting The Bizzimumzi Podcast, sponsored by Fabletics EU. The podcast serves as a raw and authentic platform, fearlessly delving into the joys and trials of parenthood.
Having launched Bizzi at this week’s Food & Drink Expo in Birmingham, Ashley is now focusing on everything Bizzi and developing the brand.
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
Becks Perfect, Founder of The Sidechain
Becks Perfect is the Founder of The Sidechain, a cutting-edge educational platform for entrepreneurs and career transitioners; helping future-proof their growing businesses using the latest emerging technologies such as AI and Web3.
A seasoned broadcaster with a stellar track record of working for the BBC, Sky News and ITV, Becks stumbled across Web3 back in early 2021 and became one of the first females in this future tech space. She saw the need for demystifying this new and complex technology and used her broadcast expertise to become the first female YouTuber on NFTs and an authoritative and trusted voice in future tech. This led her to speak as a leading voice on global stages such as Mobile World Congress, NFT NYC and Citi Banks Digital Money Symposium.
After having her daughter at the end of 2022, she quickly returned to work, knowing that this would be a fast-moving area of growth to which her daughter would inevitably become native as she grows up. Becks launched the business a year later with workshops, online courses and resources, now coming full circle with the impending launch of a brand new podcast helping make complicated technology even easier to understand.
Leanne King, Founder at Beauty Favours
In 2019, Beauty Favours Founder Leanne King who has a Ph.D. in Chemistry and a ten-year career in Science Research and Innovation, developing skincare products to market for large global brands found out that she was pregnant, shortly followed by the news that the new company she had just joined was making the whole team redundant!
As lockdown then hit, Leanne found herself starting the process of developing her own range of products which is something she had always dreamed of doing due to her passion for products and beauty. Supported by her husband who is an expert in tech, she set to work on making this happen. When her baby was 6 months old, she found out that she was pregnant again. Beauty Favours products then launched when baby number two was just 4 months old.
Leanne has built an ecofriendly cosmetics brand with a range of luxury shampoo bars that are now award winning! Leanne loves what the brand has become and what it stands for. She has been able to build the business while spending the days with her two now toddlers. She works in the evenings and weekends and has more products ready to launch soon!
Maya Manseau, Founder at She Creates Peace
Maya Manseau is a grief guide and the founder of She Creates Peace, a platform which aims to help others learn to live intentionally again after loss. Becoming an expert in grief was not a path Maya would have chosen. In 2013, her 23-year-old daughter died from leukaemia just three months after learning she was ill.
The grief completely overwhelmed her, but the experience inspired her to help others make the most of their lives and find their true purpose. To achieve this, Maya also works as a small business coach and is the founder of The Small Business Path where she helps her clients create businesses which bring them success and joy. Her aim is to help people tap into their inner dreamer, find their passions and put them into action. Maya is also an author and has written books on both business and grief.
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
Caroline Marshall, Founder at Upsource
Caroline Marshall, mum of two, started Upsource, an award-winning virtual assistant agency, because she was exhausted by being employed, building a career, and raising a child. In 2020, she was in lockdown and not working for the second time within 18 months of becoming a mother. Unsure where she stood with her job, pregnant, and the main carer for her toddler – traditional employment just wasn’t working for her, so she decided to launch her business and has seen incredible growth in nearly four years.
Upsource’s team of expert VAs provides business, operational, executive, and lifestyle support to entrepreneurs, startups, scale-ups, and SMEs across various industries including tech. They are a fully remote team using the latest technology to provide excellent service to their clients and developing some exciting partnerships (including within AI) to further expand their services
The business’ success supports the launch of my passion project, the Bump to Business Owner podcast. The podcast is a space for mums and business owners to listen to the success stories of women just like them: female founders growing a business whilst raising a family.
Lottie Whyte, Co-Founder and CEO at MyoMaster
Having gone viral for her pitching prowess, Lottie Whyte, co-founder and CEO of MyoMaster, is taking the recovery world by storm. Founding one of the UK’s fastest-growing health and wellbeing brands is no easy feat, but Lottie built MyoMaster with husband and co-founder Joe Gray just as they had become first-time parents.
Perhaps best known as the ‘Dragon Slayer’, having gone down in Dragons’ Den history for silencing Steven Bartlett with a searing comeback, Lottie’s quick-counter remarks and steadfast conviction in her business saw her win the hearts – and investment – of Gary Neville and Sara Davies. Whilst the launch of MyoMaster marked her first step into the world of sports recovery and optimisation, Lottie has proven track record of accelerating business growth. Before becoming an entrepreneur, she spent a decade responsible for new business, marketing and people across multiple communications companies.
Now, almost four years into running the physical optimisation brand, Lottie has scaled MyoMaster to an impressive £4m revenue run rate. Making sure to enforce boundaries between work and home life, as well as embracing the busy seasons of being an entrepreneur, Lottie balances motherhood and entrepreneurship like a pro. She not only has a unique and diligent schedule but also a life that many other busy mums can relate to.
Mari-Carmen Sanchez-Morris, Founder of FIT MAMA
Mari-Carmen Sanchez-Morris is a women’s health and fitness expert supporting women across the globe. Founder of FIT MAMA – the all-star app for mums on their journey through motherhood, wellness and health – Mari-Carmen advocates for accessible information around pre and postnatal health and wellbeing. Covering all periods of a mother’s life from prenatal to menopause, she has created the pocket-friendly, go-to guide which empowers mothers when it comes to their own body and mind.
Mari-Carmen had always had a passion for health and wellness – having worked as a nurse in a Paediatric Intensive Care unit for 5 years before having her first son – but it was her own maternity experiences in 2017 and the inconsistency of information around health and fitness that drove her to qualify as a personal trainer, specifically in pre and postnatal fitness.
Founding both Mari-Carmen Fitness and FIT MAMA whilst raising three children, Mari-Carmen uses motherhood to power entrepreneurship. Her children are her purpose, but her main drive is to make sure women do not lose their spark once they become mothers. With FIT MAMA Mari-Carmen provides holistic support that allows mothers to be their colourful selves whilst also caring for their children.
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.