Inspiring Stories from Female Founded Brands

International Women’s Day is a holiday celebrated globally every year on 8 March. This special day commemorates the social, economic and political achievements of women around the world and throughout history. This is a day for women around the world to come together, celebrate each other, and look back at how far we’ve all come.

“Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.” Serena Williams.

Here at Natural Baby Shower, we want to celebrate the incredible mothers in our family and community, as well as the powerful female founders and business owners we work with day-to-day. We would truly not be here without you all.

In this blog, we have gathered stories from some of the incredible women we work with at NBS, talking about who or what inspires them, how they’ve gotten to where they are today, and the advice they have for young women and girls.

 Gineline Kalleberg, CMO and Co-Founder, KAOS

KAOS was “born” the same moment our first child was born. So, we’ve been juggling work/life since day one. Although KAOS takes a lot of focus and work, it’s a flexible workplace (for anyone working here). Flexible working hours are crucial to manage a family and work in good harmony.

Our kids are our biggest inspiration. Children always question “why”, and they’re often very naïve. We started to ask questions ourselves: “Why do big brands only use fossil plastic in production?” “How come there’s no premium, beautiful, foldable highchair?” “How can we design in order to minimize footprint in production?” We forced ourselves to be naïve enough to believe we could do better than the current status quo. We put all our effort into making a great impact for the good of tomorrow, for our kids’ future. After all, that’s our responsibility as parents. And today, as KAOS business owners, we’re not only responsible for practicing sustainable production, but we’re in a position to create change and make an impact in the industry. That’s so awesome.

We’re driven by challenges, beautiful design, and innovation. We love to research and find new, better ways. It’s just very satisfying to overcome challenges! The harder work, the greater the victory.

I’m proud of so many things, and it’s important to take time to acknowledge. I’m proud of the position we’ve managed to take, and that Mette and I managed to come as far as this being only two people. I’m proud to learn that KAOS has become an attractive workplace, attracting so many great employees. We’re building a strong team! And I’m proud to see how my kids react every time they see someone wearing a KAOS backpack out and about, or when they see a KAOS highchair at a restaurant. They know hard work will take you there. I’m drop dead proud of being a woman – I believe it’s my biggest strength.

If I had any advice for young women, it’s to never. Give. Up. Never! KAOS started with a dream, and a modest post on our Instagram account, showing some sketches of what we wanted for ourselves. Today, KAOS has taken position, and has customers all around the world. It’s been one heck of a bumpy road. We’ve got so many “Nos!” along the way, and there’s been many tears and sleepless nights. But the laughs and victories conquer any downside, and it’s just a matter of never giving up – if you believe it can be done.

I think what I’m most thankful for, is to have had Mette by my side (and I know that’s vice versa for Mette). Given all the bumps in the road, we’ve taken turns pushing each other. Whenever one is down, the other lifts you back up.

Shop KAOS.

Amy Mawdsley and Amy James, Co-Founders, Finnsøn

“Amy and I worked for many years as retail fashion buyers for women’s accessories, and we came up with the idea for Finnsøn when we were both on maternity leave with our sons.  We couldn’t find a fully sustainable changing bag option that matched our personal style, while also being functional for our needs as busy parents on the go. So, using our product development backgrounds and personal experience as new mums, we set about designing a changing bag and accessories line that ticked all these boxes! We wanted to create a stylish range for both mums and dads which was durable, practical and importantly, made from 100% recycled materials. We spent over a year thoroughly researching and testing the products to ensure they would help make life easier when changing on the go or travelling with kids. 

Our change in career path was also greatly influenced by the need to have more flexibility around our young families.  Running a successful business while raising a young family is very challenging but the sense of reward is amazing.  We have learnt to adapt, developing lots of great new skills along the way, and have now built a brand that we are proud of.  Our kids are a source of inspiration every day; not only are we creating a legacy to pass onto them, but we are also showing our children how awesome working mothers can be and what you can achieve when you set yourself goals in life. 

I have a boy and girl aged five and two respectively, and Amy also has a boy and girl, who are aged four and one.  Being such good friends and having similar aged children, means that we are able to fully understand and support each other in a way that would have been lacking in our old work environments. The support of fellow women is something that is of great importance to us!”

Shop Finnson.

Lindsay May, Country Manager, UKI and Trade Marketing Director EU, Dorel Juvenile

“What an honour firstly to be a mum and to be a female leader in a company providing products and safety advice for other mums. I started motherhood 13 years ago with my son and then five years later I welcomed my twin girls. Well, what I actually mean by welcomed; I barely survived the early days with the constant stream of bottles, nappies and lack of sleep, but when I look back it was a pleasure to experience it with the three humans I grew.  

In truth, they helped me to be braver, bolder and a better person and that’s also in a work environment too. I care for my work family like I do my children, they can be testing but above all incredibly rewarding and they help me grow every day.

What’s next? For me it’s keep striving and keep laughing, as the latter keeps me sane!”

Shop Maxi-Cosi.

My favourite quote to reference is: "We need tech that finally puts women’s needs first. After all, why should we have to make do with shoddy design or pink spin-offs when there are self-driving cars in the world?”

Shop Elvie.

Victoria Hampson, CEO and Co-Founder, Natural Baby Shower

“I would say that the hardest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done is starting Natural Baby Shower from my kitchen table and growing it into the successful business it is today, but this is simply not true. By far, the hardest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done is be a mother to my three incredible children.

In many ways, our children and our businesses have a lot in common. They both came from nothing but love, they both consume all our energy, they lead to sleepless nights, they demand every scrap of our attention and focus, and they sometimes make us want to scream or give up. But then we get to watch them grow, and we get to watch them thrive, and one day we get to take a step back and feel an overwhelming sense of pride and admiration for what they’ve become.

Women in business are too often underappreciated and underestimated. Not only do we have the ambition, drive and determination to start something from nothing, craft our own successes and exceed our goals, but we have the bravery and resilience to become mothers. And for many of us, we do both at the same time!

I feel so lucky to be able to work with so many incredible female business owners because of NBS. They surprise and inspire me every day, and I wish to thank and congratulate each one of them this International Women’s Day.”