Happity reaches over one million parents a year. After having her son and recovering from postnatal depression, Emily campaigned for awareness of Maternal Mental Health which later saw Happity nominated for a Your UK Parliament award for their efforts in changing legislation to allow parent and child groups to stay open during lockdown. Emily heads up the marketing and go-to-market strategy at Happity.
IN THIS PIECE, SHECANCODE CAUGHT UP WITH EMILY TO TALK ABOUT HOW SHE BECAME AN ENTREPRENEUR, OVERCOMING INSECURITIES AND HER CAREER ADVICE.
HOW DID YOU LAND YOUR CURRENT ROLE? WAS IT PLANNED?
I created my role – and no it definitely wasn’t planned! I thought I’d go back to the corporate world after having my son, but mental health struggles postnatally had other plans! Before I gave birth I was a confident, go-getter, yes-type person. An extrovert who loved working as part of a busy team. You could throw anything at me and I’d find a way to make it happen. With enthusiasm and drive. When PND took hold, even the thought of meeting my best friend for coffee flooded me with anxiety. It got to the stage where I was terrified that I would faint or have a panic attack when I was alone with my baby. It really affected how I bonded with him. I didn’t feel that rush of love that other mums talk about and that made me feel like a failure. And like I had to hide it from the rest of the world.
Having suffered from PND I wanted to help others. Happity’s mission is to combat loneliness by connecting parents through baby and toddler classes. Loneliness can be a real trigger for postnatal depression — it was certainly a big part of it for me. That’s why connecting parents is at the heart of all we do. As mums ourselves we know how important these classes are for socialisation and development, not to mention the community building for parents which is key for mental health. That’s why we have focused on listing as many free and cheap activities in our newly launched cities; so everyone can find something to do with their child.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN YOUR CAREER, SO FAR?
This is a tricky question! I think it has to be turning what was a dark period of my life into something that helps so many others. And doing it in a way that is sustainable and supporting those around me. What we’ve achieved through Happity is incredible – from launching the platform from having no direct tech/marketing experience, to changing legislation during Covid to support new parents, to building the passionate team who do such an amazing job supporting the parents and providers who use us! It’s not been easy, but working with Sara and the team – all of whom are so passionate and dedicated to our cause, has been, and continues to be an absolute privilege.
WHAT DOES AN AVERAGE WORK DAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
From part-time, flexible and remote working (which all of our roles are), to weekly mindfulness exercises, even unlimited holiday, Happity is creating a culture that means our team can bring the best of themselves to work, meaning we are all as effective as we can be, whilst maintaining a balanced home life.
Everyday therefore looks different as it fits around business and home needs.
Generally I take my son to school, go for a run or a quick walk with a friend, then I’m at my laptop in meetings, doing work (which can be so many things!). Budget and resource planning, improving our team meetings as we change so rapidly, scoping out and planning/implementing new projects, or talking to other businesses who’d like to partner with us or work together in some way. Then it’s picking my son up and taking him to an after school activity, dinner and bed, then I’m generally back working again. I love working flexibly like this – I can get a full week’s work done, whilst also spending quality time with my family.
HAVE YOU EVER FACED INSECURITIES AND ANXIETIES DURING YOUR CAREER, AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?
Yes! Running your own business is absolutely amazing, but you also often get imposter syndrome (or at least at the beginning, less so now I’d say). It’s not just my business that I’m looking after, it’s all the team that we employ too. That brings anxieties when making big decisions – especially after we have crowdfunding and how to make the most of those funds!
After struggling with PND I struggled with anxiety in general too – that has made life hard in general. But I’m a total planner – so being on top of my diary / to-dos really helps, along with the age-old eating, sleeping and exercising well.
ENTERING THE WORLD OF WORK CAN BE DAUNTING. DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS OF ADVICE FOR ANYONE FEELING OVERWHELMED?
Go for it! One of our values at Happity is that we are imperfect. Strange I know – but what we mean by that is that we take risks; try new things.
Even if it fails, you’ve learnt something valuable on the way.
And with anything that feels overwhelming, I’d split it into smaller tasks. I often do this for myself and our team. When things get busy it can be easy to procrastinate or just merely get not much done as you spend all your time worrying/wondering what to do. I/we step back for a second at that moment, write out everything we “should” be doing, and them prioritise. This really helps you feel on top again as you realise that whilst there are many things that do need to be done, and often quickly, there are often other things that can take a backseat for a while, or even be binned or given to someone else to sort.
