This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

Pregnant and working on an early stage start-up - help needed

Yajaira153·Oct 28, 2021

I am in a bit of a bind. I graduated from a top MBA program a little over a year ago and decided to start my own start-up. I've had pivots, turns, lost co-founders etc. I am finally at a stage where I have advisors and a team in place and am planning to launch our second pilot in two months. I also just found out I am pregnant. The pilot will run through March. If it's successful I will go raise VC funding. If it's not, I will need to find a job. By then I will be 6-7 months pregnant. What company will want to hire somoene who is going to go on maternity leave in two months? What VC will want to fund a solo founder who is 7 months pregnant?

I am not sure if I am overthinking this. I honestly don't know how the market views pregnant women (I've never been pregnant). I don't know if my worries are founded but when I think about it if it's between me and another candidate what company would go with someone who is about to leave two months into starting a job?

I am not sure what to do and I'm worried that I'm putting my career in jeopardy. Anybody have thoughts?

Ligia57·Oct 29, 2021

Search recent “I’m pregnant, now what?” Posts. The good news is that none of this will matter as much after you have your baby. The better news is it will all work out. A baby is not a hindrance to whatever you want to do career wise. If someone doesn’t hire you because you are pregnant, that someone is hostile to women and you don’t want to work with them. How ambitious of you to have all this going on. Don’t play it down! Taking all this on at once means you have the right energy.

jenged·Oct 29, 2021

Check them out! Much easier to raise https://www.startengine.com/ and I would prioritize work/stability to support/fund the ops of the startup. Might want to checkout chegg internships to get interns to start working for you asap - see if you can tighten your pilot timeline or get proof of concept a faster way. And congrats you're going to make this all happen!! I remember reading about a successful women closing a +$100M deal around her labour time and she handled everything =)

jenged·Oct 29, 2021

Ps. Wait scratch chegg internships! glad you have your team already! XD

Yajaira153·Oct 29, 2021

no, this could help actually. None of them are full time and I could use someone to do some grunt work!

jenged·Oct 29, 2021

Awesome and raising takes about a year to sigm a check but start engine is better that way. I think rather than thinking OR I would think *and* good job, baby + raising/funded (but start today and do some risk Mgmt- smartsheet has an awesome template) to make your pilot successful. No reason to put yourself in a bind :)

josephinecahill·Oct 29, 2021

Also if your funding isn't successful, and interviews are still digital - just don't tell them? Zoom hides many things. The employer put themselves in a position of massive liability by asking, and you have just as much of a legal right (assuming you're in the US) to take a job while pregnant. Anything else would constitute discriminationhttps://employeetestingcenter.com/hiring-and-the-lawcan-i-ask-about-pregnancy/

Yajaira153·Oct 29, 2021

I thought about this...but I find it highly deceitful. I know they can't ask and I know even if I said that I am pregnant after they gave me the offer it feels somehow like I wasn't being honest? Not sure...I also don't want to bring it up awkwardly and unnecessarily. That's a weird one that I am not sure how to go about. I can't show up to work day 1 looking super pregerz or like oh hey btw i'm leaving in two months for maternity leave...

juliecarroll·Nov 01, 2021

I hear you. And also, it's not deceitful to NOT disclose a highly personal matter during the interview process. This is a medical condition and a family matter. Also zoom down to Chelsie's comments about this being a short-term time crunch. Think of it this way if you are interviewing: Are you qualified for the job? Are you the right person with the right skills to do the job? That is why they should or shouldn't hire you. Your family / marital / health status does not come into play at all, IMO.

josephinecahill·Nov 01, 2021

100%

josephinecahill·Oct 29, 2021

Yeah, it's a tough one, and totally your call. It's worth remembering that there are generations of women who fought for your right to make this choice, one way or another. No shame in whatever decision you make. Do what works for you.

ChelsieHall·Oct 29, 2021

Hi!! Another pregnant founder here. I found out I was pregnant three days after accepting my TechStars offer. We’ve raised a bit, have some early customers and pilots, and I’m even raising a touch more angel now. I’m 6 months- due in Feb. The hardest part has been how exhausting this all is!! And there are zero resources to support navigating things. I’ve had some odd looks and off handed comments, but generally everyone in my ecosystem has been completely amazing and supportive. As far as jeopardizing your career- I’d say no way! By starting something, you make connections and can position yourself to slide into a fairly senior role in your industry. Your short term timing gets crazy with the baby, but long term- being a thought leader, go getter and risk taker who can launch a product and take it to market is a big plus. And use this time as a founder to punch up your network with VP and C suite leaders. I’ll admit I have had a lot of moments where I’ve wished I took the easy path and just got a job that let me get more rest, and I’m pretty scared about how I’m going to take care of myself during maternity leave. I’m also not paying myself a lot, which was fine when i didn’t have a babe- but which becomes an issue for my little family in March (my husbands in grad school!). As far as raising- I’m holding my seed round till the spring after I’m back and the babe is born, and I’m raising just a bit from angels and small funds now. I’m finding that raising with angels is fine- and they are generally very supportive of my situation. Lots of this is over zoom, and most don’t know I’m pregnant till later meetings because my giant belly doesn’t show on screen. I had some live events around TechStars demo day that were a bit disappointing, and I noticed we didn’t get the most VC traffic which may or may not have had something to do with me being pregnant. Customers don’t care that I am, so I’m just getting as much traction as possible as cheaply as possible. You are a beast, this is really really really really hard, and you’ve got this. Have a ton of conviction- you’ll need it! And know you’re elite for crushing this and your long term career prospects will be justttt fine!Would love to connect!

antanasguoga·Oct 30, 2021

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