💸 Funding + Financing News For Your Business 📊
Apr 28, 2023 8:57 pm
👀 Scroll for your parent-friendly business news, funding and opportunities ⬇️
A PERSONAL NOTE FROM ME (AMY):
✨📝 (But First) An Update On...Creating Safe Business Spaces For Primary Caregivers 📢
Last week I was all dressed up for a meeting at Parliament Hill which was rescheduled (second meeting to have that happen last week, with three different Members of Parliament).
Thankfully I hadn't gone through security yet but it meant the childcare I organized one day wasn't used the way I intended, then the childcare I didn't organize the other day and all of the prep work that went into packing the diaper bag for a trip to the Hill was for nothing.
All the more ironic as it's meant to revolve around discussions to create safe business spaces for parents and primary caregivers. 👀
BUT it's all good because meetings can be rescheduled, my toddler was none the wiser and the older kids were in school.
New meeting dates are in the works and things are rolling, just not in the way I expected!
I practice time blocking, over communication, setting boundaries and really like to pad the schedule before and after things to account for sick kids, diaper emergencies, transit and all of the mindset, feeding, changing and extra considerations that go into all of the above.
It's also Mercury Retrograde and a Lunar Eclipse this past month...I plan my work and life around moon cycles and other astrological events (if you're with me, you know), if you're not, here's what it's looked like this week for me:
📆 calendar mix ups, crossed wires and rescheduling, including surprise calls and emails
🎬 podcast interview tech glitches, delays to hit record, many things happening all at once (think back to back meetings)
😬 canceled after care at our school because of staff shortages
🎉 childcare sorted for the youngest kid (starting soon!) but confirmed alongside a professional setback (same day highs and lows)
📚 big news, deep conversations, back and forth on major projects and longterm discussions
⏳️ delays to required paperwork and waiting on confirmation via other written forms of communication
On the upside:
📢 increased availability for project and contract roles (consulting, marketing, communications)
🎊 confirming more guests for Season 5 of the podcast
🌈 new introductions and connections to others IRL and virtually
🎢 creative childcare solutions, help from family and friends
AND now, this last week of April has been an interesting and spontaneous one!
I was meant to be in Lisbon 🇵🇹 for the Running Remote Conference, an event I spoke at last year in Montreal 🇨🇦 and have been a member of the community of ever since.
But I stayed home as life had other plans AND this also happened to be the first week I saw my youngest kid take his first steps on his own (pleasant surprise!)
The great thing about this network of remote-first / hybrid / distributed team organizations, leaders and advocates is I have still felt connected and have met many people virtually in the lead up to the annual event, with plans to catch up with others over the coming months.
Aside from that event, yesterday I headed downtown to meet Member of Parliament Karen Vecchio who is the Chair of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women (FEWO).
It was only 30 minutes but we covered everything from gender equality and workforce participation, to the number of women who quit their businesses during the pandemic, creating accessible and inclusive spaces for parents and the connections to childcare, domestic violence and economic independence in policy areas and studies. We also talked about our kids (of course)!
I'm not certain where this discussion will take us but I have plans to speak with other FEWO Committee members across political parties, as I initially met them at a non-partisan Startup Canada event last month to share my work with Mixing Babies And Business™.
In 2016, I started bringing my first baby into business settings as a new parent living overseas - despite the fact there weren't any facilities and I was the only one with a stroller - over time this has evolved into hosting parent-friendly professional development, creating digital resources and sharing stories through my podcast, this newsletter and online platforms.
It also has meant I've had the privilege of meeting with parents (like you) who are interested in entrepreneurship, flexible and remote work and speaking to audiences about all of the above in person and via virtual stages.
Just wanted to drop a note here to say, keep on keeping on, you never know where sharing your ideas, showing up as you are and doing what you can in the moment could turn into.
Have a lovely weekend and Happy Friday! ☀️
As always, if you have any questions or feedback, I'm happy to hear from you – just hit reply.
– Amy Lynch (+ Family)
Founder, Event + Podcast Host
Mixing Babies And Business™
- 🔊 Listen to the Mixing Babies And Business™ Podcast on iTunes | Spotify | Google | Stitcher | Website 🔊
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P.S. Please share this email with your network if you're interested in learning more about working with me as a speaker, consultant or project contractor - I am delighted to share I will have more availability from May onward!
PARENT-FRIENDLY BUSINESS NEWS / OPPORTUNITIES / EVENTS
Spreading the word and business goodness for parents like you:
- POLICY: Mixing Babies And Business™ is participating in Startup Gov (facilitated by Startup Canada), a program I've been in since 2021 – if you'd like to join the next virtual roundtable about the Federal Budget in Canada's impact on entrepreneurship on Thursday, May 18th from 4:30-5:30 PM, please send me your info before Friday May 5th
- NEWS: Deloitte released the third iteration of their Women @ Work 2023: A Global Outlook [PDF] this week, exploring the views of 5,000 working women across 10 countries.
- NEWS: An article in The Irish Times featuring social impact organization Grow Remote, with stories of individual's remote work experiences (including parents!) and how it's enabling them to connect to rural areas, live closer to nature, work around the school run (yippee!) and be present for other day-to-day life events.
- NEWS: Last month Fortune published an article with the headline 'Nearly half of working mothers surveyed have been diagnosed with anxiety or depression. Here's what can help' and Tiffany Dufu shared her take on it via LinkedIn and the reality "the United States is only one of six countries in the United Nations with no national paid parental leave policy and spends only 0.2% GDP on childcare".
- NEWS: A 2023 article from CNBC about the top five countries in the world for working parents (based on OECD data).
- CAREER: Founder (and parent) Deborah Choi recently wrote a great LinkedIn post about getting paid for public speaking, which touches on investing in her children and their future.
- CAREER: Pregnant Then Screwed (based in the UK) are hiring! Check out their latest roles and Board of Directors positions – their website crashed last time they advertised these listings.
- CAREER: Rowena Hennigan publishes the Remote Work Digest and this previous edition contains a round up of remote work career resources and job search sites.
- CAREER: Founder (and parent) Brea Starmer wrote about hiring mothers as fractional consultants, the 'Motherhood Tax' and supplier diversity linking to Ashley Reckdenwald's piece for LinkedIn on 'The Motherhood Tax: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle for Working Women'.
- SUPPORT: Total Mom Pitch has announced their Top 100 Semi-Finalists, the top five finalists will be invited to pitch for the chance to receive $50,000 CAD (in cash and business services) at the Canadian Women Entrepreneur Industry Gala on May 30th – voting for them online closes next Thursday, May 4th.
- SUPPORT: Access FREE online courses on gender equality from the United Nations, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- SUPPORT: The Startup Women Advocacy Network (SWAN) has launched their online mentoring platform (I'm available to book in a free 30-minute session to discuss your work and parenthood journey), the program also includes webinars, workshops, funding and a directory of 1:1 mentors.
- SUPPORT: The RBCx program is offering free Mentor Meetups for women in tech throughout the month of May – all you have to do is sign up online and request a session with a mentor.
- FUNDING: They Got Acquired (based in the United States) collated and published an extensive list of grants (non-dilutive funding) available for entrepreneurs, including tips on selecting and applying for them.
- FUNDING: Karla Briones Consulting (based in Canada), founder (and parent), creator of the Immigrants Developing Entrepreneurs Academy (IDEA) and a Founders Fund advisor, has published a free guide 'Funding And Resources For Racialized And Women Entrepreneurs' [PDF].
- FUNDING: The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) has announced their Capital Grant application timeline and upcoming online training sessions related to eligibility and application requirements – funding awarded per year is from $10,000 to $150,000 CAD.
- FUNDING: Pitch applications for women founders are now open for the Invest Her Summit for those seeking pre-seed, seed and pre-Series A round funding – applications are open until May 16th for the event on June 29-30th in Paris, France.
- WELLNESS: Check out the Mixing Babies + Business Remote Work [Virtual] Retreat [available on demand] if you're seeking a simple and refreshing way to reassess your current work and life routines.
Crafted with 💜 and care in Canada
Sending you positive vibes and parenthood solidarity ✨
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