The Mamalode Starter Series is an exciting opportunity for us to introduce you to some of the amazing people we get to meet. Starting something takes enormous amounts of work, faith, help and community. Every week we'll share another story of starting. So, community of Mamalode, read up, get inspired and check out these wonder-folk.
Interview with the founder of Momtourage, Laura Pfeifer.
Tell us a little bit about your business and how you started it.
My name is Laura Pfeifer, and I'm mom to three little boys, ages 2, 4 and 7. Before becoming a stay at home mom seven years ago, I worked for many years in the tech industry doing everything from training to application consulting to my last job, which was “Director of Everything Else.”
I never post anything about my kids or my good/bad/ugly moments as a mom to Facebook, because I don't want the random assortment of people that are my Facebook Friends seeing and commenting on them. I also don't want pictures of my kids (that they had no say in my sharing) living forever on Facebook and potentially coming back to haunt them some day.
I saw an opportunity to build a new mobile app, where moms could share their “Mom Moments”—the ups, the downs, and everything in between—privately with their Mom friends and anonymously with the whole world of Moms—all the people that would understand them best! I worked together with my husband (an engineer) and we created Momtourage.
3 key points about Momtourage:
1. Just for Moms
2. Easily share stories and pictures—anonymously in the public feed (like Twitter & Instagram), or privately to groups and people that you select (like Facebook Messenger). Or both!
3. Anything you post can disappear after a set period of time (like Snapchat)
What do your kids think about your job?
They never knew me when I had a job (other than being their mom!), so I think it's great for them to see me working hard at something, trying things, failing, and then getting up and trying again. They're great kids, so for the most part they're very good about letting me work when I need to. Except when they aren't.
Tell us about a total mom + biz fail?
Sometimes there are so many things going on at once, that balls (and plates) start to fall out of the air. The other day it seemed like I burned every single thing I tried to cook by putting it on the stove, walking away, and getting sucked back into work. Luckily the kids had PB&J for dinner, or they would have gone to bed hungry. And hangry!
Share with us a total win (brag away!)
The support from my friends has been awesome. It never really struck me until I made something and put it out into the world just how hard that is to do—everyone has opinions, and it's really easy to criticize other people's work. My friends have been great about providing constructive feedback and helping make Momtourage better. The stark reality is that the majority of things that people create – products, art, books, whatever—fail. But you don't even have a chance at succeeding if you never try, right?
That said, it's been incredibly gratifying watching people using the app, sharing and enjoying each others “Mom Moments”, giving each other advice, and learning more about each other. It's exactly what I had hoped would happen!
What's your relationship with Mamalode?
I'm a reader! It's a great way for me to feel like part of a community of people that “get” me and know exactly what I'm going through. Which is exactly what I'm trying to do with Momtourage, but just in a different way!
***
About the Author
