I left my full-time role as a lecturer to be a part-time stay at home mum during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many people thought it was a risky move, as I left a seemingly stable career in the public sector when others were on the brink of losing theirs. It was a few months after my maternity leave ended, and all I wanted to do back then was to spend more time at home with my young children.

I took the time away from the workforce to be a more involved mum at home and somehow started two e-commerce brands related to mummy and children products, Playand and A Mighty Mum, with a baby attached to me at all times.

Failures do not define me

Was I scared to start this entrepreneurship journey again? It was absolutely terrifying.

Many other business ideas were developed halfway before starting Playand and A Mighty Mum. Websites were built halfway, business decks were written that never saw the light of day, and I’m still reminded of my own startup failure many years back. Most importantly, I was afraid that I would end up with less time for my two kids again.

However, as cliché, as it sounds, I knew that if I did not start now, I would probably not start anything. I made a lot of mistakes with my own failed startup years back, and this time around, I am determined not to repeat the same mistakes with my two brands, Playand and A Mighty Mum.

Start with a problem (or problems!)

When I left my full-time role, I was not used to being solely a “stay home” mum, with a baby literally attached to me at all times. I wanted to do something still, so I set out to solve my problems as a mother whose eldest child had severe nosebleed issues, and my second one was a newborn baby who nursed round the clock.

At that time, I thought if I were to face these issues as a mummy, I am sure I won’t be the only one!

How Playand started

Playand, which is modular and multi-functional foam furniture that doubles up as imaginative play objects for children, was started because of my eldest child’s severe nosebleed issues. The nosebleed got so bad and profuse one day that I called an ambulance on her.

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That was an extremely traumatic moment, as I sat there, hands and clothes drenched in my daughter’s blood. To not trigger her nosebleed episodes, we had already thrown away our curtains, all soft toys, pillows, mattresses, and movable hard furniture that she could potentially hit her nose on as a slight knock sets her bleeding.

After that incident, I began to think about furniture/toys that she can safely play with, sleep and “knock” into safely without triggering her nosebleeds. When online research did not give me any satisfying products that suit my needs, I set out to design and manufacture my own.

It was not easy to be navigating this prototyping stage amid a circuit breaker, as physical visits to the factories overseas were not permissible. I had to make many prototypes in different shapes, materials, foam thickness and density before finally settling on a reliable factory that could produce what I envisioned.

How A Mighty Mum started

Unknown to many, A Mighty Mum was conceptualised even earlier than Playand, when I began my breastfeeding journey five years ago after giving birth to my eldest child. I had a lot of issues with breastfeeding in public or pumping milk at my workplace.

The perpetually full nursing rooms (or lack thereof) and also the forgetful mum syndrome of forgetting to bring a nursing cover out made me want to design multi-functional clothing that can be used as a nursing cover, allowing mummies to breastfeed or pump anytime, anywhere.

Breastfeeding in public or pumping at the work desk would be made so much easier since an existing piece of clothing on the body can be used.

However, it was a struggle to find the right factory that understood the requirements of such a design and sourcing fabric with the right amount of stretch, thickness, and weight proved to be more difficult than I imagined.

After more than five failed attempts to get the right factories to work with me, I finally found a local factory that was willing to take a chance on me. Because of this long delay, the timeline for launch became closer to that of Playland’s, and I ended up launching two brands simultaneously within months of each other, which was not intentional. It was honestly extremely challenging trying to launch and grow two brands simultaneously.

Being comfortable with change

It’s been an eye-opening eight months so far since I started the two e-commerce brands. Of course, Playand and A Mighty Mum are still work in progress, with a lot of room for expansion and growth in terms of developing new product lines and reaching new markets regionally.

Also Read: Why we need to stop calling them “mumpreneurs”

As a designer by training, I am excited about new product development and conceptualising new and interesting business models to grow the business. A lot of people have asked me about my five-year plans for the two brands, but I think things are a lot more fluid than they are in the current climate.

Some of my plans for the two brands were accelerated by chance or opportunities that came my way unexpectedly, while others were shelved until a better time to launch. I used to be uncomfortable with having plans disrupted, but these short eight months have taught me that being opportunistic is more valuable than uncomfortable.

What’s the worse that could happen?

Despite my initial fears, I’m blessed and glad that I took the gamble to launch Playand and A Mighty Mum. If you never start, you will honestly never know. I have come to realise that the more I let go (titles, money, fame and especially fear), the more I opened up my heart to humbly learn from others.

And as my husband always says, “What’s the worse that could happen?” It’s important to start small, validate the demand, get feedback and reiterate to minimise risks.

If you think long and hard about what’s the worst that could happen after starting something, you will probably reach this conclusion: “Nothing!”.

A look into the future

We currently have some angel investors who are interested in hearing more about our plans and how they could support our growth. However, we are also open to the possibility of pitching to VC firms who have a keen interest, network or experience in growing e-commerce brands. We have always been open to interesting collaborations and partnership opportunities, some of which have helped us grow tremendously during the past eight months.

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Image credit: Playand

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