It used to be said that a child should be seen and not heard. In today’s working world, it can feel like it’s parents who are expected to keep quiet about their children. For founders juggling tight deadlines, packed diaries and travel commitments with family life, this silence can be particularly suffocating. For too long, the Venture Capital industry hasn’t stepped in to change the conversation.
Children aren’t a corporate scandal
Founders are always moving, always adapting, always ‘on.’ As an industry we often slip into a tunnel-vision mindset where anything that doesn’t directly relate to growth, innovation or profit is ‘unproductive.’ I’ve heard from founders who were afraid to approach investors with the news that they were expanding their family for fear of appearing selfish at best and, at worst, a liability with a question mark placed on their future. The tech and VC spaces haven’t been built to accommodate parents, particularly mothers, and founders have noticed.
Helene Guillaume Pabis, founder of Wild.AI, put it powerfully when she shared her terror in revealing to her professional network that she was pregnant, worried that investors would see it as a risk and conclude, “If I invest my money, and she takes time off, that’s a bad investment.”
It’s as if having a child was a kind of corporate scandal. In 2023, women-founded startups received less than 2% of VC funding invested across Europe and the US. Faced with that reality, the prospect of becoming a parent and willingly taking on the motherhood penalty (as this continues to be an issue which affects women more than men) can feel like a backwards career move. Even established leaders, like Marissa Mayer – the former CEO of Yahoo who famously took just two weeks of maternity leave after having twins – can’t escape the pressure to prove their commitment to their jobs.
Parenthood as an asset
Founders are people. And like many people, some want children. It’s a simple reality. Many will be surrounded by friends and relatives defining family on their own terms, with the freedom to make personal choices that reflect their values and needs. It’s not right to expect founders – both mothers and fathers – to sacrifice a fulfilling personal life for the sake of good business. Nor, if VCs truly care about ‘good business,’ would we want them to; parenthood can be as much an asset as any PhD or professional milestone.
Research suggests that becoming a parent can enhance empathy in both men and women. Studies are also increasingly challenging the belief that motherhood is a drain on creativity and career potential, with research showing that having children can actually complement creativity in mothers. On top of that, parenthood can build resilience and boost time management and problem solving skills. More generally, parents report having a greater sense of ‘life’s meaning’ after having children, which can fuel determination and resolve….
Read More: Why Childcare Is VC’s Most Overlooked Investment
