Rekha Mehr MBE is a startup advisor and was appointed as the first Entrepreneur in Residence for the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills where she worked with Government officials to help shape the support provided to startup founders. In 2016 her efforts were recognised by Her Majesty's Government, and she was awarded an MBE for services to enterprise & entrepreneurship in the new years honours list.
She joined the Arganic team in October 2020 and here she shares her thoughts on a very interesting topic, the similarities between starting a business and becoming a first time mum!
I arrive at Mother’s Day 2021 with a slightly different perspective than previous years, because it’s the first time I’m seeing it through the eyes of a parent and mother. Last summer I was fortunate enough to have a baby girl who entered my world and set it spinning in a way that I now realise was impossible to imagine before it actually happened. I’d observed parenthood through others which looked like a combination of chaos, relentlessness, emotional highs and energetic lows coupled with a consistent narrative that assured me / them (?) that the moments of bliss made it all worthwhile.
My own experience so far has certainly been all of these things, but the depth and complexity of each of them blew my mind and I couldn’t help but reflect that so much of what I was feeling was reminiscent of starting a business for the first time. In both cases no amount of research can ever fully prepare you for the journey, milestone markers of progress rarely match up to any published benchmark, and the learning curve means that when you think you’ve cracked something, you have but a moment to catch your breath before the next curveball comes flying. Time itself holds an elastic currency that can last forever as well as pass like quicksand. Some days can feel like weeks, yet weeks seem to pass quickly against a timeline that you’re encouraged by others to enjoy because you’ll be on the next phase before you know it. Some moments make you wonder if it’s supposed to be this hard but we all know the best things in life rarely arrive without sleepless nights & a lot of nurture.
Both rollercoasters provide big thrills, great views when you remember to look up and hopefully some amazing people to share the ride with.
Maybe it’s a startup thing, maybe it’s a parenting thing, maybe it’s a mindset thing. All I know is the learning is just beginning.
