Started a business on parental leave? We're looking for your stories
In short: Starting a business during parental leave, a product made for your own child, a career fresh start: for our new journal series People & Brands, we're looking for ten people, families and brands with a story like this. The first ten features are free of charge. Apply by email to info@babybee-spielraum.de.
We're looking for ten stories that deserve to be told.
There's one thing we've noticed again and again over all our years at Baby Bee:
Behind our families there are an incredible number of stories.
People from different countries and cultures. Families who found each other somewhere in the world. Couples whose paths would probably never have fitted into a classic five-year plan.
And people who became parents and suddenly started looking at their own lives in a completely different way.
We've had so many of these conversations in our play spaces.
Over coffee. Between two children. Sometimes in five minutes, sometimes much longer.
And surprisingly often, at some point, this sentence came up:
"Actually, I've always wanted to…"
Sometimes a child doesn't just change our lives. It changes how we see them too.
For many people, parental leave isn't just a break from work.
Suddenly, priorities shift.
You start asking yourself what you actually do every day, why you do it and what you want to model for your own child.
And sometimes something comes up that's been there for a long time.
An idea. A business. A product. A creative project or a complete career fresh start.
Or simply the decision to move your own life a little closer to what really feels right.
Not everyone quits their job and starts a start-up during nap time.
And maybe that's just as well. Nap time is famously unpredictable.
But we meet more and more parents who don't just want to tell their children:
You can go your own way.
But who realise at some point:
Then I want to show them too.
These are exactly the stories we want to tell.
With People & Brands We Love we want to create something that goes beyond classic product recommendations.
We want to get to know the people.
Who's behind an idea?
Why does this brand exist at all?
What was the moment when "maybe someday" suddenly became "I'm doing this now"?
What was hard?
What went differently than planned?
And above all:
What do you want to bring into the world with what you do?
Because a beautiful brand alone isn't enough for us.
Nor is a big Instagram following, by the way.
We're interested in people and companies who have something to say.
Maybe this means you.
Maybe you started a business during your parental leave.
Maybe you developed a product because you were looking for exactly that for your own child and couldn't find it anywhere.
Maybe your family brings together several cultures and something grew out of that.
Maybe you left a secure career path because you reached the point where you no longer wanted to tell your children to follow their dreams while ignoring your own for years.
Maybe you're building something for families, children or a more mindful future.
Or maybe your story isn't the typical founder story at all.
All the better.
We're not looking for the most perfect stories.
We're looking for the ones that make us think as we read:
More people should know about this.
THE FIRST TEN: ten free features
To launch People & Brands We Love we're opening ten spots.
We'll choose ten exceptional people, families, founders or brands and introduce them to our Baby Bee community in their own editorial feature.
These first ten features are completely free of charge.
We choose solely on whether your story, your mission and what you want to create for children, families or our society convince us.
Because that's exactly how this category should begin.
With stories we truly believe in.
WE LOVE CREATORS.
What we'd like to know from you
You don't need to send us a perfect press kit.
Just write to us:
Who are you?
What have you built, or what are you building right now?
How did the idea come about?
Why does it mean something to you personally?
What do you want to change, improve or pass on?
And what's the story behind it that people might not see from the outside?
If you have a brand, feel free to send us your website or Instagram account too.
But above all, tell us the why behind it.
Because we can google products.
Stories, we can't.
And what happens next?
We'll tell selected stories here in the Baby Bee Journal.
Some perhaps as a classic portrait.
Others as an interview.
Maybe we'll visit you at some point.
Maybe conversations, collaborations or completely new ideas will grow out of it.
We want to let this format grow quite deliberately and see where the people who become part of it take us.
Because if there's one thing we've learned from Baby Bee, it's this:
The most exciting things often don't happen when you plan them down to the last detail.
But when the right people come together.
Your story might belong here.
If someone comes to mind as you read this, send them this article.
And if you recognise yourself in it:
Then write to us.
Subject: PEOPLE & BRANDS WE LOVE
Tell us briefly who you are and why your story should be one of our First Ten.
We're not looking forward to the biggest names.
We're looking forward to the stories that move something in us.
Frequently asked questions about People & Brands
Who can apply?
People, families, founders and brands with a story and a mission. For example, anyone who started a business during parental leave or developed a product because there was nothing like it for their own child.
Does the feature cost anything?
No. The first ten features are completely free of charge. We choose based on story and mission, not on reach.
How do I apply?
By email to info@babybee-spielraum.de with the subject PEOPLE & BRANDS WE LOVE. Write briefly who you are, how the idea came about and why it means something to you personally. You don't need a press kit.
Where will my story appear?
Here in the Baby Bee Journal, as a portrait or an interview.
Read more at Baby Bee
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