Work It, Mom! is an online community for working moms. It’s a place where moms can go to share experiences while giving and receiving the advice and support that make their daily juggles just a little bit easier. The site is unique in that Work It, Mom! doesn’t employ a stable of editors and writers to tell moms what to think and do. Rather, they’re mostly community-driven with articles, interviews, and essays contributed by real moms—cutting out the “middle mom” and getting right to the issues at hand.
I asked Nataly, who also has a background in venture capital, about the coming year and how it’s affecting her business plan.
What are your predictions for 2009 for your company and its goals?
2009 is not going to be an easy year—if anyone tells you otherwise, I'm not sure they are being honest about their business. But as the media has reported, targeted, niche, vertical sites and blog networks (like WorkItMom) are weathering the economic storm a bit better than broader portals so we're encouraged by that.
How has the recession affected how you do business and your budget?
We have reduced our growth plans and projections to be realistic and are focused on operating at a break-even level. What my years in venture capital taught me is that companies that get lean and mean during tough times are usually the ones that survive and emerge on the other end of a difficult economic climate.
How has the recession changed the venture capital/fundraising landscape for your company?
The recession has significantly reduced the amount of venture and angel funding flowing into early-stage companies like ours. Another trend we've seen is that investors are more risk-averse and even the ones that have invested in seed or Series A rounds are looking for more established operating metrics (revenue streams, clear path to profitability, etc.) to get comfortable. We're not raising venture capital in 2009 and are instead focused on sustaining the company at its current break-even level.
Does a site like yours, which features user-generated content, have added strength to weather economic downturns? How so?
I think there may be some benefit to the fact that some of our content is user-generated and therefore free. We do have paid bloggers and freelance writers so not all content comes from the users. But our community members definitely appreciate having a supportive and trusted online community where they can come and share some of the stress and anxiety they feel due to the recession.
What advantages do you see in this economic climate?
I think one of the advantages is that high-quality sites and companies (and their management teams and founders) get a chance to stand out from the noise, if you will. It's not easy to continue to operate and succeed during a difficult economic climate and I think only possible if you are building something genuine and necessary.
About Nataly Kogan:
Prior to launching Work It, Mom! Nataly was a Managing Director with an early-stage venture firm based in New York City. She focused on investing in digital media and software start-up companies, had her share of great successes and dismal failures, but most importantly, learned one thing—she wanted to build companies rather than invest in them.
Nataly is a mom of a three year-old daughter and she has struggled to juggle work and family since her daughter was born. Some of the most useful advice she has gotten came from other working moms but she found that she had precious little time in her busy schedule to actually meet many of them in person. Work It, Mom! was born to allow professional moms to connect with each other online and share their ideas, stories, and real-life advice with each other.
