Joanne Ilaqua is the founder and president of MamaSoup Inc, a social media platform that educates, inspires and supports new moms.

After a 20-year career as a nurse, doula and Lamaze childbirth educator Joanne was frustrated by the lack of social support available for new moms, so she created an online community. Her anonymous and location-based app, MamaSoup, is available on iOS, Android and web-app for women to connect with each other and to local health experts for tips, advice and friendship as they navigate motherhood. In 2020, the mom of four launched a virtual prenatal education hub that includes a course specifically for families having a planned cesarean.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

I was a single mom working as a franchise recruiter for a very popular Canadian dollar store chain when I finally decided to follow my dream of helping new moms. I went back to college at 28 years-old, became a nurse and started working towards specializing in the maternal/child field. I became a birth and postpartum doula and then a Lamaze prenatal educator over the next few years.

After almost 20 years working in clinical settings and seeing moms in various stages of motherhood, it became glaringly obvious that there was a lack of safe spaces for women to connect and decompress. I was seeing new moms frustrated and doubting themselves as they dealt with the realities of family life. I realized that I could make a greater impact by helping women connect to each other for friendship and support online to reduce isolation and loneliness.

That was the start of my journey to creating MamaSoup Inc.

What inspired you to start your business?

As a mom of four I knew how tough motherhood could be, but whenever I talked about it with other moms they looked shocked to hear me say it out loud. I knew even before I started my nursing career that there was a need for this space.

After years working with new moms in labor and delivery/postpartum it became hard to ignore the fact that many women don’t feel prepared to go home with a new baby because they have no village; nobody who understands their fears and insecurities as they navigate motherhood. 

The moms that I discharged home from the birthing unit as they clung to me and cried out of worry, the moms who came into the health centre for well-baby visits feeling lost and unsure of themselves…those are the people who inspired me to start my business.

Where is your business based?

MamaSoup is a completely digital company, but our head office is in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario Canada. 

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

As a creative person, I’m a huge fan of mind-mapping all of my ideas and my business was no exception! I have papers from four years ago with the earliest diagrams of our online community as I was figuring it all out. I needed an idea of how it would look so I could create a business plan.

Once my business plan was complete, I went to pitch my idea to a local business development service, funded by our government, and they told me they couldn’t see how a mom community could work online. They suggested that I make it in person instead. I refused to accept their opinion and I started looking at different ways to find support to bring my vision into reality.

Once I realized how big and complex MamaSoup could be, I applied to be a client at a tech incubator where I’d find mentorship and opportunities to network with others on a similar business path. Finding an innovative tech village of start-ups has helped me grow my business so much.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

I love networking events and social media, but the most effective way of raising awareness for MamaSoup has been through media opportunities. Press releases, live television and participating in any media event that I’m invited to be part of has been the most effective.

 What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

Only 8% of tech startups are founded by women, so finding others on the same journey is always challenging. Being an entrepreneur is really lonely sometimes, especially over the last couple of years of isolation. 

My age has been an issue: as a woman in my fifties now, I’ve been told that I’m too old to receive certain grant funding. 

One of my biggest challenges is that technology is constantly evolving.  I’m not a technical person so updating my apps and websites are often costly. 

How do you stay focused?

Everything I do is centered around MamaSoup’s mission of providing education, support and inspiration to moms to reduce isolation and loneliness. But I’m a creative person and I can easily get distracted with new ideas, so I have a notebook that I use to sketch and journal them. It helps get them out of my head so I can stay focused on helping moms.

Also, I have a business coach and she makes sure I stay accountable and on task!

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Creating a social media platform is no joke when you’re essentially competing with giants like Facebook and Instagram! 

We’ve made our platform completely anonymous: we have no sign-in partners (like Google or Facebook) so you can retain your personal information- all you need to give us is an email address to create your profile. Our platform is location-based so every time a mom logs in, her main feed features posts from other moms geographically closest to her because we believe in support in real life, too! And because comparison is a mom-confidence killer, our platform is based on topics so the focus is on the conversation, not just staged photos. Moms can upload pictures and videos when they post, too, but we want the conversation to be what pulls everyone together.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

I created a digital prenatal hub to generate a revenue stream and to catch moms as they start their motherhood journey. This gives us an opportunity to introduce them to our community. People aren’t dying to learn how to use a new app but once they get to know MamaSoup and how we can help educate and support them, they’re more likely to jump into our virtual village.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

You’re never too old or too broke to start a business. If you’re passionate about why you want to start it, you’ll find a way. 

Don’t wait for everything to be perfect before you launch because there is no place for perfection in entrepreneurship- it’s messy! Also, be willing to try and fail at things as your business grows and evolves because that’s where the real magic happens.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

For obvious reasons, my favorite app is MamaSoup, my favorite blog is the MamaSoup Blog and my favorite book is MamaSoup’s downloadable postpartum planning guide! 

But lately I’m loving the Bigvu video app to record branded lessons for my prenatal classes. I like Jenna Kutcher’s blog because it always gives me actionable steps to take in my business and one of my favorite books of all time is Succulent Wild Woman by Sark. 

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

Right now I’m really into Airtable because it helps keep my digital advertising partners organized on our platform. It’s a very powerful tool for a lot of business processes and it’s a great way to store a database!

Who is your business role model? Why?

At the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, I loved Jenna Kutcher because she started her (now seven-figure) business with a camera she bought off of Craigslist. It felt like, if she could do it- anyone can! 

Now I’m feeling really inspired by Gary Vanyerchuk because he’s multi-passionate and has made it work in his business. My business has been growing tentacles so it’s nice to watch someone with those same sensibilities have so much success when all you ever hear is advice to “niche down”.

How do you balance work and life?

There’s a saying, “Do what you love and you’ll never stop working” and that can feel pretty accurate sometimes! But I’ve got four kids so there’s always a good reason to get out of my office and put down my phone. 

I have to put everything into my calendar, business and personal. I keep office hours: at four o’clock my office door is closed for the day. And I have a husband who tirelessly supports me and our family.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

I love to get outside with my dog, Archie, for fresh air and exercise. I make time to read every day and I believe so deeply in the power of meditation for focus and relaxation. But on the days when all of that just isn’t cutting it, I love a glass of red wine and to chill out on the couch!

What do you have planned for the next six months?

I plan to launch a new digital postpartum course for moms who’ve had a cesarean, so executing our marketing plan for that will be my main focus. As always, I’ll be telling anyone and everyone who knows a new mom about the MamaSoup community and I’ll continue to focus on sales for digital advertising subscriptions on our platform.

After the last couple of years in isolation I’ll also be planning to take some time to travel with my husband, Eric.

How can our readers connect with you?

Follow me on Instagram @mamasoup.app for information and features on the app and @mamasoup.ca for prenatal information

For more information and links to download the MamaSoup app: www.mamasoup.ca

For our prenatal education hub: www.mamasoup.online

For digital advertising opportunities: www.mamasoup.online/advertising