Episode 376: Building Support Networks & Friendship Groups for the Modern Woman w/Michelle Kennedy

Our modern, busy and connected world can be a very lonely place if we don't have a support group that understands what we deal with as moms, entrepreneurs and women. Why is this such a huge opportunity for social networks of today? Why is it so powerful for women to have a voice and a space to express themselves? How does this help the modern woman navigate the modern workforce with greater ease? On this episode, I'm joined by Michelle Kennedy, founder of Peanut, an app that connects mamas. She talks about her boss mom journey and how being a mom and an entrepreneur birthed her business.

For the longest time, social has been broad. Now there's an opportunity for social to become much more specific to the threads that connect us. -Michelle Kennedy

3 Things We Learned From This Episode

Why we can't share everything with everyone (13:05 - 16:04)

We all need support, advice, and help from other people and very often it's for talking about things we can't easily share with people at work or even our partners because they won't relate. Connecting with and talking to other women who are in that same space gives us the confidence to open up and have a voice.

Why friendship groups have become more specific to different needs (16:08 - 16:54)

The way we use our friendship groups or support networks nowadays can be thought about in the context of verticals. The people we hang out with don't have to fulfill every single need we have. We can have friends and relationships for different things, and this actually benefits all the relationships we have. This has created an opportunity for social networks to be more niched down or specific to different things instead of being broad.

Why women need online support groups now more than ever (20:24 - 21:00)

Women are being factored into the workforce and the economy of the workforce in such a different way than before. While we're being counted, what still hasn't matured are the support networks around that. We've become more dispersed from where our families are, and we move around a lot and we need support groups that take that into account.

Whether we want to admit it or not, we all need support, advice and help and this is where our friendship groups come in. We're at this amazing beautiful moment in time in society where we can say with more honesty and confidence what's happening with women. We can the share experiences we're going through and meet and connect with people who can make us feel less alone. It's so powerful for us to feel like we have a voice, and that there are other people supporting us. It makes the journey of being mother and women even more fulfilling.

Guest Bio-

Michelle Kennedy is the CEO and co-founder of Peanut. She started Peanut after struggling to meet other mamas she could relate to while also working. After finding herself trawling outdated blogs for baby advice at 2am while her friends were still hanging out in clubs, she decided to create a product that would empower other modern mamas to support each other.

Michelle started her career as an M&A lawyer at leading international law firm Mishcon de Reya. She later joined dating app, Badoo, where she transformed the internal legal offering within Badoo, and eventually rose to the role of Deputy CEO at the $100m+ revenue generative market leader. She was also integral to the launch of dating app, Bumble.

Having worked in the dating apps industry for five years, Michelle has unprecedented experience and understanding of the safety and growth elements of building a social product. To download the app or connect on social media, go to https://www.peanut-app.io/.