#15 Birchbox’s Katia Beauchamp wants to change the way we talk about working moms

In 2010, Katia Beauchamp and her Harvard Business School classmate Hayley Barna started Birchbox without ever having even managed another person before. Today, Birchbox is an enormous enterprise and a true, recognizable leader in the beauty business.  In addition to running her beauty empire, Katia is also the mother of four kids. And recently, Katia’s sharing more about how she uses meditation and mindfulness as a way to put work and family life challenges in perspective.  She also has been vocal about changing the way that we talk about working motherhood, in her case, sharing why she thinks that becoming a mother has made her a much better CEO.  In this episode, Liz and Katia talk about why she passionately believes that moms—and all parents—are an asset to a company (rather than a liability), and how she stays centered as a CEO and mom of four. After their conversation, hear another mom and CEO, Sarah Wells of Sarah Wells Bags, read her essay, “What ‘having it all’ means to me,” from Motherly’s website.  The Motherly Podcast is hosted by Liz Tenety and produced by Micaela Heck and Samantha Gattsek. Music by The Blue Dot Sessions.  Thanks to our sponsor, Prudential.