"It's our future, let's build it together"

5 Questions with Amy VanHaren

April 6, 2022

Amy VanHaren,
Founder & CEO
pumpspotting

1. What are the biggest barriers new parents face in the workplace?

Working parents face a wide array of obstacles when juggling work and family, from securing consistent childcare arrangements to finding a place to pump at work to navigating feelings of separation anxiety and guilt. The challenges are even greater for new mothers returning from maternity leave (too soon, often at six weeks).

We’ve seen these challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, leading to an increase in isolation, mental health issues, and turnover. We’ve seen a great exodus of women from the workforce.

Without paid leave, lactation support, flexibility for caretaking, and empathy from leadership, working parents are often adrift and forced to make decisions between career and family at great cost to the health of both families and the companies they work for.

It’s a real time of opportunity for organizations to show up for parents and create cultures of support. The companies who make real change will see the biggest retention and business gains.

2. What services does pumpspotting provide to parents?

pumpspotting is a comprehensive breastfeeding support system. We help parents navigate the day-to-day of nursing, pumping, and feeding by serving what they need, when they need it whether that’s connection to other parents, a safe place to pump, virtual access to lactation consultants or a kind word in the middle of the night. Our technology is community-centric and journey based; it’s purpose-built to not only remove barriers but also boost confidence so no parent feels alone and every mother feels more capable.

3. How does pumpspotting assist companies with recruitment and retention of employees?

We partner with companies to support feeding parents at work, at home, and on the go with our comprehensive workplace lactation solution.

When companies bring on pumpspotting for Business they not only get to offer parents access to our mobile app—helping remove emotional, logistical, and physical barriers around feeding—but they also get a turnkey way to transform into a breastfeeding-compliant and inclusive business.

Employers receive the tools they need to establish a full lactation support program and reduce compliance risks, including the creation of policy, guidance on lactation spaces + the technology needed to manage them, internal communities to reduce isolation, and training for teams.

With pumpspotting we make it easy for companies of every size to remove barriers and meet the unique needs of their new parent population, thereby increasing retention and loyalty while also reducing medical claims and absenteeism.

4. What resources, partners, and companies have been helpful to pumpspotting as it has continued to grow?

We’ve been very fortunate to be connected to some wonderful communities of support here in Maine from MTI to Maine Venture Fund and Maine Angels. We also gain a great deal from being part of a growing contingent of female tech founders and from weekly conversations with mentors seasoned in scaling startups.

5. What are your plans for growing pumpspotting in the next few years?

We are laser focused on setting a new standard for lactation support in the workplace and continuing our B2B growth. We’re looking to triple the number of customers on board in 2022 and with an amazing team in place, a proven repeatable sales process, and the explosion of the FamTech market we’re well positioned to hit our goals.


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Last modified: April 6, 2022

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