Mamas We Love: Amy Nelson, Founder of The Riveter

Amy Nelson, Founder of The Riveter, a co-working company, which now has 10 locations in seven states and is opening in New York, Atlanta, and D.C. next year, is also a mom to four young girls all under the age of five. We caught her just as she landed in Minnesota and she was pumping for her five-month old baby girl!

As a former lawyer, she saw the writing on the wall when she became pregnant with her first. She was asked if she still wanted to go to trial (of course!) and she knew she’d be less likely to get promoted. That’s when she decided to build the type of business she wants to see more of in the world - one where women’s needs are front and center. So far she has raised $20.5 million in venture capital and is changing the way the world looks at women as both mothers and leaders.

Nelson has seriously done it all, but as you’ll see she is not advocating for women to do more. In fact, she acknowledges that every woman has her own path and that our paths change throughout our lives (and even by the day).

Here are some of our favorite quotes from our conversation:

The Myth of Work-Life Balance:

“Myths for working mothers are that we should seek balance. I’ve never had anybody, except my husband, have work-life balance, but we say that to every woman in the world. Life is different every single day and you need to find the path that works for you.” 

Breaking Down Breastfeeding Barriers:

“When I worked in Corporate America I was unabashedly asking for a place to pump at work. I think it’s changing and many more workplaces are finding and creating mother’s rooms and places you can store your milk. It’s actually a hard thing to do. Feeding your baby is difficult and more workplaces are making it more of a priority. We create spaces for women to breastfeed at all The Riveter locations with mother’s rooms and privacy.”

Where Are Women’s Spaces?

“I felt like I couldn’t find a place in Corporate America where I could get ahead. I noticed that other women, those without kids, had different paths. I initially thought I would start my own legal practice, so I took classes to prepare for that and those classes were held in co-working spaces - but there weren’t many women. I started asking women I knew where they go to find each other, where they go to connect with women like themselves, and I realized there weren’t spaces for them.”

What You Wish You Knew Before Becoming a Mom:

“That morning sickness isn’t just in the morning! The main thing is that the world’s perception of you changes. It’s the first thing that they see. Not a lawyer, but a pregnant woman. I wish I had known all of those things. It’s sort of deflating and hard to deal with. Your emotional state is already different with all the hormones and on top of that you sort of lose your identity to the world. Also, people feel entitled to ask you anything about your health or state of being. Another thing is that after I had my first baby, which was a girl, every subsequent pregnancy came with the gender question - are you trying for a boy?”

Reframing Motherhood: 

“I think we see motherhood as a distressed asset in the workplace. When we find out a woman is pregnant we see it as an issue. We need to take away outdated assumptions about what mothering means for workplaces and change that perception.”

On Mom Guilt:

“For me, I look at what it means to my kids that I’m working. We’ve lost the sense of having a village and I think about the fact that they get to be surrounded by a village of people that love them everyday. I’m really close to my family. Not to say that there aren't days that I’d just like to be home - I would.”

On Choosing Where to Work:

“Choose a company that consistently and constantly shows that women are paid equally, that they have the support system that they need and that they are investing in them.”