The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Imposter syndrome is always there a little bit, especially when we sit down to write an article. We’re doing the best we can from the resources available, but there are lived experiences we just haven’t had ourselves. That’s exactly why we’re so excited to get Kinlyst out into the world. The lived experience parents bring is going to be the heart of it and we’ll all learn from each other.
Our next challenge will be finding our incredible founding community members. The parents who have the time to test an early version of the app and contribute their lived experience and tips to our articles. We’d love to do this organically (so please refer us to your friends! 🙏), but we know that may be difficult.
What pulls us through is the incredible group of people around us. Our families, partners and friends. An amazing group of advisors guiding us, from business mentors to social media gurus, midwives, a teacher and an online forum ethics expert. Then there are the other founders doing great things for Australian families, and for me, the female founders walking a similar road. Lastly, there are the parents themselves, messaging me things like “Can I please buy your draft timeline, I’m so overwhelmed and don’t know what’s next”.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The best parts are the people. Meeting the parents, partners and founders we get to work with and having a co-founder who is just as focused on solving this with me. Writing an article that makes something click for someone stepping into parenthood is incredibly rewarding and so is building something that could genuinely shift how Australian families experience the early years.
The hardest part for me is putting myself out there. Let’s just say Instagram and I are still getting to know each other! I’m someone who’d rather be in the back of the room than in front of a camera and it feels incredibly awkward, but I know it’s important for our community to know who I am, to trust me and what we’re trying to build. The other tough bit is the emails that go unanswered or the polite “no thanks” from someone you really hoped would say yes.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
We’re hoping to get an early version of the app into our founding community’s hands for testing around July 2026. There are a few ways to come along on the journey with us:
- Join the waitlist to be the first to hear when our app is launched and receive our fortnightly newsletter (some business updates, research spotlights and just a bit of fun).
- Join our Patreon founding community for deeper involvement, early access to testing the app, and early access to our articles.
- Share your lived experience through our Patreon community, or reach out to us on Instagram.
- Work with us as an organisation, expert or writer by emailing hello@kinlyst.com.au
Our dream for Australian parents is a shift in the parenting conversation from struggle to something joyous. We see a future where parents feel lighter, more informed and confident and are connected to other parents that are walking the same path, across child development, finances, relationships, services, the health system and everything in between. We hope Kinlyst can be the catalyst for that change.
Visit kinlyst.com.au to find out more. You can also find them on Instagram, Facebook and Patreon.
