The entrepreneur helping parents find support from pregnancy through to the toddler years

Lara Russell-Jones is the founder of Apparently Kids, a website that helps new parents find antenatal and postnatal support.

She shares the story behind the business and how the Amazon Small Business Accelerator e-learning programme has boosted her entrepreneurial skills.

The free Amazon Small Business Accelerator e-learning programme is advice from more than 30 business experts in 218 bitesize videos. 
 
If you're already an Enterprise Nation member, log-in to your member dashboard to access the e-learning. If you're not an Enterprise Nation member, you can join the Amazon Small Business Accelerator for free here.

How did you come up with your business idea?

I founded Apparently Kids after my own experience of becoming a mum. I had a few complications during pregnancy and especially immediately after my son was born. Our NHS midwives were wonderful; however, they just don't have enough time and so my husband and I looked for extra help. We turned to Google, but it's a black box - I was overwhelmed by the millions of hits and endless conflicting advice. I wasn't really sure what I was looking for or who to trust. It wasn't just me, every single one of my new mum friends were in the same position.

I realised that there was a huge demand for pregnancy and postnatal support services amongst new parents and so I started researching. Women were looking for everything from personal care support (midwives, pelvic floor physios, lactation consultants) through to mental health counselling and newborn focused care.

I found a fantastic community of private practitioners, but they're largely individuals, many unused to digital marketing and some of the services were unregulated. This made it very difficult for parents to find the trusted support they needed.

I created Apparently Kids as a platform to bring together all these services parents might need, vetting each practitioner for experience and qualifications to make sure parents knew they were accessing and paying for trusted support.

What start-up challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?

I was on maternity leave when I started, so juggling a start-up and six-month-old was the main challenge! I worked during nap times and started by asking for lots of advice and telling as many people as possible about my idea. Friends pointed me in the direction of support like the Amazon Small Business Accelerator and local freelancers who could help me think through and set up my first WIX website and think about SEO.

I also ran focus groups for local parents and suppliers to make sure I was developing something the community really wanted and would solve the demand and supply problems. This really helped me to maximise my time and refine the finished product as much as possible before launch.

How has the Amazon Small Business Accelerator e-learning programme helped you?

I found Lucy Hall's social media marketing course really useful. I already knew the basics of how to use Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, but I realised I was approaching my marketing incorrectly. I was focusing too much on what I was offering, rather than starting off from the perspective of what my audience needed.

I also valued Rachel Whittaker's content creation and building a community module. I need to build a community across both parents and practitioners, and she helped me to understand how I could, not just develop, but actively learn from this community as it grows.

What are your plans for the future of your business?

I started Apparently Kids just in South West London and we've now started operating across London. I would love to go-UK wide and beyond.

I've left my job at Strategy Consulting to go full time and also joined up with a fantastic co-founder who has lots of experience in marketing. We have a few big plans so watch this space!

How has COVID-19 affected your business?

COVID has had a huge impact. Some of the practitioners have been unable to work, most have been able to continue but had to completely change their way of operating. A lot of people would never have considered using video consultations before COVID, however many practitioners and new parents have found them surprisingly effective and hope to continue with them in the future.

Which other entrepreneurs inspire you and why?

Rachel Carrell who founded Koru Kids is a big inspiration to me. She has a similar business background and has taken these skills to build Koru Kids into a fantastic childcare platform. She also had a baby in the midst of closing a £3.5m funding round. She has paved the way for many others.   
Alice Bentick and Matt Clifford, co-founders at Entrepreneur First, also prove that age doesn't matter when you have a good idea - it's more about to determination to make something happen.

What's your top tip for business success?

Just try it. It doesn't matter if the product looks scrappy - you can always refine something, but if you don't get something out there to test, you won't know if it's needed or not.

The free Amazon Small Business Accelerator e-learning programme is advice from more than 30 business experts in 218 bitesize videos. 
 
If you're already an Enterprise Nation member, log-in to your member dashboard to access the e-learning. If you're not an Enterprise Nation member, you can join the Amazon Small Business Accelerator for free here.