Caroline Rowland and Laura Ormerod are two passionate mums who have established the new go-to maternity brand that exceeds the needs and expectations for breastfeeding women. With seven children between them, Caroline and Laura recognised first-hand one of the main issues faced by nursing mums – leakage, which can be inconvenient, uncomfortable, and embarrassing! So they took matters into their own hands. Combining their own personal experiences, they set out to create a bra that would revolutionise the way women breastfeed, and so Marbra was born. We sat down with the duo to discuss their journey so far.

Tell us about your journey before founding Marbra and how your previous experiences have shaped your approach to entrepreneurship?

Laura – “I started my motherhood journey 19 years ago, age 19. My husband and I now have five children. I found motherhood very lonely to start with and I struggled with finding a good bra in my nursing, postpartum stage. Over the years I built a community for mums and babies giving them confidence and a safe space to be while teaching postnatal Pilates classes and helping tired mums with sleep. My studio became an extended part of my family, at the time I didn’t have the confidence to expand. But now with Marbra I feel like the next phase of my motherhood journey I have the knowledge, experience and time”.

What have been the most challenging aspects of building Marbra as a new maternity brand?

Caroline – “Our bodies change so much during pregnancy, after birth and beyond. We started Marbra to empower women in every stage of motherhood, and we want to make every woman feel better about their body,  that has been the most challenging part – designing a bra that works and caters for all shapes and sizes. We are constantly working to improve our line of bras, and adding some new products that we are so excited to bring to Mums everywhere.”

How do you balance your roles as mothers and business owners, and what advice would you give to other women looking to start their own businesses?

Laura- “It is never easy to balance everything but what I have found has helped me most is carving out the time for when I am working and when I need to focus on managing my family’s schedule. Being intentional with your time and your actions is something I think has been so important.”

What key lessons have you learned from your business journey so far, and how have these lessons influenced your leadership style?

Laura – “It’s okay to fail. Actually, we need to keep failing to figure out and refine what works and what doesn’t. We are not afraid to try and I think that is what makes us better leaders in the end.”

How do you complement each other as co-founders, and what strengths do each of you bring to the table?

Caroline – “We both bring such different things to the table, but came into this with the same goal, and the same passion to empower women. For us, it’s all about our customers, because we once were the customers, who weren’t satisfied with what we were getting out of maternity and nursing bras.”

Laura – “ I  love designing and creating, speaking to customers and trying to understand how we can develop from where we are right now and how we can improve as we grow. I think together we really balance each other out and work to keep pushing Marbra forward.”

What piece of advice would you give to someone who wanted to launch a product-based business in the parenting industry based on your experience so far?

Laura – “Don’t rush and take your time over the small stuff. Ask friends and family for advice, guidance. Don’t give up on the first hurdle. Brush off and keep going. It’s a long game.”

Caroline  – “Listen to your customers. ‘Mums know best‘ is truly our philosophy to operate from. We would recommend anyone interested in doing products for parents to do their research, figure out where there is a gap in the market that isn’t being met, and how is they can fill it better than their competitors.”