Today’s Notable Young Entrepreneurs are Catherine Belknap and Natalie Telfer, who created a digital platform that caters to the “mom lifestyle” in a way that hadn’t been done before. We caught up with the duo to find out what inspired their idea and what advice they would share with other young professionals…
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WORK
Describe what you do in less than 140 characters. Go.
N&C: We are working-stay-at-home-moms who run a digital platform created by moms for moms. We are also the hosts of a live streamed show, The Cat & Nat Show, and creators of the video series “Mom Truths.”
What was the inspiration for your career route?
We wanted to create a platform that made it easier for moms to connect and learn from each other. We set out to create a supportive community of women with whom we would openly share our motherhood journey in hopes that they would share theirs in return. It worked.
What is the most memorable milestone in your career so far?
Honestly, there have been a lot of exciting moments since we launched. We won’t forget the first time we got asked to go on TV to talk about our business. It made us aware that people far outside our personal network were interested in what we had started. We realized that moms everywhere were seeking a place to talk candidly about motherhood, and we were creating that destination for open, honest conversations.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?
Eek! You want to know our secret dreams! We often have vision boarding nights where we sit down and plan our future. Here is what we can share:
In our eyes, Social Common is a newborn baby, and we are excited to raise it with the same passion and enthusiasm that helped bring it to life. SC will grow and mature into a very successful business with a life of its own.
Being in the digital space, it is very hard to predict the evolution of our platform. What we do know is that we will continue to stay digitally savvy, ahead of the curve, and always open to change.
Other than that, we see ourselves always pushing the envelope, raising a new age family which redefines traditional roles. We are the generation that wants it all, and we are making that happen without losing ourselves in the process.
Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Forget what they taught you… while maintaining respect. Try to internally ignore the hierarchy that lives within companies. There are all these invisible walls that are put up between people at different levels of experience and titles. We see this as a lack of communication between team members that results in less productivity and often missed discoveries of brilliant ideas. We know the juniors are often the ones with the most innovative and relevant pitches.
Don’t be afraid to knock on the boss’ door; a great leader understands how important each team member is. We have often sat and delivered new insight to the big guys, who have been more than appreciative to learn. If you want a job, a project, an introduction, or anything at all in the business world – JUST ASK.
Forget about egos and shame; to be successful, you need to live each day with a laser focus on what YOU want and go, go, go. Some of our biggest deals have come from simple cold emails to the CEOs of companies. Hi, we are Natalie and Catherine of Social Common. We also are THE most determined people you will ever meet: “no” is not in our vocabulary.
Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is it (or they) important to you?
We are on the board of Rethink Breast Cancer’s event for families, Boobyball Mini. This is the mini version of their wildly successful fundraiser, Boobyball.
We work with The Diaper Bank for an event we host, collecting diapers for those in need.
We support Nanny Angel Network, raising money to provide free in-home childcare support for mothers who have been diagnosed with cancer.
Each of these causes speak deeply to us as moms. We cannot imagine having to go through cancer while having to take care of our children. We have watched the struggle, and we need to be involved in the mission to cure cancer and to help families who are currently going through it.
What does the word notable mean to you?
The strategic characteristic of a person who is on a mission to make a memorable difference in their community. In the most basic term: trailblazers taking chances on the unknown paths.
PLAY
Where is your favourite place to wine/dine in your city and why?
Rotating dinner parties from each of our houses with our friends – no matter where you sit, you can all hear each other. If it was another crazy day, UberEats delivers our favourite restos right to our door. We can wine all night long for half the price, and we can crack out board games and our kids’ karaoke machine if the night heads in that direction.
Right now we are into Playa Cabana Hacienda; good vibe, great food, delish drinks, gorge patio, and an inexpensive Uber ride home.
What’s the most visited website on your Internet browser?
http://socialcommon.ca/
http://www.mode.com/ca/tend
Youtube.
Who’s one person you think everyone should be following on social media?
N: No one person delivers to all. Each account speaks to a different audience, but if you’re looking, Social Common has a great Insta grid. Oh, and Gary Vee!
What’s your favourite cocktail?
N: I drink around.
C: John & Sons makes a wicked secret cocktail with grapefruit. I need to find out what’s in that.
What gives you the greatest FOMO?
N: Late-night dance parties.
C: The exact opposite. We have been so busy and travelling so much, I FOMO my bed and the weekends with my little people.
What would be your last meal? And don’t hold back…
N: Squash tacos from Fresh; fresh lobster from Chatham, Cape Cod; onion rings from Harveys; oysters from our fav peeps at Rodney’s or John & Sons; mushroom soup from Canoe; slaw from Lee; spicy tuna maki from Hosu; gelato from Rome; olives from Greece; and a big bag of Sugar Mountain candy – stale.
C: What she said. Someone feed me food that I don’t have to make, and make sure it is hot and that I can eat it without being interrupted.
What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
N: Currently the show Catfish on MTV.
C: Binge-watching Nashville on Netflix.
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