The New She Mentors Platform Has Launched 🎉
Exciting news! The new She Mentors platform has finally landed!
We designed it over a year ago, with the help of of our friends at Oliver Grace, while I was heavily pregnant with Eva. We intended to launch in late 2019, but somehow the months slipped by. Then Covid landed on our shores and changed everything. I blinked and Eva was blowing out the candles on her first birthday cake.
Nevertheless, we persisted, launching mid-lockdown with no childcare, going stir-crazy. It wasn't a perfect launch, but it's live. And for that, we're celebrating 🥂
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Why a redesign?
The original She Mentors platform was built on Shopify in 2018. The idea was to roll out an MVP to test the concept of The Mentor Hour.
I invited 20 founding members to join the membership and 'give back' 1 hour each month. The idea was that we would exchange knowledge and help each other succeed. It sold out in 48 hours – before I could even build the platform!
There was no out-of-the-box solution for this, so I got creative with Zapier flows, Shopify apps and HTML code. It was an absolute mess in the backend, but it worked. Members were able to book 1:1 Mentor Hours with each other.
Designing the new platform
In January 2019, I was a selected as a finalist in the Elevacao Pitch program with Marisa Warren. The investors advised me to bring on a Technical Co-Founder and told me it was unlikely I'd get funding as a single, pregnant founder. It was hard to hear that but I understood. I couldn't grow this platform on my own, and I didn't want to.
I gathered around me a team of incredible people, aka The Dream Team (Amelia Theodakoris, Molly Burley, Nat Morelli and Nick Lehrain), and was over the moon to bring on a Technical Co-Founder, Brendon Nicholas.
Together we worked through hundreds of post-it notes, customer interviews and 'jobs to be done'. We spent hours delving into customer feedback, trying to get clear on exactly what made She Mentors different. Eva kicked away in delight, loving being a part of all the action.
What became clear...
👉The Mentor Hour is the heart and soul of our membership.
Yes, we do events (and we love them!), but our value lies in those 1:1 connections. We help facilitate the exchange of knowledge, skills and wisdom that you rarely find elsewhere. We give all our members the opportunity to give back 1 hour each month. To swap stories; learn skills; bounce ideas; offer a fresh perspective. To meet in person, or online. This is what makes us unique.
👉 We are a community fuelled by generosity.
Due to the commitment of our membership (everyone offers 1 hour), we only attract women who genuinely want to help each other succeed. No sales pitches, no hidden agendas. Just women helping each other out. This shines through every single day.
👉 We are on a global mission
Imagine being able to share insights with women all over the world? To get clarity, perspective and fresh ideas? The Mentor Hour gives everyone a voice. An opportunity to help each other succeed. Over the last few months, and with everyone getting comfortable doing virtual Mentor Hours, our membership has attracted women from all over Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, LA, Hong Kong and England. We want to grow this.
We started with 20 founding members. Now we have over 220. I'm incredibly proud of this. I appreciate every single woman on the platform. Not only for giving back, but for supporting the me on this journey. For believing in a little spark of an idea.
And a heartfelt thanks to Brendon for getting up at the crack of dawn during lockdown; for keeping me calm on launch day; and for delivering an amazing platform.
None of us could have predicted how 2020 would turn out. But one thing is for sure: our members have grown closer and more determined than ever to fight back and drive change. And we couldn't be more excited about the next chapter.