"About seven years ago, I was in my 20s and getting divorced. I was a single mom to a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old, with no outside help. I had no place to live and no full-time job. So I started coming up with ideas as fast as I could. How am I going to take care of these two kids? I felt alone."
"At that time, I was doing photography to help restaurants build their brands. Then I went to a yoga class. When I walked in, every person had the same mat and the same outfit. I started thinking about my mom and how she raised us to be individuals and stand out. I had this idea that since I was designing so many things already, I would go home and try to design a mat."
"About a week before I went to place my order for all the mat designs, the pandemic hit, and I was back to square one. I also lost my photography clients, because restaurants were shuttered. I panicked because I had two tiny humans relying on me. So, I started teaching myself design for tech, because it seemed much more lucrative. From everything I've ever heard, you go into the corporate world - that's how you have a comfortable life."
Kelly Withers experienced divorce and single motherhood while lacking stable housing or full-time employment, which prompted rapid idea generation to support her children. She worked as a photographer for restaurants and conceived a personalized yoga mat after noticing uniform mats and outfits in class. The pandemic halted initial product plans and eliminated photography clients, creating financial urgency. She taught herself tech design by buying books and hiring a Microsoft tutor to build a portfolio. She founded Carmu as a side hustle, later committing to it after multiple tech layoffs, and she resists outside funding to avoid relinquishing control.
Read at Business Insider
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