Local Startup 'Pepperlane' Monetizes Motherhood Workforce

LEXINGTON, MA – Your priorities change when you become a mom, but your skills don't. That's the idea behind Pepperlane, a startup from three Massachusetts women in various degrees of motherhood. Lexington resident Sharon Kan – mother to a 10- and 15-year-old – and her cofounders, Somerville resident Jess Peterson and Margaret McKenna of Cambridge, all cut their teeth in the startup industry, but this one, she says, is "very personal" to them.

Pepperlane launched in Lexington to connect women for whom being a mom is just one hat they wear. The idea – to combine the worlds of business and motherhood.

"When you look for a job, you're not putting on your card, 'hey, I'm a mom,'" Kan said. "As moms, we're doing things ourselves, like tutoring, meal prep or being a car service. There's so many things I need as a mother and so many skills mothers have."

Pepperlane is a platform for mothers to monetize those skills. The website features women with backgrounds ranging from editing, proofreading and bookkeeping to babysitting, interior design, home organizing, cooking and medical care.

Since its inception, Pepperlane has expanded to include members in Newton, Brookline, Wellesley, Watertown, Somerville, Melrose and other towns in the area. The site functions as a liaison between mothers offering services and mothers who need them, allowing women to highlight their skills and earn money working for one another.

According to Kan, the response to the website has been overwhelmingly positive because it addresses "the elephant in the room."

"Motherhood really changes the way you look at life," she said. "People suggest mothers go back to work, but we look at it the other way around. We're not asking you to do anything you don't do today – we're going to prioritize it around your life."

Membership on the site is free, with online testimonials acting as a digital word-of-mouth. Taking a hyperlocal approach made sense, Kan said, because it shifts the motherhood network online.

"We need help and where else would we go? Another mother," Kan said. "I really hope that mothers will support a company like us by joining and offering their skills to the world or buying from other mothers."

To read more about Pepperlane or to sign up, click here.

Photo (L-R): Margaret McKenna, CTO; Sharon Kan, CEO; Jess Peterson, VP Product

Photos submitted by Sharon Kan