Ep. 63 with Ashley Mooneyham | Founder, Momease Solution

The Accidental Entrepeneur's Journey

When Ashley Mooneyham returned to work after having her first child, she discovered an alarming truth about breast pumping technology—despite her successful breastfeeding experience, it took four pumping sessions to collect just one bottle of milk. As a scientist with a PhD in biomedical sciences, she immediately recognized this wasn't a personal failure but a fundamental flaw in pump design.

What followed was a revelation backed by scientific research: breast pumps simply aren't designed to replicate the complex cues that trigger milk release. While studies had proven that warming breasts before pumping and adding massage during pumping dramatically increases milk output, no product combined these features in a convenient, hands-free solution for busy mothers.

Ashley's story exemplifies how motherhood can become entrepreneurship's secret weapon rather than its obstacle. "It is actually an advantage to be a mom and an entrepreneur," she explains, challenging the narrative that motherhood limits professional potential. Instead, motherhood forced her to radically prioritize her time—if she was willing to spend precious hours away from her child, the problem she was solving had to be truly significant.

With no personal capital to invest, Ashley leveraged data-driven storytelling to secure funding through pitch competitions and grants. Her customer discovery survey received 1,200 responses in just 24 hours, with 97% of respondents expressing dissatisfaction with their pumping experience. This overwhelming response validated the critical need for innovation in a technology that hadn't meaningfully evolved despite its essential role in modern motherhood.

Throughout her entrepreneurial journey, Ashley has balanced building Momease Solutions while caring for her two young children, including a son with serious health challenges. Her candid reflections on perfectionism, burnout, and the importance of community offer valuable wisdom for anyone navigating the complex intersection of parenthood and professional ambition.

Connect with Ashley and Momease Solutions on social media to follow their mission of empowering women to pump more milk in less time and giving mothers precious hours back in their day. For any mother who's struggled with pumping or any entrepreneur seeking inspiration to solve problems that truly matter, this conversation reminds us that our personal challenges often contain the seeds of our most meaningful contributions.

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Credits:

• Editor: Joseph Kirk
• Music: Kristofer Tanke

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