When you try to picture a startup company, you most likely imagine a group of men coding in a garage. As a mom, you probably think a startup is not the place for you. After all, you’d be surrounded with men who practically live at the office, and you know you wouldn’t be able to work long hours. On top of that, you won’t have the same stability you would at a big firm. To make things worse, you surely wouldn’t fit in with a generation of young programmers. These are some of the most common worries moms have about startups. However, what I want to tell you today is that none of this is true.

I was always passionate about technology. I majored in business and minored in computer science. Unfortunately, I was never that good of a programmer to actually work as one. Not to mention that my knowledge of programming languages went downhill when I got pregnant two years after finishing my studies. Since my husband was very successful in the tech space, we agreed I would take care of our child while he would work and provide for the family.

Since I’m the type of person who has to be productive every day, I started freelancing while I was at home. As our daughter got older and got into elementary school I began talking to my husband about how I wanted to find a job. I already knew I wasn’t ever going to work for a big firm again because I didn’t like being surrounded by so many people. I wanted something smaller and more intimate, as well as a place where I could be creative. My husband told me about a small startup in Toronto looking to hire someone with a background in business that could help them take their business to the next level.

I went in for an interview and although they were pleased with my experience, I was shocked at the lack of company perks. The pay was subpar, as well as the insurance coverage. However, I saw the people working together as a team and I knew it was the perfect place for me. When you become a mom, you stop thinking about yourself when making an important decision and instead think about the whole family. This is the same approach people at startups have, which is one of the reasons why I immediately felt right at home.

Once the business took off, the pay quickly increased and perks improved. Now that I look back on everything, it’s normal that my salary wasn’t that great in the beginning. Nevertheless, our teamwork helped us reach our goals and make a successful company. We all realized we should do whatever it takes to grow our business. It was like our baby that we all took care of. If there was something we couldn’t do ourselves we would get outside help. For instance, whenever we would update our business plan we’d contact Toronto Enterprise and their team of advisors would help us come up with effective strategies to further grow our company.

One of my biggest worries when I started working was that my job required me to dedicate too much of my time. Even though some of the people at the startup worked insane hours, they knew I was a mother and supported me however they could. They would also give me tasks I could do from home, so there were days when I didn’t even have to go to the office.

In case you’re really passionate about your work, you should definitely consider joining a startup. After all, the people you’ll work with just want to make the best company possible with the limited resources they have and they will gladly welcome anyone on their team who can help them achieve this goal.