Meet Annie Chambers and Kelly Maxey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Annie Chambers and Kelly Maxey. 

Annie and Kelly, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We (Annie Chambers and Kelly Maxey) launched Mom League in Winston-Salem in May 2022. 

We went through a 12-week startup bootcamp in February (while Annie was eight months pregnant! And Kelly with an 8-month-old), to take our business idea from a concept to a fully formed company. Thanks to the help of The Center for Creative Economy, we met local mentors and were able to successfully launch our business in three months. Through possibly 500+ late-night text messages, some Google Docs, and lots of caffeine, we launched in May! 

We met while out walking in our neighborhood and instantly bonded over seeing another mom with a stroller and struck up a conversation. 

I (Annie) am a Winston-Salem native and had my first child in California before moving back home. While there, I took part in a postpartum mother-and-baby group. Upon returning home to Winston (and getting pregnant), I realized there was nothing similar offered locally, and I had the idea that there needed to be since it greatly changed my life with my first baby. 

I approached Kelly with a crazy idea to launch a business together around the holidays, and the timing was perfect. 

“I worked in advertising agencies and am able to bring branding and marketing expertise into our company. I moved from Chicago to Winston-Salem and had my son during COVID. Being new to a city and having a baby during a pandemic didn’t exactly paint the picture of motherhood I’d always imagined, so we worked on creating Mom League to be the experience of what we would have wanted for ourselves.” 

We started to form the class curriculum for the Newborn Series and built a brand while living it. Being a part of the audience we intended to serve — as well as interviewing 40+ local moms — helped us to understand how we could fill the gap and meet moms’ needs. 

We grew from a team of two to a team of seven in under a year. All of our instructors and team members are moms. We are so thankful to the support of our community in Winston-Salem and hope soon to possibly expand into other North Carolina cities! 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The support for Mom League has been strong from day one! Everyone wants us to succeed. Winston-Salem is a tight-knit community, so we rely heavily on word-of-mouth to recruit for our classes. That being said, we spend a large portion of our time on our social media: interacting with community members, designing new graphics and videos, and posting frequently to stay relevant. It’s easy to get burnt out with social media, but it’s been a great tool to connect us with moms and specialists. 

As we grow, it’s so important that we find and retain the right people on our team. We wear so many hats: Marketing, Creative, Accountant, Business Strategy, Human Resources — and most importantly, Moms. With any job, it’s tough to balance parenthood with working, but we strive to make sure our team of moms is supported, fulfilled by their role in Mom League, and achieve a healthy work-life balance. 

With any company there are differing opinions, but we find strength in that because it helps us play out all angles and see things from different points of view. 

We had to learn about e-commerce, filing legal papers, hiring contractors, and much more. It wasn’t easy, but it was so worth it. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Mom League was born out of the desire to make the best out of motherhood by providing moms with information, resources, and a strong community that will help them thrive. 

Mom League is created by moms – for all moms. We offer 8-week courses and playgroups taught by top local postnatal experts on all things motherhood for newborns, infants, and toddlers. 

Mom League is a community that educates, connects, and supports moms so they can thrive during the 4th trimester and beyond. We had taken one-off classes at the hospital or done a coffee meetup with moms, but we wanted something more structured, where you have the chance to develop relationships in a relaxed, open environment. 

In May 2022, we launched our first Newborn Series with 12 moms and their babies (ages between 2 weeks and 12 weeks old). The Series is 8 weeks long and meets at the same time and place. Each week we have local specialists such as lactation consultants, pelvic floor therapists, mental health therapists, infant sleep specialists, pediatric occupational therapists, and more come as guest speakers to help teach the moms about their areas of expertise. Mom League’s curated curriculum covers all the newborn topics moms need to know about – all in one place. More than that, moms will find a built-in community of other moms going through the same changes. Every baby and postpartum experience is unique, and every mom deserves a friend group and a team of curated experts to carry her through. 

We’re about to hit one year of the Newborn Series this May and have seen more than 100 moms and 100 babies come through our series so far. We’ve worked with more than 20 local specialists and have been so welcomed by the postpartum community. 

Our goal is to elevate the standard of postpartum care. Systematically, new parents are not supported enough, and the transition isn’t always easy. The experience is such that you’re seen for prenatal appointments up to 15 times, and you’re only seen once or twice following the birth of your baby. There’s a huge drop off in support, and the focus and excitement tends to shift to the baby. We’ve created this community with moms as the primary focus to help connect moms with others in the newborn stage, to connect moms with local experts who can help them in many aspects of their health, and ensure there is a strong continuum of care throughout the early stages of parenthood. 

We’re so proud to have made lasting impacts on moms and babies in our community: 

“Mom League was the greatest gift to myself and my mental health postpartum! Such an amazing investment in me and my little one. Sharing in the highs and lows of motherhood with other moms going through it all was so comforting and wonderful. Such an amazing supportive community, and getting to hear from the speakers is the icing on the cake!” 

“Joining the Mom League Newborn Series was the best decision I made postpartum! It was wonderful to be surrounded by other moms going through the same milestones I was with my newborn. I looked forward to our time together every week.” 

“Mom League has introduced me to a wealth of wellness resources for caring for myself and my baby post-partum. I am most importantly now connected to a group of women who support me, love my baby, and who understand the journey we are on to become the best new parents we can be. I am so happy this organization exists, and I highly recommend investing in yourself as a mom (and all of the benefits for your baby) and encourage you to join.” 

In the fall of 2022, we launched our Playgroups for infants and toddlers. Each week features a different theme with developmentally appropriate activities designed to stimulate little one’s mind and senses. This is a time to learn and grow – for parents and infants. A few of our activities include: Music & Movement, Sensory Play, Tumble/Gym, Dance Class, Infant Yoga, Art, Storytime, Fun with Food & Nutrition. 

“I work from home, and my son is lucky enough to hang out with grandma all day, so we don’t know other moms or kids. I joined the toddler playgroup so he could have some social interaction, but I love it as much as he does! The activities/crafts are so cute, and the guests are well-picked. I am excited for playgroups each week, and it’s so beneficial for us both!” 

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
We opened last year cautiously with indoor classes, and masks were options. From COVID, we learned to be cautious about jumping into a lease on our own space. We learned that people, especially moms with newborns, are extremely cautious and place a high value on their health. We have COVID clauses written into our waivers and specific clean-up procedures. We didn’t change much about our business, but we certainly keep COVID in mind while building it. 

Pricing:

• Newborn Series: 8 weeks – $329
• Playgroups: 8 weeks: $200
• We also offer partial scholarships for both

Contact Info:

• Website: https://themomleague.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mom_league/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/momleagueNC 

Image Credits
Emily Richardson
Maggie Mills