London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 15, 2025

CEO Secrets: 'You can run a business and have a baby'

CEO Secrets: 'You can run a business and have a baby'

"There were certainly eyebrows raised," says CEO of Heka, Steph Hind, who, while in the process of trying to raise money for her company found out she was pregnant with her first child.

She describes some investors' negative reaction as "quite shocking and surprising to have such prejudice, especially when there's a movement now to have more female founders in the entrepreneurial world."

Heka is a rapidly growing firm which organises health and welfare packages for the employees of companies - such as gym memberships and organic food deliveries.

Started in 2016, the firm now works with 300 companies across the UK and has an annual turnover of £400,000.

Ms Hind dropped the prospective new investors who had raised doubts over her capacity to lead the business after having a child, and instead stuck with her existing investors, who had been supportive.

However, she says the experience showed her that she needed a robust plan in place to guide Heka through the period she would be taking-off for maternity leave.

"As the CEO and a co-founder," she says, "the business relies on you heavily. So you have to show confidence with investors, assuring them that the business is in a strong position and that you can carry it forward."

She appointed a stand-in CEO for her company and adjusted her projections for the business' growth.

Her advice for women entrepreneurs is not to worry about becoming pregnant but plan your leave meticulously.

"You have nine months to prepare," she says. "Use that time to make preparations and be sure to bring in a good replacement. Take your plans to investors and your board with confidence. Investors react well to confidence."

Ms Hind has now returned to work after having her child, Lilly, and is back at the helm as CEO. She says Heka is on course for a turnover of £1.2 million by the end of this financial year.

"Investors are not like characters on Dragon's Den," she adds. "They have put their money into the long-term success of the business and as long as you have chosen investors who can see things that way, you taking one month off is not a problem."


WATCH: Steph Hind, CEO of HEKA, reveals her CEO Secrets


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Man Who Threw Sandwich at Federal Agents in Washington Charged with Assault – Identified as Justice Department Employee
A Computer That Listens, Sees, and Acts: What to Expect from Windows 12
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
UK has added India to a list of countries whose nationals, convicted of crimes, will face immediate deportation without the option to appeal from within the UK
Southwest Airlines Apologizes After 'Accidentally Forgetting' Two Blind Passengers at New Orleans Airport and Faces Criticism Over Poor Service for Passengers with Disabilities
Russian Forces Advance on Donetsk Front, Cutting Key Supply Routes Near Pokrovsk
It’s Not the Algorithm: New Study Claims Social Networks Are Fundamentally Broken
Sixty-Year-Old Claims: “My Biological Age Is Twenty-One.” Want the Same? Remember the Name Spermidine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
U.S. Investigation Reports No Russian Interference in Romanian Election First Round
Oasis Reunion Tour Linked to Temporary Rise in UK Inflation
Musk Alleges Apple Favors OpenAI in App Store Rankings
Denmark Revives EU ‘Chat Control’ Proposal for Encrypted Message Scanning
US Teen Pilot Reaches Deal to Leave Chile After Unauthorized Antarctic Landing
Trump considers lawsuit against Powell over Fed renovation costs
Trump Criticizes Goldman Sachs Over Tariff Cost Forecasts
Perplexity makes unsolicited $34.5 billion all-cash offer for Google’s Chrome browser
Kodak warns of liquidity crisis as debt obligations loom
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Taylor Swift announces 12th studio album on Travis Kelce’s podcast after high-profile year together
South Korean court orders arrest of former First Lady Kim Keon Hee on bribery and corruption allegations
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
JD Vance to meet Tory MP Robert Jenrick and Reform’s Nigel Farage on UK visit
Trump and Putin Meeting: Focus on Listening and Communication
Instagram Released a New Feature – and Sent Users Into a Panic
China Accuses: Nvidia Chips Are U.S. Espionage Tools
Mercedes’ CEO Is Killing Germany’s Auto Legacy
Trump Proposes Land Concessions to End Ukraine War
New Road Safety Measures Proposed in the UK: Focus on Eye Tests and Stricter Drink-Driving Limits
Viktor Orbán Criticizes EU's Financial Support for Ukraine Amid Economic Concerns
South Korea's Military Shrinks by 20% Amid Declining Birthrate
US Postal Service Targets Unregulated Vape Distributors in Crackdown
Duluth International Airport Running on Tech Older Than Your Grandmother's Vinyl Player
RFK Jr. Announces HHS Investigation into Big Pharma Incentives to Doctors
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Security flaws in a carmaker’s web portal let one hacker remotely unlock cars from anywhere
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
×