Panel talk
Can you build a career and raise a tiny human at the same time?
Short answer: yes
Long answer: it's complicated, messy, beautiful, exhausting, rewarding, and sometimes involves answering emails with one hand while holding a baby with the other.
Join us for an honest conversation with Jess and Yessie, founders of marketing agency Marking Amsterdam, who recently added a new role to their résumés: mom.
Together, we'll talk about the realities of navigating entrepreneurship, career growth, identity shifts, sleepless nights, ambitious goals, and the never-ending question many women ask themselves:
"Can I want both?"
Spoiler alert: you're not the only one wondering.
Moderated by Ximena, founder of The Leap Club, who is currently navigating her own questions around career ambitions, motherhood, and what it means to build a life that makes room for both, this conversation is designed to be open, honest, and interactive.
We’ll keep it real, through stories, sharedexperiences, and a room full of women figuring it out together.
Moderator
Ximena Pineda
Founder of The Leap Club, a platform that helps ambitious people navigate career changes, entrepreneurship, and personal growth.
For this conversation, Ximena joins as moderator, bringing her own curiosity, questions, and perspective to a topic that resonates deeply with many women today.
Read more about Ximena
Panel
Yessie Bijen
Since October last year, she's been juggling nappy changes and deadline crunches as co-founder and online marketing strategist, proof that you can build a brand and survive nap-time negotiations in the same week. From strategy meetings to daycare drop-offs, and photoshoots to tummy time, if you ask her, she wouldn't trade a single sleep-deprived minute of it.
She's joining the panel to talk honestly about what combining motherhood and entrepreneurship really looks like, no sugar-coating included.
Read more about Yessie
Panel
Jessie Smeding
Since September last year, she's been living life in duplicate: double bottles, double naps, and a to-do list that never seems to end. As co-founder and event manager at Marking Amsterdam, she's used to pulling off flawless events for hundreds of guests, but two newborns, it turns out, operate on an entirely different level of chaos. From event timelines to twin feeding schedules, and venue scouting to nappy duty times two, she's discovered that double the chaos can also mean double the fun.
She'll be on the panel too, with an equally honest, and at times even more chaotic take on what doubling up on both motherhood and entrepreneurship really means.
Read more about Jessie
This event is for you if...
- You've been thinking about motherhood but aren't sure what it means for your career.
- You're wondering if ambition and family can coexist.
- You're a new mom trying to navigate this new chapter.
- You're curious about how other women are making it work (or at least trying to).
What to expect
- A BTS from women living it in real time
- A moderated conversation with Jess, Yessie, and Ximena
- Space for questions, reflections, and shared experiences
- Drinks, snacks, and meaningful connections
- The comforting realization that nobody really has it all figured out
Join us
Whether you're actively planning for motherhood, already in the thick of it, or simply curious about how women navigate both ambition and family, we'd love to have you there.
Leave with new perspectives, honest insights, a few laughs, and hopefully the feeling that you're a little less alone in asking these questions.
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Join the waitlist
This conversation is intentionally intimate. Spots are limited. Join the waitlist below to be the first toreceive access when registrations open.
