969 Swati Vauthrin:

Wings of Inspired Business Podcast EP 969 – Host Melinda Wittstock Interviews Swati Vautrin

Melinda Wittstock:

Coming up on Wings of Inspired Business:

Swati Vauthrin:

The thing that really made me want to start Recess was actually some of my experience at Meta and Instagram. I was looking for products, and I was looking for community, and I just felt like all of the utility out there for parents, the different websites and the different tools and the, the, the Facebook groups they all were just all over the place. They did not have a single home. 

Swati Vauthrin:

And we both saw this huge opening; we felt like, hey, why not take this as a chance and build something that gives parents utility in a single place, whether they are buying or selling used products or you know, trying to connect with each other over that, the sleeping issue or even just trying to figure out sort of how to navigate the transition from going into kindergarten. 

Melinda Wittstock:

Swati Vauthrin became BuzzFeed’s first engineering director when she was six months pregnant and quickly experienced the challenges of time management, identity shifts, and navigating work while building a family. From juggling a newborn while presenting to engineering teams, all while supporting her child’s developmental needs during the pandemic, Swati shares how motherhood both reshaped how she leads as an executive, but also inspired her leap from top engineer to entrepreneur with the new parenting app, The Recess. 

Melinda Wittstock:

Hi, everyone, your host Melinda Wittstock here, and welcome to Wings of Inspired Business, the podcast where we share the inspiring entrepreneurial journeys, epiphanies, and practical advice from successful female founders … so you have everything you need at your fingertips to build the business and life of your dreams. I’m a five-time serial entrepreneur, and I started this podcast to catalyze an ecosystem where women entrepreneurs mentor, promote, buy from, and invest in each other. Because together we’re stronger, and we all soar higher when we fly together and lift as we climb. If you’ve been listening to any of the past 968 episodes, please help us get the word out about the show. Please subscribe so you never miss an episode. Tell your friends and colleagues, share the episode and leave a quick 5-star rating and review on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. We really appreciate it. Thank you! 

Melinda Wittstock:

Today we meet an inspiring entrepreneur whose journey started at age 4 with a Commodore computer and evolved into senior engineering roles at Instagram, BuzzFeed, ESPN and Disney—most notably leading global growth for Instagram Reels. Swati Vauthrin is now the Co-Founder and CEO of Recess, the parenting platform redefining how families connect, learn, and shop through community and circular commerce. Today Swati shares what it’s like navigating ‘bro culture’ as a woman engineer, and how motherhood inspired her to take the leap into entrepreneurship and change the game for parents everywhere.

Melinda Wittstock:

As a mom of three, Swati experienced firsthand how isolating, overwhelming, and expensive parenting can be, especially when balancing it with a demanding engineering career. That’s what prompted her to build the new parenting platform Recess—the trusted, spam-free, AI-powered space she wished existed when she became a parent—where families can get real advice, find community, and shop high-quality secondhand gear safely and affordably. Today we talk about women in tech, what it takes to bootstrap a startup and land pre-seed venture money, plus all the ways Swati is making parenting easier for all of us.

Melinda Wittstock:

Let’s put on our wings with the inspiring Swati Vauthrin.

[INTERVIEW]

Melinda Wittstock:

Swati, welcome to Wings.

Swati Vauthrin:

Thank you for having me.

Melinda Wittstock:

I’m so intrigued because you started out as an engineer. I mean, there you were, you know, building products. Instagram, BuzzFeed, ESPN, Disney. As an engineer, there’s so few women engineers. So, tell me a little bit about what that was like and how you got into engineering to begin with.

Swati Vauthrin:

There is definitely not a lot of us. I was saying earlier, like, the 0.1% of the 0.1%, but I really just loved computers from a really early age. You know, my dad’s an engineer. He brought home a Commodore 64 when I was 4, and I was really hooked. And so, for schooling, I did computer science, and I knew that I wanted to get into tech. It was a right around the boom. So, it was just a really exciting time to be in it.

Swati Vauthrin:

And I loved solving problems. I loved tinkering with things. I am very meticulous. So, I knew that engineering was my path, and so that’s what I pursued. Started off as an engineer, I was working out in Seattle and then transitioned into a leadership role pretty early on in my career. It was one of those times when there were very few women engineering managers. And I’ll never forget asking my VP at the time, who was also a woman VP of Engineering, could I try to interview for this role? And so, for me, it was a huge steppingstone to get into an engineering leadership role at a pretty big company like Disney. And from then on, it just kind of continued to evolve.

Swati Vauthrin:

I was building products at Disney, and then I went to ESPN and I started to lead engineers across multiple locations and even in different countries and really got to work on some pretty cool digital products. And like I said, the story continues to BuzzFeed and Instagram and definitely different types of problems that I was going after. But at the end of the day, there was always a common thread, which was, I love building products for people. And so, the consumer side of things for me is really exciting. I always say I want to work on something that I can show my mom. And so that’s what I did. You know, it was just something I was really passionate about, and I love doing it still.

Melinda Wittstock:

We’re going to get to your company recess in a moment. But what do you think it was that got you in? You mentioned the Commodore at age 4? I mean, there’s not very many little, little girls that have access to that, right?

Melinda Wittstock:

I’m curious what you think it will take to get more women into engineering because I think, I think we’re good software developers.

Swati Vauthrin:

But we, yes, definitely.

Melinda Wittstock:

I don’t know, our heads get turned around in middle school. Like I’m not good at math, I don’t know, whatever that is.

Swati Vauthrin:

Right, right, right. I think it’s also a curiosity and knowing that that curiosity can get fulfilled. The reason why I was so attracted to this computer early on was because I didn’t know what it was and I didn’t really understand it. And so, I wanted to just figure out what it was and I, and that’s fulfilling that I think for, for girls and women now is just as valid. Right. And knowing that there are these ways to kind of fulfill that curiosity that they have in engineering and science, you know, in stem, across the board. And I felt like I really, that was for me, like what motivated me. I just was really curious.

Swati Vauthrin:

And then when I started to tinker with this stuff, I just felt like it was something that allowed me to express myself in a way that, you know, writers do, right? And so, for me that was software engineering and I, I could build stuff, I could put stuff together, I could make it become real. And that’s really what led to spending a lot of time building these, you know, consumer facing experience.

Melinda Wittstock:

You wonder what the world would be like if every four-year-old kid. Yeah. Because when you’re four you’re naturally curious. If there were computers like that in every little preschool class or something, would we have more female engineers?

Swati Vauthrin:

You know, I do think access, right, is a privilege. It still is. And the bar is definitely lower for sure. I think the access to it though now is wider. And so, that’s really what my dream is, is to be able to see all people from all over, really be able to get introduced to the, to this and do the things that they dream of doing as well.

Melinda Wittstock:

Have you noticed a difference with the way women engineers approach software development from men? I know that’s a big generalization, but you mentioned that you were really in it to solve a problem for the customer. And I do see a lot of engineers who are just like, I’m just going to build this because it’s cool.

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah. I think you hit it right there and it kind of leads to like a connection but also empathy. Right. I think women tend to approach solving some of these problems with a little bit more empathy. It’s not just going in there, cranking a few things and seeing an end result. It’s, you know, it’s kind of taking it to that next level of going in there, trying to understand why, right?

Swati Vauthrin:

It’s not just the what, but also the why and really feeling like a deep connection to it in a way that makes you want to fix stuff or makes you want to build something different or new. And I, I, I just think it might just be our biology that we tend to, to be a little bit more into that types of questions of, like, the why versus just like the what and the how so.

Melinda Wittstock:

Exactly.

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, motherhood was a big moment, a pivoting time for you. Like it is for a lot of women become entrepreneurs when they’re pregnant or shortly after they’ve had kids. Like, that’s my story with entrepreneurship. I as well, because this is kind of an inherent flexibility, but it inspired your whole idea. And so, tell me a little bit about that origin story. There you were… you were at BuzzFeed. You’re the first engineering director there. You’re six months pregnant.

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah. Six months pregnant. BuzzFeed started first female engineering director. I, I knew I still had a lot to learn and, but I, I also knew that, you know, I, at some point, I wanted to chase my own dream. I had spent my entire career helping others fulfill and chase theirs. Right. And I, I think my, it was my experience through BuzzFeed and having another, you know, having two kids there and then even at Instagram, having my third baby, where I constantly went back to all of these sources as a parent and just feeling like, hey, these just not aren’t that great.

Swati Vauthrin:

And it was really after my third child when I saw an opening and an opportunity to apply a lot of what I had done, which is trying to build great experiences for people and really narrowing it down to let’s do it for parents. And that the, it’s just, you know, they say timing is everything. I kid you not. If you had asked me five years ago, I would have said, no, I can’t do this. It was timing, and it would just happen to be a short window for me to be able to say, yes, I can do this. I’m going to do it for me, because I’m finally at that moment where I can try to pursue a dream that I’ve been thinking about for years.

Melinda Wittstock:

Right. And so, your company was born very much from a personal experience. I think a lot of women come into entrepreneurship that way. Like there’s a real problem that you’re experiencing and if you’re an entrepreneur, like, well, how hard can this be? I’m going to go solve this. So, you have all this engineering back, you’ve built all these consumer facing products. You’re ahead of most…

Swati Vauthrin:

Right.

Melinda Wittstock:

…In that sense. But tell me about the, the, the, the thing that made you really want to start recess and the problems that it genuinely solves.

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah, I, the thing that really made me want to start Recess was actually some of my experience at Meta and Instagram. I, I was looking for products and I was looking for community and I, I mean I built, I was on the other side of it right for a while and I just felt like all of the utility out there for parents, the different websites and the different tools and the, the, the Facebook groups and the, you know, the, these types of different creators, they all were just all over the place. They did not have a single home. And there’s a lot of actual exchange of like goods as well between parents. Right. Parents are constantly buying stuff, but they’re also trying to get rid of stuff. And the whole experience for that, you know, whether it’s on Facebook Marketplace or whether it’s on another place like eBay or Poshmark, just didn’t feel like it was built for parents. It was very generic and I, I, I, I felt like it held, held me back as a parent from using those products fully.

Swati Vauthrin:

And so that really was a, a combination of the inspiration for why I even wanted to do something like Recess. And you know, I have a co-founder, Ethan, and you know, we both saw this huge opening as well, this huge opportunity because a lot of tech companies started to divest from different things like consumer experiences. And so we felt like, hey, why not take this as a chance and build something that gives parents utility in a single place, whether they are buying or selling used products or you know, trying to connect with each other over that, the sleeping issue or even just trying to figure out sort of how to navigate the transition from going into kindergarten. And that’s really what was what we really wanted to do. And so, there’s so many things that.

Melinda Wittstock:

Come at you really fast in all phases of your kids development. And yeah, there’s a lot of overwhelm, there’s a lot of isolation, like your life completely changes and if you’re an executive or an entrepreneur or like with a demanding job at the same time, like all of a sudden like you don’t have time for your friends, you don’t have time for your selfcare. You’re like trying to figure out what’s the best information. Like it, it’s overwhelming. This sounds like it combines a lot of different things, like everything from advice to community to what you call re commerce, which is really, I’ve never heard that word before, which is really interesting, you know, around sustainable marketplaces. So, so break it down, how all those components work together.

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah. So, you join Recess for a few reasons. You either join because you’re really interested in being part of a community or you’re really interested in maybe selling that stroller that you no longer need. Or maybe you’re looking for a stroller and you, you don’t really want to pay full price because there’s a lot of great products out there that are used and they often have really good stories behind them, you know. And so, as a user, when you come to Recess, there’s a place for you. And so, we built an experience where you join, you know, who’s local around you, you get personalized recommendations on products that could be interesting for you to buy or even information on what people are looking to, to buy, right? So maybe you have something that you, that you need to offload that, like I said, that stroller.

[PROMO CREDIT]

Wings of Inspired Business is brought to you by the new podcast, Zero Limits Business Growth Secrets. Join me together with Steve Little – serial entrepreneur, investor and mergers & acquisitions maestro – as we explore the little-known 24 value drivers that spell the difference between a $5m business, and a $50mm even $500 mm business. That’s Zero Limits Business Growth Secrets, produced by Podopolo Brand Studio at zerolimitsradio.com – that’s zerolimitsradio.com and available wherever you get your podcasts.

Melinda Wittstock:

And we’re back with Swati Vauthrin, co-founder and CEO of the parenting app, The Recess.

[INTERVIEW CONTINUES]

Swati Vauthrin:

And we, we put it all together in a really, what we feel like consumer, like a consumer experience that is beautifully designed but also has a lot of just like the familiar notions of an app and it makes it really easy to list a product. You know, we, we use, we use AI technology behind the scenes, but we know that parents don’t have a lot of time. And so, if you want to list a product or if you want to ask a question, it’s really super easy. You just press a button and you, you start. And so, a lot of that, a lot of the product thinking that went into building Recess was from our own experiences, right. We, we knew how to build great products from Instagram, Meta and all other places, BuzzFeed and ESPN. So how do we take some of the best of what we learned and apply it to what we’re doing for Recess? And so that was another thing that we really also focused on is the craft, as they say, on what that experience looks like when you first land in.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, well, it’s interesting and you mentioned all these other social platforms, Meta in particular, where with social media, which had such promise to bring us all together, isn’t really working out that way. Like I think people are more. Feel almost more isolated than ever and trying to find things that are relevant to you and that you can trust, where you’re not being spammed by a bunch of ads or like the algorithm isn’t feeding you stuff that you actually don’t want. And this kind of trust layer, I guess.

Swati Vauthrin:

Right, right.

Melinda Wittstock:

I can’t help but ask this, but what are some of the things, say that, you know, Instagram, where you worked before or whatever, what are some of the things that you purposely thought, okay, now this isn’t really working. We’ve got to change this or do this better.

Swati Vauthrin:

Right. So, there’s a few things I would say. First and foremost, when we were building the product around community, we really wanted to make sure that you felt like you were in a village. Right. And so, we put you in, we know, we, we, we put you in the community of recess right away. And so when you started to ask questions or when you, when other people were asking questions or when you, when you had things to share, like you are already part of something, you know, we already seeded that for you so you didn’t have to feel like you’re landing in a place that you had to initially navigate and kind of find your home. And we did that purposefully because we wanted people to feel that village sense right away. And, you know, over time and scale, like that can change.

Swati Vauthrin:

But initially we just felt like, hey, let’s give you that home and really make you feel like you’re a part of something from day zero. So that was one of the things. The other thing that we also wanted to make sure was that people felt like they could be their true self. A lot of times social platforms are facades for folks. And we actually, you know, we don’t, we don’t have usernames, we have real names. You can actually put your photo, or you can pick one of our avatars. But, you know, we really want people like, we’re very much about trust and safety, and presenting yourself as your true self is one of the best ways to do that. We can, we even, you know, upsell that by allowing you to be verified immediately.

Swati Vauthrin:

And that’s another way to kind of guarantee that you are who you are. And a lot of that stuff was, yes, inspired by these other platforms, but they were not add-ons. They were part of our initial offering from day zero. And so, we felt like making you part of a Village making you feel safe and secure from day zero would give you enough reason to want to come back and then start to, you know, really interact with that village in different ways.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, you’re essentially building trust with almost like a pre-built community based on like your circumstance. Like I, presumably when you sign up, you know, like you’re figuring out okay, does this person have a newborn or they have a. Yes, exactly, like twins or like, you know, so you’re matching people by their kind of circumstance and interest, I guess.

Swati Vauthrin:

Yes, yes. Circumstance, interests, location is a big thing as well because again, you know, especially in New York City where I live, I mean your village is with, is within like a six to seven block radius. Right. And then, and then, you know, you might have like another identity group because like, you know, you’re a dance mom and so there’s different ways to sort of cohort people. And we wanted to take some of like the most obvious ones, like the age of your kids or like the location of where you are, where you are, you know, some of the interests that you have and really start to build that personalization from the very beginning. So again, you landed in a place you, it feels like we know you. It feels like there’s people here that can relate to, to you and you can start to just, you know, do what you need to do in Recess right away.

Melinda Wittstock:

Right. So, if you love yoga or you also have a dog, you know, that’s really, really smart. I’ve always thought that social networks were going to evolve much more in a purpose-built way.

Swati Vauthrin:

Right.

Melinda Wittstock:

They don’t necessarily have to be for everybody. And then this whole recommerce piece. Yeah, that just seems so convenient, especially when the prices of things are really high. I remember with my kids, how many trips to Goodwill just getting rid of stuff like, like stuff was coming into the house and stuff was like, oh.

Swati Vauthrin:

I, I totally, totally understand. And that really was part of the motivation that we wanted to create a platform where this was a first, like first class operation, right. For users. And we really wanted to make it social because if you think about it, all of these things that you’re either selling or giving to somebody for from your child, they all have stories, right. And there’s this social connection to these stories and we really wanted to make marketplace feel social. It wasn’t just a transaction, but the, the, the stroller that you’re selling might come with a story behind like how you had it for six years and your two babies had it and they, you know, love like. Right. It was so convenient for you.

Swati Vauthrin:

Or, or even that, that, that bike that you’re now going to sell to another parent. Like there’s so many stories behind these products and we really want to bring those to life because that again makes this whole parenting journey just feel more human. Right. And the letting go of the stuff that you have or even the buying of somebody else’s things just, it just makes it feel more personable, not a transaction. And so really trying to do that at recess and really bring that socialness.

Melinda Wittstock:

Through it, that makes sense. So, what’s the stage of your company? How big is it now? How many people do you have on it?

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah, so we’re still a pre-seed venture backed company. We have six folks working across engineering and product and marketing and we are working on our community, on the social platforms to really bring our presence, give users that presence off platform. And yeah, we continue to onboard new users every day. It’s been really exciting to see where they’re coming from. We have a national go to market going on right now. And so even if you’re, you know, I’m in New York, but if there’s something that’s like I’d love to get for my toddler, I’ve been looking for a balance bike. We allow you to ship it on recess. Right.

Swati Vauthrin:

But you still create that connection with somebody who might be, you know, maybe in Illinois.

Melinda Wittstock:

And so, you’re in New York.

Swati Vauthrin:

Yes, I’m based in New York. That’s right.

Melinda Wittstock:

And so how is it like, is it like a, you mentioned a national go to market but because location is part of that. Do you think it’s kind of growing community by community or how…

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah, I definitely think it is growing. We do have heavier concentrations in the metropolitan areas like you know, of course New York and LA, but we also have a growing cohort in places like Washington D.C. in you know, parts of Florida. So, it is where ends. As we’re starting to learn more about where our users are coming from, we’re starting to see that it is start. It’s, it’s becoming more organic. Like I found you on search or I found you through a referral from somebody at the daycare where our flyers were, right.

Swati Vauthrin:

We’re starting to really see this like organic growth happening more and more which has been really exciting for us. Lovely.

Melinda Wittstock:

When you have people referring other people like you got that. So, you’ve got that kind of early evidence of network effect, basically.

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah, we’re starting to see the early evidence of network, network effect as well as product market fit around the social marketplace. I think that’s been something that we’ve you know, really saw skyrocket and are continuing to invest in that area because it the timing is right. Like you said, parents are looking for sustainable options. There’s a lot of mompreneurs out there who, who are doing this as like a side business and you know, this is whole gig economy around for mompreneurs selling and buying used products for kids. It’s pretty incredible. And so, we’re learning a lot from them and we’re learning a lot of how we can make sure that that is accessible in recess.

Melinda Wittstock:

You know what’s really interesting, Swati, you said you were pre seed but also venture back. That’s rare. I mean you know a lot of companies, real especially female founded companies really struggle to raise venture before they these days anyway before there significant traction and significant revenue and such. So, what was your secret there? How did you manage?

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah, so great question. So, I’m a first-time founder and so is my co-founder, Ethan. I think we had the right combination of background and skill set. You know, like I said, the engineering background that I have combined with Ethan’s marketing and business background, and we both were at Instagram, I mean kind of proved ourselves on paper that like we’re the right team to build this, we’re the right people to be thinking about this mind space. Ethan’s a dad of two, you know, so he’s also coming at it from that perspective. And so, I really think that was the proof for the investment and so yeah, so here we are.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, and that really helps. Well, there’s so few female technical founders and co-founders and so that cohort really struggles because. And then it’s down to your CTO pick and do you have that right CTO? There’s a lot of really promising startups can get starved for cash right there. So, what a big advantage. We need more women to become engineers. 

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah, I would love to have more women CTO friends. That would be wonderful. I’d love to have a group.

Melinda Wittstock:

I know, like I just think with my own companies how hard it’s been. Like I’ve actively tried to recruit female engineer. It’s been really hard. Yeah, because you’re at early stage of a startup, you can’t really afford junior folks at that stage. 

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah.

Melinda Wittstock:

When you’re actively trying to do it.

Swati Vauthrin:

Right. Right. Yeah. I, you know, one of we, we’ve always had a woman engineer on the team, which is like really exciting from, from the very beginning. And you know, we’ve worked with like on a contract basis or full time. And that was something that wasn’t even a question for me of like being able to, you know, well, first get women, but also know that hey, they see me in a leadership role, then they’re more likely to want to talk to me because it’s just, it’s, it’s, it’s not every day that you have a female CTO who’s running a venture backed company. So that’s, you know, that’s always like how I positioned. When we’ve been looking for talent and we’ve been very lucky to have some really incredible talent and we’ve worked, you know, people on our team, they’re people that like I’ve worked with in the past in other companies.

Swati Vauthrin:

And so, I feel really grateful to really lean into my network and know that hey, there’s people that want to work with me again and want to be a part of this mission that I’m leading for once. So that’s been really motivating as well. 

Melinda Wittstock:

So how is AI and the whole vibe coding thing and prompt engineering and all these sorts of things changing the game for women in engineering? I mean, is it and if so, how is it, how, how are you navigating all of that with your company?

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah. So, I don’t necessarily think it’s specifically empowering women differently than men, but I do feel like is yet another motivating factor for women to continue to pursue a career in engineering. And I would say AI by coding, prompt engineering is widening your opportunity to build and evolve super-fast. So, we are totally taking advantage of so many AI tools. I mean, not only do we have an AI engine that runs recess, but we also leverage AI in every part of our workflow for development. Right. And it has allowed us to move so fast; it has allowed us to fail fast as well. And it has allowed us to really elevate the type of, and validate the type of product that we want to build.

Swati Vauthrin:

I can’t say this would have happened in the same pace three years ago at all. So much has changed in three years. The stuff that we were building a year ago is now obsolete. So, it’s been, it’s been so, so fast to evolve. But to be able to take advantage of it in lockstep, I feel very like, I feel very grateful for that because it’s been really fun, you know, and, and for me personally, you know, I’m submitting PRs, pull requests for code on a daily basis. Like I feel so empowered to be able to, you know, be a contributor on the recess code base just as much as any other engineer. And I would say I really helped me because it allowed me to accelerate some of my product thinking. Right.

Swati Vauthrin:

It allowed me to validate some of the things that we wanted to build and then I applied those. And so, you know, where before I think I would have probably like, I would have spent more time on some of that research and investigation on like if we’re going to do this one platform versus the other. But now it’s like, it’s pretty, it’s, it’s pretty easy and fast to kind of make some of these decisions. So, I’m like, okay, let’s do it and then sure, I’ll build part of it. So that’s been really empowering, I would say.

Melinda Wittstock:

Wonderful. So, tell me a little bit about the business model. How is Recess making money or what’s, what’s your revenue?

Swati Vauthrin:

Right, so we’re still pre revenue. However, we are really leaning into a subscription-based revenue model over time. And the subscription is really for two reasons. One is to allow you to show your show as yourself. So, if, you know, if you’re a verify user and you subscribe to Recess, then you’re more likely to sell your products. Buyers are more likely to come to you than somebody else. And so that’s one of the motivations for us to go through a subscription route. But also on the seller side, you know, a subscription model is way better than selling fees.

Swati Vauthrin:

You know, selling feeds eats up into your costs a lot. And a subscription model for us is something that allows us to motivate sellers to continue to use Recess as a platform where they’re buying and selling products, but then also knowing that, you know, they have more of the take home than they would necessarily have on another platform. And I do think fees at some point make sense. But I think initially we really want to support sellers, and we really again want to give them a platform that is specifically for parents so they can target the parenting vertical, and we can make sure that that parenting vertical is there.

Melinda Wittstock:

Amazing. So, what’s the big vision? Where do you intend for this to be in five years, 10 years? I mean, what would be, what’s in your wildest dreams?

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah. We want to be ‘the’ parenting app. That’s our vision. Right. When you’re a new parent or when you, you know, are looking for information about that particular thing as a parent, or when you’re looking to buy something used or looking to sell things you don’t need, like you just think of Recess. Recess is the place where the parenting app and so we really want to be that first go to and we want it to be synonymous with parenting. And so, what does that look like in reality? Well, you know, we have to have a really vibrant like selling and buying community. We have to have a really vibrant and validated community that is personalized for you but also allows you to connect based on your interests and kind of grow.

Swati Vauthrin:

And the last thing is we need to have a place that you, that will grow with you. Right. And so, we feel like the long-term value for our users is, could be like 18 years from the beginning of when you’re expecting all the way till when your child is ready to go to college. There’s always things that are part of this parenting journey and we’d love for you to come to recess for that. So that’s our vision and that’s where I see things going over the next five to ten years. Would love to be the one and only parenting marketplace out there that users trust and come for the village and be that place for you.

Melinda Wittstock:

Amazing. Well, Swati, what’s the best way for people to find you and also connect with you, but also sign up for Recess?

Swati Vauthrin:

Yeah. So we are, we have obviously you can go to our website, it’s the Recess app and you can get a link to download our, our Android or our iOS our iOS app. We’re also on the socials, so Instagram the Recess app, Tick tock as well. And we’re, we’re constantly around if you want to reach out to me Swati at the Recess app (swati@therecess.app) email. I’d love to hear from you but most importantly, I’d love to see you in recess. And, and you can send me a DM, and you know, if you need anything, I’m there constantly chat with our users all the time. It’s awesome to see them engaging with us in those informal ways. And yeah, if you need any help, just let us know and we’d love to support you.

Melinda Wittstock:

Fantastic. Well, thank you so much for putting on your wings and flying with us today.

Swati Vauthrin:

Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

[INTERVIEW ENDS]

Melinda Wittstock:

Swati Vauthrin is the co-founder and CEO of the parenting app, The Recess.

Melinda Wittstock:

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