There are no federal parental leave protections for entrepreneurs. Here’s how to manage
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There is virtually no safety net, although 14 million women-owned small businesses account for nearly 40% of all companies and generate $2.7 trillion in the U.S.
When I was pregnant with my second kid, Chetan, I also ran a successful startup called FoodtoEat. I didn’t want to lose the momentum of success on FoodtoEat, especially after my first startup had failed to raise the funding it needed to survive, so I told myself I just had to keep going and keep up the hustle to make it to the next level. I had no plans to take an extended parental leave. Plus, reading about founders who were closing funding rounds while in labor didn’t help my anxiety and penchant for unhealthy competition, so I upped the ante on what I could handle.