Lessons From 5,000 Moms - Liying Tay, Founder of Crunchmoms | Ep 41

This is a moment that every mom relates to - You wake up ready on your big day. The event, the pitch, the opportunity you have been building towards. And then your kid has a fever.

That morning, Liying Tay made a call. And she still remembers the guilt.

Liying is the co-founder of Crunchmoms, the MENA region's first women's networking platform for moms navigating ambition and family. She and her cofounder built it from a Monday morning coffee with eight women in Dubai, while carrying a newborn and planning her first summit, with no family nearby and no one to stay home.

She did not build Crunchmoms because she had it figured out. She built it because she did not.

That honesty is exactly why this conversation is worth your time.

What we get into:

🤱 Baby-carrying through Zoom meetings and scheduling nap times around calls, because no one else was home

😔 The guilt of going to your biggest event when your kid wakes up with a fever, and choosing to go anyway

🔄 Why the 50/50 partnership ideal had to go, and what a fluid arrangement actually looks like week to week

📋 (My fave!) The Sunday family meeting that keeps two ambitious people from talking past each other all week

🧠 Why the second baby hit her with mom guilt ( the first one never did) and the one thing a friend told her that changed everything

🌍 The misconception about women in the Middle East that eight years on the ground completely dismantled

💡 What it actually means to own a task at home, and why planning it on a Google Doc is not the same thing as doing it

If you have ever felt the tension between wanting to go 1,000 miles per hour at work and being called to be fully present at home, and wondered if that tension ever goes away, this episode is for you.

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Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:16 Who is Liying Tay

03:42 Building a Business in Chaos

06:40 The Hardest Season She Never Talks About

15:13 How Two Ambitious Partners Make It Work

21:18 Why She Wishes She Asked for Help Sooner

22:46 The Truth About Women in the Middle East

25:33 It Started With 8 Women at a Cafe

30:33 What Needs to Change at Work for Moms

34:37 What Does Being a Good Mom Mean to You

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CONNECT WITH LIYING AND CRUNCHMOMS

🤝 Join Crunchmoms events virtually from anywhere in the world at https://www.crunchmoms.com/events. Their online events are open to moms globally so do check out what is coming up.

🎟️ For Crunchmoms Summit 2026, you can get in early by emailing [email protected]. Mention MAKE IT WORK in your email and you will receive 25% off both virtual and in person tickets.

👋 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liyingtay/

👋 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crunchmoms/

👋 Website: https://www.crunchmoms.com/

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