A young mother has revealed how she built a multimillion-dollar business from scratch while her baby slept.
Oli Atanasovska was only 24 when she came up with the idea of developing a hands-free breast pump.
The Australian mother was constantly tired and felt she didn’t have enough time to stop and pump milk for 40 minutes every few hours.
“I struggled with breastfeeding and pumping because it was so hard to balance with the rest of early motherhood,” she told FEMAIL.
“I had to stop everything to pump — it was so exhausting and limiting. I kept thinking, there must be a better way, there must be something else I can do.”
She found herself daydreaming about how much time she’d save if a hands-free device existed — and then decided to do something about it.
An Australian mom who built a multimillion-dollar business while her baby slept has revealed the difficult journey she started from crippling self-doubt and a $0 investment to becoming a lifesaver for moms across the country
‘I thought how nice it would be if I could clean, work or walk.’
“There was so much freedom with that thought. When you’re a new mom, every second feels even more important,” she said.
Oli found some similar products online, but said there were long wait times and a lot of uncertainty about the quality.
Eventually, her daydreams and lack of other options forced her to take matters into her own hands.
“We (moms everywhere) deserve high-quality breast pumps that come to us quickly,” she said. “We have plenty to do given the overwhelming stress of a new baby,” she said.
Oli leaned against her university background in business to get her idea off the ground, to work 3am as she struggled to sleep.
Oli Atanasovska was a 24-year-old mother when she first invented hands-free breast pumps – and how much time she would save if such a device existed
The mother was plagued with self-doubt about the project, but took a leap of faith knowing she could help thousands of other mothers in the same position.
She was so afraid of her business failing that she initially refused to put any money into it and instead relied on pre-orders to get it off the ground.
It was launched at the end of 2021 and took off overnight – The Night Owl sold out within 28 hours of release and made a million dollars within four months.
The house was soon filled to capacity with orders she had to send from her home office into the living room.
“I almost drowned in all the extra work,” she said.
Oli revealed that she feared she wasn’t doing well enough as a mother and business owner, as both jobs demanded her everything.
The Night Owl continued to grow, with the company hitting its highest sales day — making $40,000 in 24 hours — before the six-month mark.
But the road to success has not been easy.
Oli revealed that she feared she wasn’t doing well enough as a mother and business owner, as both jobs demanded her everything.
“It was extremely difficult because I constantly felt like I was being pulled in two different directions,” she said.
“I learned how to be a mom and push myself into high gear to grow the business and help it reach its potential.
“When it first got off the ground, I was a mess. I had hundreds of orders to pack and ship, but I couldn’t do any of them until my son was asleep. I would be up until 4am most days doing administrative work.”
Her house had turned into a warehouse, with piles of boxes and unsent packages piling up in every corner.
The success has been incredible, but Oli says she still feels the pull of motherhood and fears working on her business is taking too much of her toddler’s time.
Even now, Oli feels like she’s missing out on motherhood and is constantly exhausting herself
She now has a healthy 18 month old baby boy with another child on the way.
Even now, she feels like she’s missing out on motherhood and is constantly exhausting herself.
“The reality is that success doesn’t come without sacrifice,” said Oli. “I spend a lot of time working when I could be with my family instead.
“But it’s all worth it — my favorite part is being able to create a brand for moms and know I’m making a difference,” she said.
“I’ve had so many women reach out and tell me that The Night Owl has completely changed their perspective on food and made their lives easier.”