Justine Roberts CBE is the Founder and CEO of Mumsnet, the UK’s leading online platform for parents, and Gransnet, its sister site for the over-50s. In 2000, after leaving a career in the City and sports journalism, she took the leap into entrepreneurship, launching Mumsnet from her back bedroom while navigating life as a new mother to twins. What started as a personal solution, has grown into one of the country’s most influential digital communities, attracting millions each month.

Now an inspiring entrepreneurial speaker, Justine is widely recognised for her pioneering work in building online networks and championing flexible working. Appointed CBE in 2017, she frequently appears on power lists, including The Guardian’s Power 100 and BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour list of the 100 most powerful women.

In this interview, Justine reflects on the inspiration behind Mumsnet, how entrepreneurs can spot genuine opportunities, the importance of standing out in a crowded market, and the lessons she’s learned about sustainable growth and timing. She also shares the advice she wishes she’d known earlier: ignore the naysayers, trust yourself more, and always wear trainers.

What was the driving force behind your decision to start Mumsnet?

“I launched Mumsnet because I had newborn twins, and I had an awful lot of questions. An awful lot of questions to which my immediate circle of family and friends couldn't provide all the answers.

“It was at the time of the dot com bubble, and everyone you met in the street was discussing what their internet idea was. In some respects, it was the right time. I'd had a full-on career in the City, and I felt like I'd earned a bit of time to take a risk.

“I think it's as much about luck and timing as anything. But my inspiration was really to tap into the wisdom of other parents, with the idea that it would make all our lives easier, because we're not trained for this parenting thing.

“It was just simply to meet that need. I thought, ‘Well, if it's useful for me, it might be useful for someone else too.’”

What’s the best way for entrepreneurs to spot an opportunity or gap in the market?

“I think very often with entrepreneurs, what they do is fulfil their own need. Certainly, true of my case with Mumsnet.

“I was a new parent of young twins, and I needed all the advice and help I could get. My immediate circle didn't quite have all the answers for me, so I wanted to expand that and tap into the wisdom of millions of other people via this wonderful thing called the Internet.

“I think that's often where people get their inspiration from. They find a gap in the market because they need that product or service badly for their own life. The great thing is, if you're constructing something to meet your own needs, you're very clear on what you want and how it should work.

“It gets harder as you grow; you get more divorced from the original target market. So, in my case now, I'm slightly outside the target market for Mumsnet, so I must work hard to stay in touch. But originally, I think it's about finding something that would make the world a better place because you know what that product or service should be from your own experience.”

How can founders differentiate themselves and make an impact, especially in an already crowded space?

“I don't think you're going to stand out if you just produce a generic product the same as everyone else and make a big noise about it. What you really want is people to be talking about the product because it's doing something better [than its competitors].

“Either it's your service that's better, it's the product itself, or it's a different price point. I think you have to be different; you have to have a unique selling point. 

“If you're new to a field, I think you have to do something different; you have to make the customers' lives easier in some way.”

From your journey building Mumsnet, what key lessons can other businesses take away?

“Mumsnet, in many ways, was founded at completely the wrong time. We came about five or six years before Twitter and Facebook, and the business model wasn't ready for the business.

“We had to go very slowly on a shoestring budget, build the community by word of mouth, and wait for the business model to materialise.

“We built a very large community before we could really generate any revenue, and I think there's a lesson in that. If I had raised a lot of money and hired a lot of people, it would have been just at the time of the dot-com crash, and I would have had to fire a lot of people. We probably would have gone out of business.

“I think the lesson is that you need to adapt the pace at which you go according to the market. Then, when the time is right, you can go all guns blazing, raise money, hire people, and really go for growth.

“But growth isn't always the right model. Sometimes the right model is simple: build your brand, build your trust, and wait for the economics to come right for you.”

If you could offer your younger self a single piece of advice, what would it be?

“Well, the sensible piece of advice I'd give is don't listen to the naysayers and have a bit more self-confidence. Don't second-guess yourself too much, basically.

“My other piece of advice, which I think is almost equally important, is to always wear trainers. It means if you're late for meetings, you can run, get there on time, save a fortune on gym membership, and you won't ruin your feet!”