Mush, a social app for UK mums, has received a £2m cash injection in a round led by early-stage investor Octopus Ventures.
Launched in 2016 by Sarah Hesz and Katie Massie-Taylor, Mush has allegedly been downloaded by 300,000 mums in the UK and Australia.
The co-founders met by chance in a playground with their four young children and came up with the idea to launch the app in an attempt to help other women easily find and connect with local mothers.
Today’s news comes after the firm’s research highlights how 80% of new mums struggle with loneliness. Additionally, recent figures also show that one in seven mothers suffer from post-natal depression (with 43% of those affected crediting peer support as a plausible solution).
Katie Massie-Taylor, co-founder, commented: “Mush was launched to make sure that no mum feels alone in those crazy days of becoming a parent.
“Our platform has the power to help address taboo topics like loneliness, post-natal depression and low self-esteem that is felt by hundreds of thousands of women across the UK. We see first hand the voracious appetite from millennial mothers for more human interaction and the desire to build a real life community amongst them, to celebrate the highs and the lows of being a mum.
“Since launching 18 months ago, Mush has evolved from a basic ‘dating app’ to a fully fledged support and advice network for mums. We are excited about how this recent investment will enable us to further develop Mush’s feature set to help more mums across the UK and beyond.”
Mush was supported by the Heads Together campaign last year for its work to help alleviate maternal ill health. Its mission to bring mums together has also been supported by HRH Duchess of Cambridge.
Eyal Rabinovich, Octopus Ventures, explained why he backed the company: “At a time when trust in social media has plummeted and the big players have become impersonal, Mush is bringing purpose back and engaging real people in a way that could shape the future of social media. We admire Mush’s determination and impact in tackling widespread issues faced by mothers.”
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