Cambridge Start Up Offers Women an Online Marketplace

Just over a year ago, three area moms got together and created a business with the idea that mothers could turn their ideas, skills, and passions into flexible businesses that fit in their lives.

Lexington resident and CEO Sharon Kan, Somerville resident and Jess Petersen and Cambridge CTO Margaret McKenna are all successful business women with families at home. Kan cofounded the Women Innovating Now Lab at Babson and sold her last startup Tikatok to Barnes & Noble), Petersen was an early employee at Carbonite and most recently led product at Hopper, and McKenna spent over four years at Runkeeper, and was most recently as VP of Platforms.

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Last summer, the trio got together to lauch Pepperlane. Based out of East Cambridge, the site launched earlier this year and helps mothers quickly get their businesses out into the world and in front of customers.

It provides a simple, professional website that can be completed in an hour and a built-in community that’s excited to support mother-owned businesses.

Currently, there are more than 55 different types of services are sold on Pepperlane, from grief counseling to meal prep to marketing consulting. Additionally, the Pepperlane team joined with five businesses from Medford, Cambridge, Arlington, and Belmont, to create their first-ever Mothers’ Self-Care Giveaway.

“We believe mothers can play a huge role in their local economies, given the right tools and the confidence to know they can start their own micro-businesses,” says CEO and co-founder Sharon Kan. “The supportive community on Pepperlane understands what it means to be a mother and a business owner.”

This week, we caught up with one of the many women using the site to launch their own businesses. Ashlee Thompson is a Cambridge resident and recently started a meal prepping service on Pepperlane. You can find the store here.

How did you first hear of and get involved with Pepperlane?

I first heard about Pepperlane through some of my friends who live in Lexington. They had used Pepperlane for several different kinds of services and they thought it would be a great place for me.

Describe your business and what inspired you to start it?

I offer a meal prepping service and my journey here was an odd one. Stuck in a job I couldn't stand, I started to teach myself how to cook and took photos of everything that I made; I used those photos to get a job as a private chef. During my time as a private chef I grew not only as a chef but also as a baker. The life of a private chef was great, but living three hours from a city and a three-hour plane ride from so many friends and my boyfriend was rough for me, so I decided that it was time to move to Boston where all these people and opportunities were waiting for me. Upon coming to Boston I continued to do my weekly ritual of meal prepping for myself but noticed that my boyfriend, roommates, and friends were in awe with what I could prepare for a week in a few hours. When my roommate was diagnosed with breast cancer she became my first client and ever since then she has helped me spread the word of my meal prepping service.

To promote Pepperlane, a few businesses are giving away from free items.What are the free offers you're putting up?

I am offering 12 home-cooked meals and a loaf of artisan bread.

Tell us about your connection to Cambridge.

I first came to Boston on vacation in 2015; I was here for three hours and decided that I needed to move here. For the next year I went back and forth between my home in Colorado and Boston several times; combined I spent about 16 weeks here in Boston. The time spent here was used to take cooking classes, make friends, finding living arrangements, date nights with a great guy who later became my boyfriend, and just doing anything I could to make the move as easy as possible. I moved to the Boston area in January of this year and have made the most out of my time here in the city. I have gotten involved in different groups such as; CAST (Cambridge Area Stronger Together), Social Boston Sports, Yoga Around Town, and Kick It by Eliza.

What does it mean to start and operate your own business?

I am currently finishing my Bachelors in Business Management with a certificate in small business and entrepreneurship so it means a lot to already be out here running a small business. I am thankful to Pepperlane for helping me along the way.

Courtesy Photo / Pepperlane