Episode #42
A Single Mom Who Rewrote Her Story And How You Can Too - Elise Tan| Ep 42
There's a version of "having it all" that doesn't usually make it into anyone's bio. For Elise Tan, that version includes a month in hospital for postpartum depression, a marriage counselling couldn't save, and the Tuesdays her daughter spent with her father — nights she got through however she could, including, for a while, with alcohol. She's also the Director-turned-founder behind two of the region's most recognisable communities: Asia Startup Network - 5,000 startups, investors, and ecosystem partners strong, and Remarkable Women Asia , a growing network of 1,000 women in tech and entrepreneurship. Before that, she spent years as Director at Vertex Ventures. None of it happened in the tidy order a highlight reel would suggest. She didn't have the answers — she just refused to stay stuck. What we get into: Why she tried to score 100 at motherhood and what it cost her body How her daughter became her mirror, reflecting back both the good and the parts she is still working on Why she calls divorce a pointless grief and what it actually takes to move through it The Tuesday nights her daughter left and what she reached for to fill the silence ✍️ How journaling 50 dates over four years helped her finally understand what she was actually looking for Why she stopped believing the end justifies the means and what motherhood taught her about kindness over being right Why she no longer believes in having it all at the same time and what she thinks we should be asking instead —----- CONNECT WITH ELISE AND HER COMMUNITIES LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisetanyl/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gratitude_devotions/ Asia Startup Network: https://www.asiastartupnetwork.com/ Remarkable Women Asia: http://www.remarkablewomen.asia/ Positive Intelligence Saboteur Assessment: https://positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs/ —----- Chapters 00:00 What Did a Month in Hospital Teach Her 00:59 Introduction 03:25 When Everything Fell Apart at Once 09:43 How Did She Find Her Way Back 20:03 How Did Asia Startup Network Begin 23:13 Can Women Really Access Capital in Asia 26:18 Why Did She Build a Community Just for Women 28:21 What Does It Mean to Rewrite Your Story 35:36 What Dating After Divorce Really Looks Like —----- Watch more: Lessons From 5,000 Moms | Liying Tay, Founder of Crunchmoms | Ep 41 - https://youtu.be/bamcpRZT5pU?si=EKvURLeJ36r50W0L —----- Follow Make It Work! https://linktr.ee/makeitwork.podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Make-It-Work/61566472637714/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-it-work/id1701442085 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/78ulY0B27nYxGB6jPCABPI?si=abfc48d037d943be Email: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com Join our free Mommas Making It Work WhatsApp community: https://bit.ly/MIWcommunity —----- ➤➤ Like the video and subscribe for more honest conversations with working moms across Asia! Hit the bell so you never miss an episode, and share with a mom who needs to hear this. Drop a comment, we read every single one. #FemaleFounbers #SingaporeMoms #RemarkableWomenAsia #AsiaStartupNetwork #MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #SingleMom #MomGuilt #PostpartumDepression #FemaleFounder
