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The Mama Ladder®

@themamaladder

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💸 Helping moms build million-dollar businesses while being there for your babies
❤️ Mom, 4 kids
🪜 Business owner, 10 years
🖐🏿🖐🏻Hostess, @highfivegrant

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❤️ WE NEED YOUR VOTES! 🎪

We’ve worked so hard to make Acro Gravity a place where kids, adults, families, and professional performers can come together, challenge themselves, and grow through circus arts.

Whether you’re trying something new for the first time or training to take your skills to the next level, there’s a place for you here! ❤️

And we want to keep opening those doors to more people!

We’re finalists for the $10,000 High Five Grant, and your vote can help us make that happen!

🙏 PLEASE VOTE through the LINK IN OUR BIO! Every vote counts, and sharing this with your friends and family means so much to us!

Thank you for being part of what we’re building! ❤️🎪

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It honestly helped me stand out to have my little guy with me at this conference. That's not why I brought him, but I had conversations with potential clients and was able to schedule future calls with them while learning about cool new technology.

And my little guy had a blast. For him, it was a special field trip with Mom. The booths at conferences, with all of their giveaways and candy, are like trick-or-treating! 🎃

I want to see it normalized for moms to be welcomed into business rooms with their children when that's the only option they have.

✨️We do not need to apologize for our most important role and the VIPs of our lives.✨️

Thank you to @biohiveutah for being so welcoming to your littlest attendee. 🙌🚀

We will be announcing the winner of the $10,000 High Five grant on Monday! (Go vote for your favorite mom-owned company at highfivegrant (dot) com.)

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Big news!! Dirty Birdy has been selected as a High Five Grant finalist!

As a mom of two little boys, building a business while raising a family has been one heck of an adventure. Being recognized alongside so many incredible women and businesses means more than I can put into words.

The winner is partly chosen by public vote, so that’s where we need your help.❤️It takes 10 seconds, we’d be SO grateful for your vote. Link in our bio!🗳️

A huge thank you to @highfivegrant, @themamaladder, & @usbank for creating opportunities like this and supporting moms who are chasing big dreams!

Let’s do this!!!

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I got a call a few months ago on a day I was feeling down as a business owner. The timing could not have been better.

"This is the best part of my job," said Nancy from @WeberStateAlumni. "You are one of our 2026 Weber Salutes honorees."

I would never have guessed I'd be an Outstanding Young Alumni Honoree, but this surprise has meant so much. We are 12 out of 138,000+ living alumni. Wow. What an honor and joy.

I don't host the High Five Grant for attention for myself. I host it because I truly believe in the potential of women, especially mothers who are building companies while raising kids.

Tomorrow we're announcing our 2026 @highfivegrant finalists.

While I do not have a fancy photo shoot or a football game to offer you, you will get a GRANT to grow your business! And I hope you will come away from your High Five Grant experience ***believing in yourself even more*** and knowing that you have so much potential.

(And you get a @minkycouture blanket! YES!)

Thank you to @weberstate and @weberstatealumni for a spectacular Weber Salutes experience. 💜🫶🏼

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MEET THE JUDGE!🖐🏽🖐🏻🖐🏿

@shopbirdieblue founder #highfivegrant alum first caught our attention when she described her ideal customer as “fellow geriatric millennial moms who live in JOY, understand the importance of prioritizing her own adventures for her overall wellbeing, and believe in being a force for good.”

Since finishing as our second runner-up in 2023, Kate’s ambition, focus, and JOY has resulted grants, awards, speaking invitations, press, and increased revenue.

We’re grateful to have her in our High Five Grant family, and thrilled with the insightful pragmatism she brings to our judging panel.

Bio: Kate Harvey is the founder and CEO of BirdieBlue, a circular manufacturing company that transforms retired outdoor gear into premium bags while creating flexible manufacturing jobs for women. Since launching the company in 2022, she has partnered with leading outdoor brands, diverted more than 20,000 pieces of gear from landfills, and built a purpose-driven business recognized with a 2026 Tory Burch Foundation Fellowship. Kate has since earned more than $70,000 in national grant competitions, giving her firsthand insight into what it takes to secure competitive funding and scale a mission-driven business.

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We came. We shared. Went home with a vulnerability hangover, but I'm grateful to be part of the mental health panel at the @utsmbsummitexpo.

This is Crystalee, CEO of @commacopywriters.

On Wednesday we shared 45 minutes of honest, raw conversation on mental health. I commend our panelists for truly delivering on "honest talk." I learned a lot from their hard-earned wisdom and personal solutions on how they work on their mental health:

@nickstagge from @_grounded_co : "We are ultimately each responsible for our own mental health. It's up to us."

He believes creativity is the opposite of depression and leans into creating for the joy of it when he needs a boost.

@versatileimage : Writes letters to God for relief in times when she needs help and often writes poetry.

@johnm00re of @hearebrotherhood : A closet poet (we wanna hear it!) but also teaches intentional breathing to get back to being present.

I shared about using Post-It notes to make a "worry wall" when my brain feels overloaded, and the relief of pulling literal weeds when my business problems get bigger than I can handle. Also, sleep deprivation is a huge hit to mental capacity, processing, and healing. I say the new SaaS = Sleep as a Strategy.

Thank you to Jimmy Choi for bringing a community of 170 booths and 1,500 attendees together! You radiate humble, welcoming leadership, and I'm amazed you showed up after getting in a car crash that morning. Truly committed!

And shout out to Scott at @sandiablochurros 🙌

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MEET THE JUDGE! 🖐🏿🖐🏻🖐🏽We are so grateful to have Xingcheng Hua as a 2026 #highfivegrant judge.

X has been incredibly engaged and supportive since throughout this year’s grant, and he’s been a great champion of our applicants.

Bio:

As a strategic business leader with more than 20 years of experience helping companies grow through strategy, operational excellence, fundraising, and mergers and acquisitions, X’s career spans startups, high-growth SaaS companies, and Fortune 100 organizations across multiple industries and international markets.

X is passionate about helping leaders unlock their potential and successfully navigate periods of growth and change. Having built companies from the ground up, guided rapid expansion, and led complex business transformations, he brings a unique perspective on what it takes to scale successfully.

As a High Five Grant judge, X evaluates businesses through the lens of strategy, execution, and long-term growth potential, identifying founders with the vision, adaptability, and leadership to build enduring companies.

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Peek at my old journal! The first year of the @highfivegrant in 2018, we gave one $5,000 grant.

Eight years later, we are giving $22,500.

After October 2026, our total will be $138,000 in grants. 💰✨️

I honestly wish that I could give a grant to every applicant. I don't have the funds for that, but I hope that every mom who has applied this year walks away with more confidence.

Believe in yourself and what you're building in your business. 🙌 High fives!

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Because with food allergens and restrictions, everyone should feel included. This is my “why” for what I do for all of you!💚 #highfivegrant @usbank @highfivegrant

I just applied for a mom-preneur grant. I want to bring allergen friendly baking to the Treasure Valley where it includes most allergens and restrictions so anyone can enjoy!

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This week @usbank hosted my three boys + other kids in our neighborhood for a Banking Basics class, then gave them a tour of the branch.

It was adorable. The bankers taught the boys about checking accounts, savings accounts, and credit cards. They also had a lot of patience with silliness and lots of questions.

Best kids quotes of the day:

"If I save enough money, can I buy a roller coaster?" 🎢

"Can you give us a real one?" (referring to credit cards) 🤑

"Could I buy 238 pizzas?" 🍕

I have worked with five different banks in 10 years as an entrepreneur, and @usbank has been the very most supportive. They truly show up for moms in business.🖐🏿🖐🏻🖐🏽

They've been a title sponsor of the #HighFiveGrant for two years in a row. They offer a free meeting room space in two locations in Utah where I live, and they have a fantastic rate for their high-yield savings, which means that my business is getting paid to have savings set aside.

I literally opened a new account with them in 2025 because of how supportive they've been and how easy it is to work with them.

Are you switching to @usbank because of the High Five Grant? If so, let us know. We'd love to share your story with our sponsor and feature you in a future Reel!

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