Meet Maddy – Enjoying Maternity Leave

More than half of our company is now made up of women! Many of them occupy our most senior positions too. We’ll be sharing some of their stories here. We hope they inspire you as much as they inspire us.
Insight Timer is the top free meditation app on iOS and Android.
Insight Timer is the top free meditation app on iOS and Android.

“I grew up in Sydney Australia in a home filled with music, art, and food simmering in the kitchen. From the beginning my parents instilled a sense of equality in me and my sister; they worked tirelessly to give us a great education and encouraged us to lead big, exciting lives.

I lost my Mum when I was 24. She was 56. We were so close. She was my home in every sense; her death left me anchorless. After she died I was determined to make my life meaningful so I moved to Paris and rented a 15sqm apartment; it’s all I could afford. Ordering coffee one day I met Nicho Plowman. He and his brother Christopher had just purchased Insight Timer. I was so inspired by their vision that I came straight out and asked for a job. It was the most fortuitous encounter of my life.

Christopher’s requirements were short and sharp; one thousand teachers on the app as soon as possible; no resources, no fuss. I sent twenty emails on my first day, and then twenty more every day after that. For three years I sent over twenty thousand emails and contacted every meditation teacher on the internet! There aren’t many companies who trust you to work on transformative projects with the autonomy to do it your way. Insight Timer does; it’s scary, exhilarating and career-defining all at the same time. And it works. Today there are ten thousand teachers on Insight Timer; which fills me with pride.

Losing Mum at such a young age left me longing to become one myself. Career is important, but building a family is equally so too. At Insight Timer you get to do both. I now have two beautiful daughters; two year old Evie, and two week old Lily. With both pregnancies I received six months paid maternity leave and endless flexibility; especially helpful during COVID. Like Christopher always says, family comes first. And so the chance to focus entirely on my girls without worrying about my career is a rare privilege, one that is extended to all women at Insight Timer. I’m so proud to work for a company that supports women in this way; we can and should be able to have it all.

To me, this is the essence of equality and it’s what I want for Evie and Lily.”

​#womensequalityday

Meditation. Free.
Always.