Jess Jacobs joined Coterie in 2021 as SVP of Brand. She became CEO, and then led the acquisition to Mammoth Brands in a billion-dollar deal, all of it working from home, with two young girls and a third on the way.

I've been a Coterie customer since almost the beginning. They were one of the first products I ever wrote about on New Modern Mom, six years ago.

So I wanted the parts nobody puts in the press release. How the household actually runs. Who's the default parent. What she's saying no to right now. And the answer that reframed the whole conversation for me: when I asked where she keeps track of it all, she said, "I absolutely should have better systems and processes in place at home. But I just don't."

She's not failing at it. She decided it wasn't worth optimizing, and she runs exactly one thing at home with total discipline. It's the same skill that made her a CEO.

• How a creative director becomes a CEO, and what she had to learn on the way
• Why "no CEO is perfect at, nor has a background in, every single thing they oversee" and how to lead from that
• What trust actually looks like on a CEO's calendar (hint: fewer meetings)
• Building career visibility and getting promoted while working remotely and why that burden isn't the employee's alone
• The division of labor she and her husband use, and her views on divide and conquer
• Childcare, the deep bench, and asking for help without apology
• How to decide what to say no to, in a season where everything looks like an opportunity
• The mental load, and what she deliberately leaves unoptimized

If you're heading back to work after maternity leave, trying to get promoted from a home office, or wondering why splitting the chores with your partner still leaves you exhausted, this one's for you.

By the way… school's back, which means the mental load just doubled overnight.

So, on the topic of doing it all: outside of childcare, the budget line I'd protect the hardest is my house manager. She comes daily. Cleaning, Laundry, meal prep, organizing — she makes my house feel calm despite the chaos in my days.

Sage Haus does the sourcing and vetting to find your perfect house manager. Use code NEWMODERNMOM for $100 off matching. Book a free 30-minute info call now at sagehaus.com/newmodernmom.

Follow Jess on LinkedIn here.

And if Coterie diapers are something you’ve been considering, this is your sign to try them now. NEWMODERNMOM takes 20% off.

Follow Barbara:

• On Instagram here
• On LinkedIn here
• On Substack here

The New Modern Mom podcast is produced in partnership with Alexandra Alquiza and Emily Roberts.

(00:00) On this episode

(00:45) Meet Jess Jacobs, CEO of Coterie

(02:08) SVP of Brand to CEO to a billion-dollar acquisition

(04:00) The confidence to say no

(07:00) What was new in the CEO seat

(09:00) What trust looks like on her calendar

(11:00) Career growth while working from home

(14:00) How the household actually runs

(16:28) Where she keeps track of it all at home

(19:00) The default parent and the case against divide and conquer

(20:15) What she is intentionally not doing right now

(21:30) Her professional superpower at work and at home