Mothers Who Build

Replit co-founder and Head of Design Haya Odeh says that even after marriage and childbirth, she has been asked countless times "why are you still working," but for her, work is essential, and motherhood did not diminish that drive.

As the first mother at Replit, she pushed through pregnancy, childcare, and the COVID period amid a gap in caregiving support, and that experience became the catalyst for designing maternity leave, parental leave, and caregiving support to actually fit real needs.

Motherhood also shaped her leadership. Her instinct for reading people and the atmosphere, and for spotting those who don't fit the culture, has grown sharper, and she now openly embraces being called "the mom of the company." She reflects that the grit she has isn't something she originally possessed but a strength passed down from her mother and grandmother, and that she wants to leave something behind from what she received from her Middle Eastern heritage.

She emphasizes that after having a child, you can draw out more than you lose. Thanks to AI and new tools, she believes people can now build real products during nap time or spare moments without a CS degree, and that barriers of credentials, geography, and time keep coming down.

She also points out that stay-at-home parenting and caregiving labor should be clearly recognized as work. Like the women in Lagos, Amman, Cairo, and São Paulo who build with nothing more than an idea and a phone, this trend is growing, and Replit should be ready to welcome them first.

• Rebecca built a legal app to help resolve her divorce.
• Kelly built a spelling app for her child.
• Rachael Fuller signed her contract a week before learning she was pregnant with her second child, worked late into her third trimester, and led a major product acquisition, while the company keeps 5 PM to 8 PM as family time.