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The idea for Juno House was conceived during the first maternity leave of Founder & CEO Natalie Batlle, as she experienced her professional career and motherhood anew. As all working mothers know, new milestones require creative and often costly support formats, constant juggling and rescheduling. Childcare responsibilities still are mostly shouldered by mothers. The learning curve remains steep, despite women having entered the workforce over a century ago. How can such transitions be better streamlined and simplified for working women and working mothers?
Batlle brainstormed ideas and reached out to her own network, synthesizing a collaborative space that served to engage women’s personal and professional development, collaboration and network. The result: Juno House, Barcelona’s first members club designed by and for women. With an emphasis on holistic well-being and professional development, Juno House opened its doors in April 2022, “bringing it all” under one chic roof.
In a rare experience writing on location, I’m editing in one of Juno House’s many comfortable, state-of-the-art work spaces, surrounded by other women entrepreneurs. Yes, this particular hive of activity may not be exactly what Virginia Woolf sought nearly a century ago, but if women are interested in working solo in a room of their own, they simply choose from a variety of individual working spaces, recording studios, conference spaces or even in Little Juno, an innovative coworking-with-children option. Juno House, a “playground for modern women,” caters to a variety of a women’s needs, ranging from coworking to business/ social networking to nutrition /wellness to curated events.
An unavoidable fact: women need to support each other in business and our needs vary with each and every personal and work milestone. Juno House, a certified B Corp, has the exciting potential to serve many of these dynamic needs under “one chic roof.” And yes, men are welcome at Juno House as guests. “During lunch and events especially we see a lot of men, and we love the balance of energy,” clarified Batlle. “Juno House doesn’t close the door on anyone.”
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Batlle’s experience focused on strategic partnerships, communications, business development, brand building and events management for B2B SaaS companies and startups in the US and Spain. A mother of two, she remains a passionate entrepreneur and brand consultant in the midst of her current professional reinvention in Barcelona. Now she and her Juno House founding team Liana Grieg and Eva Vila-Massanas focus on W2W productivity, collaboration and family/life balance.
Through Juno House Co-Founder Liana Grieg, Founder & CEO Natalie Batlle and Advisor & Board Member Eva Vila-Massanas are uniting and inspiring local and international women who are passionate about their careers and overall impact.
Recently selected as one of Las Top 100 Mujeres Líderes, Batlle remains committed to Barcelona’s post-COVID Renaissance. I had the pleasure to connect with Natalie via email to learn more about her views on resilience, W2W, leadership, collaboration and entrepreneurship. Our interview follows.
EKMH: What past experiences, including mentors, have not only helped you grow as a passionate entrepreneur and brand consultant, but also led to your founding and launching Juno House?
Natalie Batlle: Juno House wouldn’t be possible without the support of our madrinas or “godmothers” in Spanish. These women were instrumental in helping us get to where we are today. I remember taking meetings at the Gallery Hotel with a number of mentors, even before we had investors. Their knowhow and passion for our concept helped to develop our idea into a sustainable business model.
EKMH: When reflecting upon your initial career expectations versus its actual progression, what most surprises you? How has your international work experience shaped you as a leader?
Natalie Batlle: My experience in New York and San Francisco, and for the last 10 years working across EMEA, has certainly shaped my role as an entrepreneur. I accumulated experiences & ideas from these different cities to create the concept behind Juno House, while at the same time becoming a better leader attuned to the needs of different cultures & segment groups.
EKMH: Which leadership qualities are invaluable as an entrepreneur and founder?
Natalie Batlle: Resilience, clear vision & a sense of humor!
EKMH: Please share some lessons learned from your most incredible failure(s) and/ or most significant breakthrough(s).
Natalie Batlle: The last six months have been full of ups and downs. Being in business takes incredible resilience and we are very proud of achieving organic growth. Now we need to work on internal processes to ensure that we can scale Juno House & take the concept to new cities. Making mistakes is part of the game, it’s how we bounce back from failures that shapes our future as leaders.
EKMH: Juno House Club, Barcelona’s first members’ club by and for women, emphasizes W2W collaboration, innovation and well-being. What have you witnessed at Juno House that reiterates the importance of your mission and the future of work?
Natalie Batlle: The philosophy of Juno House is based on the principle of collaboration over competition. We were very clear from the beginning that we wanted to create a club that would go beyond and create a collaborative and diverse community of women, a community of empowered women who help and collaborate with each other and make things happen. We want to foster collaboration through the Woman-to-Woman concept, which defines us.
In fact, six months after opening the club we’re very proud to see how Juno House has grown and evolved. We have more than a dozen projects that have been launched thanks to the synergies and the philosophy of collaboration of Juno House as well as our community groups, small groups created by members working on different topics.
When the babysitter cancels last minute, the Little Juno space gives working mothers optionality to be productive while their children focus on their own projects.
EKMH: What’s your plan for growth? When will we be celebrating more Juno House openings across the globe?
Natalie Batlle: Now we want to see how the first Juno House in Barcelona evolves. We have had very good feedback from a strong community of members and partners helping us achieve our goals and shaping our future. Our goal is to grow and open more Juno Houses in Europe. We would love to be in cities like Milan, Lisbon or Madrid for example. Let’s go!
EKMH: What specific steps can be taken to effect positive, inclusive change more rapidly?
Natalie Batlle: Women have always built natural support channels for one another, at Juno House our driving value is collaboration versus competition. Juno House was born to be a collaborative space. Our mission is to create a diverse community of women to create business synergies. Every week we organize different events so that members can get to know each other. We also organize the Networking Lunch once a week, designed to create and foster new connections between members.
EKMH: And finally, which podcasts top your recommended list?
Natalie Batlle: I am a big fan of podcasts! I usually listen to the BBC World news podcast in the morning, NY Times’ The Daily, just discovered Sweet Bobby and was a fan of Call your Girlfriend before it ended. I am open to new recommendations! We hope to launch our own Juno Podcast Series very soon!
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*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this series are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.