For six weeks, Elizabeth Spiers was terrified by the possibility that any day could be her last. When the longtime writer, editor, and publisher was on maternity leave with her newborn son this past summer, her doctor diagnosed her with a brain aneurism.
“I walked around effectively thinking to myself, ‘There’s a bomb in my brain,’” says Spiers, who has led publications ranging from Gawker to the New York Observer. “It was a horrifying experience. But it reinforced the reality that we all make particular choices about how we spend time, and those choices are important.”
Spiers later found out it was a false alarm, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that her time was limited. She felt compelled to launch her own online publication for self-starters called Everup, which debuts November 16. Focusing on creativity, productivity, and wellness, it’s a subsidiary of Flavorpill, where Spiers serves as editorial director.
Through profiles of interesting characters, narratives about personal challenges, how-to stories on productivity, and deep-dive explorations into the latest trends and fads, Spiers hopes to connect with readers in meaningful ways.
“I hope Everup lets people sit down and think about what they want in their lives and reexamine their values, because we don’t know how much time we have,” Spiers says.
In her day-to-day life, Spiers has come to terms with the reality that she’s a full-time mom and a full-time founder. In an industry where long hours in the office are routine and happy hours build camaraderie, she knows she has to make a choice.
“I noticed that the startup culture rewards face time and out-of-office bonding—things people with kids can’t necessarily do,” Spiers says. “You have to accept that no decision you make is going to be acceptable to everyone. When you come to terms with that and you learn to make decisions that are best for you and your family, it’s a lot easier.”
Spiers says becoming a mom has made her a more efficient founder. The secret to meeting her deadlines while caring for her family is to work in sprints and take breaks, Spiers says. She knows she can’t sit down for more than an hour at a time, so she strategizes her day. Her meetings are spread out so that she’ll be on her feet.
“Having a kid makes you more productive because there’s no option of doing it later,” Spiers says. “You can’t say, ‘I’ll come in on the weekend.’ Childcare is expensive.”
Photo credit: Emanuel Hahn