MNHQ here - Justine Roberts, Mumsnet founder, on BBC Ideas

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hi,

We thought you might be interested to watch an interview with JustineMumsnet - about wearing trainers to work and how Mumsnet was born out of a mistaken holiday.

You can watch the video here. We hope you’ll like it - let us know what you think.

Thanks
MNHQ

I think that it's very good. It's warm and personal. Justine comes across natural and approachable, like any other mum or business woman that one would like to meet and talk to.

Nice one.

Although i'm not sure that women can really get away with trainers for meetings or work just yet. I can't wear my converses with the crocodile mouth to work

@BojanaMumsnet

I thought you might be interested to know how the SN community is being pushed out and ignored by MNHQ, the 'tech', and the 'big cheeses'. We have been voicing a very simple issue for months, and responses vary between 'you aren't the priority', 'oh yeah we're looking at that right now', and complete ignorance.

So no, I'm not particularly interested in Justine's trainers.

Trainers? Trainers?

Gordon Bennett 👟

What's the SN community ?

eloisesparkle. 'SN community' means people, families and children with Special Needs.

Stereotypical and superficial. What a pity. Agree about trainers, however.

@CrochetBelle

What is the simple issue? I've seen you crop up over a number of threads saying this but never saying what the request is?

Can you elaborate in brief (not hijack thread)

So she has enough time to waffle on about trainers but not deal with the shit storm of issues going on in her online community/her income makers.... Nice. Guess we know what her priorities are, what a useless waste of time.

Dim is the best description taken of women's view of fluff pieces while women's rights are being rolled back and women are being banned for speaking truth to power.

It wasn't a fluff piece at all. Disingenuous from some of the comments on here. Mumsnet isn't responsible for all individual agendas. It's a very broad church

Weirdly harsh responses here!

I thought it was excellent. I am fascinated by Mumsnet, Justine and other women like her who game-change. Love that she wears trainers, love that she is not doing the pencil skirt and red lippy thing. I really hold on to that.

I would love to know more about the Actual Mistakes that Justine or Mumsnet has made. Clearly, ‘a holiday’ is not one of them. Poor choice of employees; financing; control; marketing - that would be interesting and educational.

Mumsnet, your office looks so airy.

Many of the women here are more concerned about security since Emma the intern and the security breach than what kind of shoes they wear in the office.

More outgoings on childcare than income? No
Lots of background support?
Probably.
Justine it's patronising.
You wear trainers and don't wear makeup
Try doing it completely alone.
You made money out of the less privileged.

@Monty27 You made money out of the less privileged

What? The ‘less privileged’ being massive adbuyers and private equity funds? Are you for real?

Mumsnet is absolutely there for people who feel alone. That’s the point: 24/7 advice and chit chat. For free.

People want the moon on a stick and then to be rude to the folks that gave them it.

Have just watched it. The trainers thing is a bit weird, innit? Of all the things to pick? It's a pity the editor chose such an inane point as the headline of the piece.

I work in an office environment. There are lots of women. Plenty of us wear trainers. Plenty of us don't. It's not really, um, a thing. Because, weirdly, our choice of footwear does not affect in any way the quality of the work we produce.

I really liked it.

It’s a bit off of posters to expect her to talk about issues such as trans, SN etc because that wasn’t the focus of the piece. The focus was how to start up your own business.

And she’s right about the trainers. It wasn’t inane fashion advice but a feminist-laced don’t totter about trying to look pretty when men don’t give a fuck advice.

I really hope that guy who didn’t invest in her is kicking himself now.

Big Fat Star for QuoadUltra's post.

And thank you Justine and your friend for providing us with Mumsnet as a place to come to 24/7 for help,advice, support and bloody great laughs at times

I liked it too!
The series seems to be about "ideas" so I guess she picked "trainers" as one aspect of how women can make the decision to be comfortable in their working style.
Justine and Carrie really are trailblazers IMO. There is nothing like Mumsnet out there (yes yes, there is the Other Site but everyone knows it's a bit shite and only for huns )

And I can vouch that MNHQ is indeed a lovely airy office - visited once a few years ago and met Carrie (Justine was out, breaking in her new trainers, no doubt )

Well I think that anyone can wear trainers, don't you? I think it's nice to have principles but important to hang onto to one's morals. Is everything up for sale?

QuoadUltra I am talking about some members not the ads people.
Anyway it must have sounded negative to you as despite what you may have read I like Mumsnet very much.

I thought everyone using the site understood that we are the product on offer to the advertisers, just as it is with television, radio, and Facebook.
It is hard to care about footwear when so many women have left this site over security concerns. I do not think it unreasonable to have expected that to be an important part of an interview about starting a business.

Please tell me what happened re Emma the intern.
I have googled it and now know posters details were posted on Twitter. Is that correct ?