During the "Female Founders Conference", an all-female conference organized by Y Combinator, Elena Brandt, one of the many attendants, was asked to leave a talk. The reason? Her 6-month baby was cooing, as all babies do. The icing on the cake? The talk in question was about nursing and pregnancy while growing a business.
After a 6-hour flight from Florida to San Francisco, Elena was excited about what she described as a "one in a lifetime" opportunity. "Wondering if baby Darwin will make any baby friends at the event," said Brandt.
Unfortunately, this would not end up happening. While listening to Tracy Young and rocking baby Darwin in his stroller, a woman approached Brandt. "Would you like to stroll your baby outside? I want people to get the full experience out of this conference," was reportedly the statement said by the woman. She was later identified as Y Combinator partner Surbhi Sarna.
Social Media Back And Forth
After posting said experience on LinkedIn, more than 12 thousand people engaged with her story. Whether the partner that invited her to leave the talk expressed YC's position, she stated: "I think, as a conference organizer and a person from a somewhat older generation, she felt an urge to mom-shame me, and she went with it, without realizing how ridiculous it was in this context."
"Unbelievable, but in modern California, a woman doesn't feel comfortable coming to a startup event with a breastfed baby," added Brandt. She also mentioned she met with other moms at the conference who left their babies at home.
Afterward, Surbhi Sarna blocked Brandt on LinkedIn and posted her side of the story: "She stayed for the entire conference - until the very end, and not once was she asked to leave by anyone, let alone myself."
Finally, Surbhi contacted Elena Brandt to apologize in a private email. Brandt said: "While we disagree on details of the incident, for me, the case is closed. Let's call it a semi-happy ending." She concluded: "We have a long journey ahead before the society changes. But we can start small. We can embrace women in their entirety, as professionals and mothers at the same time."
