This year marks my company’s five year anniversary. As the co-founder of a social company built to help more people overcome the distress and isolation of hearing loss, I’ve been reflecting on a path that has been both joyous and tough.  

The Inspiration

As many of you know, when I was a young child, my father started to lose his hearing.  I didn’t recognise a problem; he was just my Dad. We often had to repeat things, and my Mum talked in a fairly loud voice to him.  That’s just how it was:  I didn’t know anything else.

But by the time I was in my mid- teens,  I realised the extent  of his difficulties and struggles in his career as an ambitious and very bright engineer.  I realised too that it was also tough for my mother. 

Hearing aids didn’t work very well back then –  indeed, not until quite recently have we really made good progress.  My father survived professionally by a combination of using just a little bit of hearing, his eyes and his brain.  He must have had to concentrate very hard.  In the end he gave up his senior engineering job, and took up a rather solitary life chartering out boats, where he was locally known as “Saunders of the River”.

I was determined to have a career helping as many people as possible to hear better.  I had no idea how I was going to do this, but I took my father’s advice and did a science degree.  Later, armed with a background in science, audiology and biomedical engineering, I was ready to make a difference.  

The Joyous Part

My journey has involved many projects along the way.  I started with humble beginnings as an assistant in a school for deaf children; I have led a team that designed a new electrode for the bionic ear; I co-produced a play about one girl’s experience of losing her hearing in childhood; and I co-founded a company for a University that lead me to supplying smart hearing aid technology to hearing aid companies all round the world.  I found I didn’t like the business models in the hearing aid industry, or the high prices charged to people with hearing loss.  My business partner, Professor Peter Blamey, and I knew we could deliver better hearing at a lower price. We knew we could do it better and fairer.

Today,  I co-own and lead a company that provides low priced, leading edge, top of the range hearing aids to people all over the world. Blamey Saunders hears supplies the supporting audiology services over the Internet, using a smart system that’s included with the hearing aids. If you have a moment, watch where I explain a bit more about the products I’ve helped develop to assist people to have better lives through better hearing.

The Rough Part

Being an entrepreneur in technology takes long working hours and persistence, a journey that I have loved.  The downside has been the amount of time that I spent away from my four lovely children who are now in their early twenties – late nights with technology teams, long trips away.

Left to right: Me, my oldest daughter Amy, my youngest son Mark, and my husband John.

But my children are very fine young people, and one even works for me.  I don’t suffer the feelings of guilt that besets us mothers at every opportunity. My children were safely and lovingly cared for. My husband took over the raising of our children, which was not common or easy 15 years ago – dads were not warmly welcomed at ballet competitions, and I was criticised by schools for never being seen there.  To succeed on my chosen career path, I needed my family behind my vision, and they were and still are.

There are many paths your journey may follow. One or many may be needed to get to your destination. Use a compass for direction, but don’t worry about the path you chose.

You can read more about my career journey in my book Sound Of Silence, but I’d love to hear about the paths you’ve taken to get where you are in your career.

Tell me your story in the comments below!