In this episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg talks with Beth Wanner, an accomplished marketing leader turned accidental entrepreneur who founded Mother Cover, the first-of-its-kind agency focused on covering parental leave and other temporary absences. Beth shares how a successful 15-year career in tech and supply chain marketing collided with infertility, layoffs and pregnancy discrimination, ultimately pushing her to build the solution she wished had existed for herself and countless others.

Beth explains the “oh no” moment that happens behind closed doors when someone announces a leave and why simply spreading work across already overstretched teams leads to burnout, resentment and costly turnover. She describes how Mother Cover matches experienced “leave partners” with organizations so employees can step away without sacrificing their careers and companies can protect continuity, performance and culture.

Erika and Beth also explore what it means to be an accidental entrepreneur and how betting on herself became Beth’s real version of security after being laid off and fired while pregnant. Beth talks about building Mother Cover while parenting a young daughter, why she believes leave coverage should become the norm for all kinds of life events and how companies can move from compliance to truly human, future-ready workplaces.