The Wobbly Middle

• Celebrating a Period of Change

  ...and how to build a brand.Liberating and taboo-busting, Rachael Newton (former hedge fund lawyer turned entrepreneur) is part of a new wave of founders, thinkers, and advocates throwing open the bathroom door and reshaping the policies, products, and possibilities of period care. In this episode, Rachael tells us how she designed Nixit, the revolutionary, reusable menstrual disc after she realised her tampon waste took so long to break down it would likely survive the apocalypse alongside the cockroach. Rachael assessed the alternatives in the market and found them wanting. (Hell, there are more gadgets to poach an egg than there are period products). So she started from scratch designing a new type of reusable menstrual disc that could be worn for 12 hours. In doing so, Rachael has not only changed how people manage their periods but also how they relate to their bodies.She also tells us about the moment she put down her law books to become a femtech founder, about the risks and the loneliness along with the pinch-me moment of the pinging of sales. If you’re curious about starting something new, building a brand with purpose, or simply rethinking your period, Rachael’s story is a smart, grounded reminder: you don’t have to go with the flow. Not in your career. And definitely not with your period.To find out more about Nixit: https://nixit.com/pages/menstrual-disc(00:00) - Welcome to The Wobbly Middle (00:17) - Personal Updates and Reflections (00:39) - Discussing Period Stigma (01:54) - Introducing Rachel Newton (03:38) - Rachel's Career Journey (05:14) - Challenges in the Legal Profession (07:55) - Relocating and Career Shift (10:00) - The Birth of Nixit (15:11) - Developing the Product (26:09) - Branding and Marketing (30:51) - Entrepreneurial Insights (33:39) - Final Thoughts and Farewell THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife.JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode.SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to us at [email protected]—your pivot might just be the nudge someone else needs.SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER:  thewobblymiddle.substack.comLEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.comFOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddleABOUT THE HOSTS:Susannah de Jager has just relocated to Abu Dhabi, where she’s podcasting, consulting with start-ups, and occasionally advising on scale-up capital. After leaving her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager, she asked the all-important question: what next? Five years later, she’s following her curiosity —The Wobbly Middle is for her and every woman doing the same.Patsy Day is a lawyer on a break. As an intellectual property specialist, she has worked on everything from anti-counterfeiting to publishing and from London to Ho Chi Minh City and back again. Patsy lives in Oxford and is currently immersed in podcasts producing SafeHouse Amsterdam (out 2025) and co-hosting, The Wobbly Middle, a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife.

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  34:34
• Culture Club: Good Karma Only

  Where female investors bring the values—and the returns.Experienced fund manager Leila Kardouche knew that to keep doing what she loved—investing—it had to be on her own terms. So she co-founded Variis Partners, a women-led firm that’s diverse by name (Variis means “diverse” in Latin) and by nature, built on a culture rarely found in traditional finance.In the high-stakes investment world, Leila is confident about what sets the foundation for success: her age, experience, financial stability, and wisdom—along with the complementary strengths of her co-founders. On taking bold steps later in life, she says: “You have a much higher chance of success. We are healthier, we're living longer, we want to be engaged for much longer professionally and therefore doing something like this at 50 is not late at all. It's about the right time.” In this episode, we talk about building a values-led business, choosing the right partners, and busting tired myths about women, risk, and what makes a great investor.(00:00) - Culture Club: Good Karma Only (01:09) - Introducing Leila Kardouche (02:23) - Leila's Career Journey (05:46) - Challenges for Women in Finance (07:25) - Motherhood and Career (10:11) - Founding Variis Capital (12:34) - Building a Diverse Team (19:43) - Balancing Optimism and Pessimism (26:28) - Women and Risk in Investment (31:23) -  What Would You Tell Your 30-Year-Old Self? (33:10) - Final Thoughts and Farewell THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode. SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to us at [email protected]—your pivot might just be the nudge someone else needs.SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER:  thewobblymiddle.substack.com LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.comFOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddleABOUT THE HOSTS:Susannah de Jager has just relocated to Abu Dhabi, where she’s podcasting, consulting with start-ups, and occasionally advising on scale-up capital. After leaving her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager, she asked the all-important question: what next? Five years later, she’s following her curiosity —The Wobbly Middle is for her and every woman doing the same.Patsy Day is a lawyer on a break. As an intellectual property specialist, she has worked on everything from anti-counterfeiting to publishing and from London to Ho Chi Minh City and back again. Patsy lives in Oxford and is currently immersed in podcasts producing SafeHouse Amsterdam (out 2025) and co-hosting, The Wobbly Middle, a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife.

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  34:02
• Setting Her Own Stones: Building a Life-Shaped Business

  Sophia Champion de Crespigny loved physics. She studied civil engineering for 8 years, fascinated by structure and design. In the workplace, however, she found herself wading through actual sewage in the field - and the more metaphorical kind in the office. Engineering may have been the plan but it turns out it wasn’t the fit. When Sophie finally quit, she left without a grand plan, just with the instinct that there was something else out there for her.(00:00) - Setting Her Own Stones: Building a Life-Shaped Business (00:22) - Balancing Life's Demands (01:01) - Transferable Skills for Lawyers (01:43) - Introducing Sophie Champion de Crespigny (02:49) - Sophie's Journey from Engineering to Jewelry (04:23) - Challenges in a Male-Dominated Industry (08:00) - Leaving Engineering Behind (09:29) - Starting a Kombucha Business (11:53) - Motherhood and Business (18:55) - Launching Sorsa Jewelry (27:23) - Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs (28:24) - The Importance of Authenticity  In this episode, Sophie talks about how she began again - first fermenting a kombucha business in her London flat, and then forging Sorsa, a jewellery brand built around sustainability, beauty, and family life.It is a celebration of women’s businesses of every shape, scale, and intention and the importance of their place and space be it round the kitchen table or the boardroom. THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode. SHARE YOUR STORY: whether you're in the wobbly middle or have made it through to the other side, we’d love to hear from you — we’re building a library of midlife plot twists! Email us at [email protected] UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER:  thewobblymiddle.substack.com LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.comFOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddleABOUT THE HOSTSSusannah de Jager has just relocated to Abu Dhabi, where she’s podcasting, consulting with start-ups, and occasionally advising on scale-up capital. After leaving her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager, she asked the all-important question: what next? Five years later, she’s following her curiosity —The Wobbly Middle is for her and every woman doing the same.Patsy Day is a lawyer on a break—and a podcast producer. She’s worked everywhere from London to Ho Chi Minh City, but these days she lives in Oxford. Patsy is knee-deep into podcast production for SafeHouse Amsterdam (launching 2025) and co-hosting The Wobbly Middle. 

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  31:49
• Q&A with Patsy Day; Advice on Your Saga from Susannah de Jager

  We’ve got mail.Susannah and Patsy open the mailbag and respond to some of your excellent (occasionally panic-tinged) every-woman questions about navigating midlife career change.This means, Patsy, who usually prefers to hide behind the microphone (and strong opinions about editing), has to sit in front of it. Susannah on the other hand is already on her second podcast of the day—just casually interviewing biotech CEOs before breakfast—and brings her usual mix of energy and insight.They discuss:→ How do you find space to even think about change when life keeps getting in the way?→ How do you resist the gravitational pull of the familiar when change is hard?→ And what if tech has run ahead of you… can you still catch up?It’s all a bit looser and a bit more Wobbly than usual. But that’s kind of the point.(00:00) - Bonus Q&A (01:44) - Innovative Career Pivots (03:28) - Listener Questions: Overwhelmed in OX2 (03:53) - Tips for Tackling Overwhelm (05:30) - Focusmate and Task Initiation Tools (06:14) - Listener Questions: Tech Skills for Career Change (07:08) - Upskilling Resources and AI Tools (09:45) - Listener Questions: Staying the Course (10:11) - Aundrea's Empower Framework THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife.JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode. SHARE YOUR STORY: whether you're in the wobbly middle or have made it through to the other side, we’d love to hear from you — we’re building a library of midlife plot twists! Email us at [email protected] UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER:  thewobblymiddle.substack.com LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.comFOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddleAbout the Hosts:Susannah de Jager has just relocated to Abu Dhabi, where she’s podcasting, consulting with start-ups, and occasionally advising on scale-up capital. After leaving her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager, she asked the all-important question: what next? Five years later, she’s following her curiosity —The Wobbly Middle is for her and every woman doing the same.Patsy Day is a lawyer on a break—and a podcast producer. She’s worked everywhere from London to Ho Chi Minh City, but these days she lives in Oxford. Patsy is knee-deep into podcast production for SafeHouse Amsterdam (launching 2025) and co-hosting The Wobbly Middle. 

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  13:42
• Break. Return. Rise.

  When Hannah McCracken returned to advertising after a career break raising her children, she anticipated going back at the same level, with some flexibility. She was met with a “no” — neatly packaged as professional advice: expect less.Less responsibility. Less pay. Less relevance. But for Hannah, time out never meant value lost. She had built her career at some of the world’s top ad agencies. She knew her worth—and wasn’t about to apologise for the years spent mothering. She rejected the tired narrative that stepping away from work somehow erases your talent, ambition or potential.Instead, she came back clearer, sharper, stronger.This is a story about pushing back against other people’s limits. About holding onto your belief when the world tries to shake it loose. And a reminder for women that they have every right to want what they’ve already earned.(00:00) - Break. Return. Rise (01:40) - The Eisenhower Matrix: A Tool for Prioritisation (02:21) - Hannah McCracken's Journey (03:31) - Hannah's Career Beginnings and Advertising Insights (08:08) - Balancing Family and Career (09:01) - The Decision to Step Away from Work (13:11) - Reentering the Workforce: Challenges and Strategies (15:50) - The Importance of Self-Belief and Support Systems (21:14) - Recognising and Valuing Non-Traditional Skills (24:30) - The Role of Flexibility in Career Growth (27:41) - Final Thoughts and Reflections JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode. SHARE YOUR STORY: whether you're in the wobbly middle or have made it through to the other side, we’d love to hear from you — we’re building a library of midlife plot twists! Email us at [email protected] UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER:  thewobblymiddle.substack.com LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.comFOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddleAbout the Hosts:Susannah de Jager has just relocated to Abu Dhabi, where she’s podcasting, consulting with start-ups, and occasionally advising on scale-up capital. After leaving her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager, she asked the all-important question: what next? Five years later, she’s following her curiosity —The Wobbly Middle is for her and every woman doing the same.Patsy Day is a lawyer on a break—and a podcast producer. She’s worked everywhere from London to Ho Chi Minh City, but these days she lives in Oxford. Patsy is knee-deep into podcast production for SafeHouse Amsterdam (launching 2025) and co-hosting The Wobbly Middle. 

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  31:14

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