GUYS CAN YOU BELIEVE IT’S BEEN FIVE YEARS?! WE CELEBRATE CAPSULE’S FIFTH BIRTHDAY!
HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY TO US! Holy moly, what a time it has been. We have absolutely adored building this incredible community of the absolute BEST Kiwi women, and telling the stories that matter the most to you – the serious ones, the funny ones, the heartbreaking ones, and the ones that make us think, or relate, or simply feel.
We started this little adventure in the depths of Covid in May 2020, fresh of a mass redundancy but determined to carve out a space in the New Zealand media landscape for us, the everyday Kiwi gal who wanted, and needed, a community of like-minded women who just got it.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the yarns we’ve published throughout the years.
Honestly, when we started Capsule, we were really just writing for each other. We were in lockdown, writing the kinds of stories that we wanted to read about. At first it came as a bit of a surprise to see those stories resonating with a rapidly growing circle of people! But we soon realised we had something quite special on our hands. Now, we have a large community who come to Capsule for that sincerity, compassion, credibility and heart that we bake into all of our stories.
We tell the stories that connect you; that make you feel less alone, that lift you up and bring attention to the issues that really matter.
And, you’ll be pleased to know, we have some BLOODY EXCITING plans to reveal very soon that’ll mean we’ll be telling even more of those stories.
Until then, huge thanks go to our partners, whose support literally make Capsule possible, our incredible writers Sarah and Vivien, our fellow co-founder Emma, our friends and family who have continued to support us and, most importantly, to you – our amazing, loyal and engaged audience, readers and followers. We absolutely adore you – and our inbox is always open for your feedback and ideas (hello@capsulenz.com).
Below our co-founders, Kelly and Alice, reflect on the highs and the lows of the last five years, what Capsule has given them and for some insane reason, they tried to narrow down their personal favourite five stories from the last five years (it was… not easy!)
KELLY MEHARG (née Bertrand) – Head of Commercial
Hell, a lot can change in five years can’t it.
I don’t have kids yet, but I can only imagine that creating and running your own beloved business has to be kind of similar to a baby being born (but less pain?!) in that it feels like both yesterday and another lifetime since that first day. If you’ve been around since the beginning (my God, THANK you) you’ll be familiar with our origin story – a group of sad magazine writers and editors who’d lost their jobs in a brutal Covid-era closedown of their business, stuck inside their homes during the first level four lockdown with nothing but grief and rosé to keep them company, decided ‘fuck it – let’s try and do our own thing’.
It was insanity personified (I mean, when isn’t Capsule) as we blindly (drunkenly?) figured out how to make a website, come up with a content plan, get a logo designed and a domain name secured. When I tell you we didn’t know what we were doing I’m not exaggerating – I didn’t even know how to hyperlink, much less run a website. How would we make money from this thing? How would we run it from our houses? And could we even do this!?
Luckily thanks to the aforementioned wine, a lot of delusion and, oh yeah, the huge distraction of a raging pandemic, we didn’t give the practicalities a lot of thought. Rather, we focused on the writing. What did Kiwi women need and want to read? How would we fill the gap of beloved magazine titles? What kind of writers and editors and businesswomen did we want to be?
Those were the most important parts of Capsule – and we’re proud to say that five years on they remain the same. We’ve filled in the blanks as we’ve gone on and learnt about businessey stuff and financial stuff (but we’re still terrified of the IRD), learnt some hard lessons (ALWAYS have a signed contract for work up front and don’t rely on the old Kiwi trust model, trust us) and we’ve figured out how to make a living from this glorious website (God BLESS you, lovely advertisers!).
But for me, Capsule has been more than a business. It’s been a companion through, and a reflection of, the most transformative period of my life. When we founded Capsule five years ago I was a single 29-year-old, juuuuust coming out of what I like to call my ‘alone, sad and desperate’ era, living happily alone but lacking in a little confidence, both professionally and personally. Even though I was, finally, becoming happy with the person I was and content with my situation, I still wondered when it would be my time in the sun – when I’d find the dream job, find the dream guy, live my dream life.
Five years later, I have it all. In fact if it wasn’t for Capsule, I wouldn’t have met my now-husband – he slid into my DM’s after seeing a photo of me at Capsule’s first birthday party that a mutual friend posted. We got married last month and it was, without a doubt, the best day of my life (and yes, you bet a whole wedding download is coming soon!).
We moved into my dream house – nothing fancy and still renting and quite tiny, but by the beach in a gorgeous part of Auckland – and we get to travel and experience new things so wonderful sometimes I think my heart will burst with happiness and gratitude. And, I get to be my own boss and run my own business with my bestie.
Capsule has had a hand in it all (and the universe really coming through after a wild Saturn Return!?) and I’m so proud of myself for having the courage to stick my neck out and do my own thing. I never, ever thought I would own a business, and now I can’t imagine life any other way because even though there are major stresses sometimes, and it’s scary not having a reliable and regular payday, it’s my stress, not anyone else’s – and that right there is probably the most underrated and privileged part of business ownership.
Personally I’m also way different to the gal I was five years ago – I’m so much more confident. I give FAR less fucks than I used to. I stand up for myself, I (mostly) am able to ignore the inevitable bullshit that comes from being a female owner of a media company in New Zealand. I’ve found my niche in this business and I’m (again, mostly!) excited to wake up everything and do my thing.
And, most importantly, I’m so proud of what Capsule is, and what it represents. It’s not an overly polished platform, it’s not high-end, it’s not aspirational. Capsule serves a huge need in New Zealand media in the sense that we aim to truly reflect our reader and hell, you don’t need me to tell you that we’re all a little messy, eclectic, irreverent, complicated and contrary. Being a woman in *this economy* is a wild ride, but we are here to make sure we’re covering the yarns that’ll be make you feel seen or heard or understood or grateful.
But on the occasion of our fifth birthday, the biggest thing I can say to you, our readers, is THANK YOU. Your dedication and loyalty and engagement blows my little brain every day and I’m just so thrilled that you’re here. Here’s to the next five!
MY TOP FIVE STORIES
My God it’s like Sophie’s Choice… but here are the stories that stand out the most to me from the last five years:
“You Should Have Asked!” How the Mental Load is Stopping Women from Succeeding at Home AND Work – I chose this one because it was the one of the first topics I wrote about that caused an avalanche of women to scream ‘omg YES’, and it’s a topic that is now part of Capsule’s DNA. This story has been constantly updated with new quotes and thoughts – most recently this week – and I’m really proud of our work in highlighting the ‘hidden’ challenges for women trying to get the day with *some* level of sanity.
30, Flirty and Thriving? Why I’m Happy Single, Child Free and Fabulous This one is in here purely for selfish reasons because I love reading this story and seeing for myself how far I’ve come, but also how happy and content I truly was at such a wild time in my life (Alice also did a fab piece about turning 40!) I also love this yarn because, years later, my then-boyfriend, now husband admitted to me that he read this before our first date, and wanted to be dream guy I described in the story: I still want to find ‘The One’, but I’m prepared to wait as long as it takes. And in my head he’s not ‘The One’ now: he’s ‘Sunday Morning Man’ because these days I dream about the guy who does all the little things that make Sunday morning great – making coffee, doing the crossword in the paper, taking the dog for a walk along the beach, Sunday morning sex, brunch with too much bacon. It’s such a foundational part of our relationship, to the point that he even included it in his wedding vows.
I Saw Five NZ Psychics In Two Years… Here’s Why I Would (Mostly) Recommend This Any slightly insane Emma Clifton opinion piece is an absolute joy and hoot and pleasure to read – and throughout the years Em has had many wild takes on the world (honourable mention to Break-ups & Weddings: Taking A Walk Back In Time Through My Past Pinterest Selves and Is It The Mazda Demio or Is It Me? One Driver’s Lament) but her yarn about her psychic visits (one of whom is also the psychic Alice and I have both seen, that’s right, it shouldn’t come as a shock that Capsule’s co-founders have shared a psychic) still leaves me in stitches, and our readers absolutely loved it too.
Things Are Even Worse Than We Imagined For NZ Working Mums. Capsule’s Deep Dive into The Motherhood Penalty (Plus, Exactly What Happens to New Dads In The Workplace. A Warning: You’ll Be Livid) Sarah Lang’s incredible work in this space has come after three year of her dedication to telling these types of stories on Capsule – her series What Working Women Really Want has been some of the most insane and the most eye-opening we’ve had on Capsule, and the response from readers was enormous. We might have a long way to go for equality in this country but at least we have writers like Sarah who will never stop shining a light on gross inequities and blatant sexism, and I’m so proud that Capsule is the platform on which these issues are covered.
I’m 48 & About to Die of Ovarian Cancer. Here’s What I Want You to Know About Life & What Really Matters We’ve interviewed so many incredible people on Capsule, from the famous such as Hilary Barry, to whom we owe a lot of our initial success to after she encouraged her plethora of followers to also follow us, Dame Jacinda Ardern, and Dame Lisa Carrington, as well scores of everyday Kiwis who have done something extraordinary, like White Island survivor Kelsey Waghorn who bravely told us her post-eruption life. But it’s Kelly Hutton’s self-authored piece that sticks with me the most. Faced with the news that she only had weeks to live, she shared her final thoughts on life and some parting words of wisdom as she confronted her mortality. She died weeks after this piece was published, and I think this quote sums up her amazing legacy: “Eat the Cake. Try not to sweat the small stuff. Tell people openly you love them. Be vulnerable. They will hopefully tell you. They might just remember you by that one time you made them smile or feel less awkward. And you can maybe die happy and ultimately content like I will soon. And that might just be the greatest gift we can take with us in the end.”
ALICE HAMPSON (née O’Connell) – Head of Content
Starting a business was never something I dreamed of doing – it was far from being on my bingo card for 2020. But Covid set so many of us on very different paths to what we envisaged, – and personally, I’m so grateful for the one I’ve ended up on.
I spent a great deal of my twenties and thirties worrying about the future (it’s something I’ve written about fairly often here on Capsule!). But, looking back I can also see now that for a good chunk of time, I didn’t do a great job at actually doing anything about it. I’d worry about whether I’d find love, have children, ever have a decent amount in my savings account, find happiness in my career again (I lost it in my thirties), ever feel well again (I got diagnosed with Hashimoto’s in my early 30s)… the list of things to fret about was long (and felt particularly long if I ever worried about it at 3am).
But then, things really happened in lightning speed. I stopped settling for guys who weren’t particularly nice people – and as soon as I raised my standards, I met my now husband. I finally recognised that my ill health likely had something to do with the fact I was working (outrageous hours) in a job I really didn’t enjoy (to the point where I wouldn’t enjoy telling people what I did for a living).
I started applying for new jobs at the same time as my partner and I started looking for a house together – and then, Covid hit, we went into lockdown and by the end of the first week, I’d lost my job. As I reeled from the shock, my partner pointed out that this could actually be fabulous news? I’d now been paid to leave I was trying to get out of.
And so when on one of our zoom chats (or whatever video calling thing we used, because back then we were scared of Zoom due to the fact that the one time we’d used it, it had been to hear we’d been made redundant!), Kelly said she was going to go ahead and build this website – was I in? It was an easy yes.
And it’s been an easy yes every year since. It has been the most fulfilling job of my life, getting to write about the topics I care about most, that evidently resonate so much with you all too. I’ve had the privilege of hearing so many of your stories – hearing your heartbreaks, struggles and triumphs. Now, I feel so proud to say where I work and what I do for a living.
So, a massive thank you to YOU. Thank you for being part of our Capsule family. Thank you for sharing your stories. Honestly, thank you for every click. For every like. For every message. Your support has meant the world – more than you know.
Thank you to my Capsule co-founders – especially for allowing me to build the life I wanted with my family. After all that fretting, I ended up with a stepson, and a son who I had when I was 40, just two years into starting Capsule. I’ve worked some very unconventional hours in the last three years, which has allowed me to spend precious time with my toddler. I never imagined I could have a career and be the kind of mum I wanted to be. So, thank you for a million different little things and for going on this adventure of running a business together – but especially for that.
A big thank you to my mother-in-law Heather who has helped out so many times with childcare – coming up from Hamilton every week to stay with us for a few nights to look after our boys who adore her so much.
Thank you to my husband for all his encouragement and support – particularly at the start. He’s the one who was encouraging me to not go out and get a real job, when lockdown lifted, but to give Capsule my all and to see what it could be (even though he worked in risk at the time and me giving this a go meant plenty of sacrifice for him!). Thank you.
MY TOP FIVE STORIES
Like Kelly said, this really is like Sophie’s Choice (but obviously far less grim!?!?) – and maybe even more difficult when you’re going second!?! All those stories are in my all time faves!! But okay, here goes – here are five that are very special to me for very different reasons:
“So, What’s Next?” What Not to Ask Your Friend Who Has Just Lost Their Job. This was the very first story I wrote for Capsule and I remember writing it so clearly – I was propped up on my boyfriend’s laptop, eating banana bread (of course – this was lockdown #1!) genuinely enjoying myself. It was the first time I’d really had fun writing in a long time and it was certainly the first thing that I’d written in my voice, from my perspective – probably since I wrote in my diary as a teenager. It was a thrill – it was freeing and satisfying and I figured, heck, this is a fun hobby. I hoped it might last.
Introducing ‘Am I The Only One…’ With Meg Mansell On Why We Need To Reclaim The Beauty Of The Mum Tum. The first time I met Meg was at an arranged marriage kind of lunch date, where the fabulous Katie Yeung from Hera insisted that Kelly, Meg and I join her for lunch together. She figured we’d be a good mix and my God, I thank her for putting us all together. Meg is such a delight – she’s one of those people who, when she is talking to you, it feels like you’re standing in the sun. At that lunch we organised this column and this was Meg’s first piece. It was a phenomenal start – brave, generous, honest and full of heart.
The Divorce Diaries: “I Literally Got Ghosted by my Own Husband” Way back in July 2020 I wrote this story here about a couple who were separating off the back of Covid lockdowns. The expert I spoke to for the story told me about how in China, when things opened up again after their first lockdown, the courts were being flooded with divorce cases. Was the same going to happen here?! I thought it was an interesting topic and I figured maybe I could do a little series on it. Somehow, here I am, nearly five years on, still regularly running this column. My Lordy I have heard some stories in the last five years. It’s the story series that people most want to ask me about or talk to me about. This story – the one about the husband who ghosted his own wife – is often the one I find myself talking about. It’s unbelievable.
Have You Seen This Woman? She’s Missing. Yes, this may feel like a left-field one to add to my list, but stick with me. This story was about how infuriatingly few sports stories are written about women (at the time of writing, globally the percentage of media coverage regarding women sat at just 4%) and was one that Nike sponsored in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup that was co-hosted here in NZ. Look, I’m not the sportiest person, but this story has a special place in my heart. I’d often watched women in my industry have to pretty much pretend they didn’t have children in order to work all the hours and meet the demands that were put on them. But with Capsule – and all the lovely people we deal with – everyone has been so supportive of turning up as a mum. When I pitched this kind of bonkers story series to Nike, I did the pitch over Zoom, while I had one foot gently swaying my son’s rocker. Then he fully woke up and I finished the pitch with him in my arms. I heard myself apologise at the start of the pitch that my infant son was also on the line, to which the wonderful woman said, “never apologise! He is welcome here. You do what you need to do.” We won the pitch. And the whole thing meant so much to me. Although my son is mostly at daycare now, I’ve had him in on plenty of interviews and presentations since. This is how it should be for all parents.
Stop What You’re Doing & Listen to the Story of Gina Chick – aka, The Most Inspiring Woman I’ve Ever Spoken To. I stand by this headline. I interviewed Gina Chick (if you don’t know who that is, please – do read this story!!) in October last year and in the seven months since, I’ve thought about her almost every single day. She is such an inspirational woman who sees so much beauty in the world – even after losing her one precious child to cancer when she was three. I cried as Gina talked about her beautiful daughter, and had to interrupt Gina to tell her that as soon as she began speaking about her, the rain eased up at my house and the most vibrant rainbow appeared outside my window. It was magical
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