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Mumsnet boss Justine Roberts on why a 'Dadsnet' hasn't yet worked

Mumsnet is one of the most influential parenting websites in the UK. Founded in 2000, the site attracts more than 14 million monthly users. Sister site Gransnet launched in 2011 to appeal to the over-50s.

Is it now time for Mumsnet to focus on dads?

Speaking on Yahoo Finance UK’s Global Change Agents with Lianna Brinded show, Mumsnet and Gransnet co-founder and CEO Justine Roberts said she would “love to make a Dadsnet.” (Watch the full Justine Roberts interview here.)

“It’s been tried a few times by a few people,” Roberts said. “As yet, men have not really identified as dads, but I would love a time when they do — and we will be first there to make it as and when I think that is a proper opportunity.”

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Roberts remarked that one of Mumsnet’s busiest discussion forums is called “Am I being unreasonable?

“We do wonder whether men actually ask themselves that very often,” she said.

Mumsnet and Gransnet co-founder and CEO Justine Roberts speaking on Yahoo Finance UK's "Global Change Agents with Lianna Brinded" show. Photo: Yahoo Finance UK
Mumsnet and Gransnet co-founder and CEO Justine Roberts speaking on Yahoo Finance UK's "Global Change Agents with Lianna Brinded" show. Photo: Yahoo Finance UK

The international market is another potential growth opportunity for Mumsnet. Around 15% of Mumsnet and Gransnet’s audience is based overseas, Roberts said.

“I firmly believe that web communities are built bottom-up organically and are not dropped in,” Roberts said, as the userbase ultimately drives the conversations.

“It’s not like you can drop the Mumsnet brand into ... India and say, ‘well here we are’,” Roberts said. “It’s not as easy as simply saying: ‘Right we are just going to have offices over here and expand into four territories next year’.”

Instead Mumsnet will look at solutions and tools that work universally across different regions. Around 80% of the search terms for “pregnancy” are common across the world, Roberts said, indicating one potential avenue for the sites’ international growth plans.

Global Change Agents with Lianna Brinded explores the stories of some of the most inspirational women across business, tech, and academia. Catch up on all the latest episodes here.