Exclusive: How Dr. Becky Kennedy built a leadership playbook for parenting—and a $34 million-a-year business

Just over five years ago, Dr. Becky Kennedy did not have an Instagram account. The married mother of three was a practicing psychologist in Manhattan who counseled families in person. But as the COVID pandemic trapped parents at home with restless kids, she launched herself on Instagram, taking to the masses what would become her signature parenting concepts: modeling emotional regulation, setting boundaries, and recognizing so-called “deeply feeling” kids who are, in her words, “more porous to the world.” A few months later, she started a company, Good Inside—a nod to her belief that all children are good inside.

Almost instantly, her bare-bones videos resonated with working-from-home, schooling-from-home millennial parents (mostly moms), seeking tips and tricks, as well as Kennedy’s reassurance that they were doing a good job, even in their tear-their-hair-out state.

Since then, Kennedy has grown her Instagram audience to 3.4 million and now funnels those followers into her booming Good Inside empire, which includes digital memberships, a podcast, brand partnerships, and books. The business, with more than 60 employees, is profitable and generated $34 million in revenue last year, a nearly 50% increase year-over-year, Fortune is first to report. 

Kennedy says she never set out to be a founder; the Good Inside business grew organically out of the positive response she received on Instagram from parents, and her sense that they needed her help. “Parenting is the hardest job in the world,” she says. “It’s the one we care the most about, and it’s the one we’re given the least education and support for.”........

© Fortune