Softness as a Superpower
A journey from burnout to feminine strength - Valerie Hirschhauser, founder OneMillionWomen
Three years ago, I was lying on a sheepskin carpet under a tent at a boutique festival called Campfire Stories in the Netherlands. Exhausted and burnt out from building my mission-driven tea brand, Frank about tea, I was forced to confront the version of myself I had spent years clinging to a tough, independent, feminist entrepreneur determined to change the world.
I believed I had to wear my ambition-like armor, but that belief was unexpectedly shattered. A woman named Amanda MacRae, whom I’d met at the festival, delivered a statement that floored me:
"Softness is your superpower, Valerie."
Excuse me, lady? I was furious. Softness didn’t fit the image of feminism I’d spent years modeling - feminism as boldness, resilience, and relentless effort to challenge systems of injustice. Yet, lying there, shivering and vulnerable on my sheepskin, I couldn’t ignore the profound truth in her words.
Looking back on that moment a year ago, I see now how much that day planted the seed for change. At the time, I was still deeply entrenched in Frank about tea. I loved the company, but I also felt its weight. While we achieved what looked like major milestones on the outside - media features, a Forbes 30 under 30 mention, even a prime-time TV appearance - internally, I was crumbling. The relentless hustle to prove myself (especially to male investors) and the pressure to succeed left me disconnected - from myself, from others, and from the softer, more intuitive side of me.
Three years after that festival moment, the day finally came when I chose to walk away. I stepped down from the company I had poured my heart into, and haven’t looked back since; it was the beginning of my search for work and impact that better aligned with the woman I had become.
Feminism, I’ve come to realize, isn’t about claiming the world’s idea of power. It’s about creating a life and a world where we define power on our own terms. Softness, vulnerability, and connection aren’t just valid - they’re vital. They’re the antidotes to the exhaustion so many of us experience as women founders trying to fit into structures that weren’t built for us.
I actually wrote this blog a year ago and was still learning to embrace softness. I had begun to redefine what success meant to me, away from hustle and toward something more nourishing. I was still scared, still holding onto parts of my old identity. But I was beginning to see softness not as weakness but as strength.
And now, a year later? I’ve done the inner work to leave it all behind. That chapter of my life has officially closed. Letting go has given me the space to dream and build again, but this time, I’m doing it on my own terms. I’m embracing softness as a superpower, creating a business foundation rooted in care, connection, and authenticity.
If I’ve learned anything in the last year, it’s that there’s strength in vulnerability and immense power in allowing ourselves to grow beyond the labels we once thought defined us. Here’s to building a life and a community where softness and strength go hand in hand. I’m so happy you’re here.
Love, Valerie