We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rita Ho-Bezzola a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rita, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

” Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional” – it is a mantra that I have lived by since I trained for my first Marathon more than 10 years ago. I have become even more intrigued by this concept since I have become a mother – watching my children fall, getting sick, heal, and recover. During covid was when the lightbulb went off – when I was struggling to help my 2.5 year old girl cope through with wearing a mask while we were out at the park. I was searching for information on how to help her to work through the discomfort, change her perspective to a more positive one so we can all thrive during this strange, difficult time.

It was with this lens – and the realization that these are the inevitable experiences one must go through while growing up – that I took a deeper dive in search of these resources. I couldn’t really find much of anything out there, even though 9 out of 10 parents I have talked to can name at least 1 incident in their parenting journey that this kind of resources, training and information would have come in handy.

This huge gap in the marketplace leaving parents unsupported is the mission of Piper+Enza. We want to bring the knowledge base of Child Life to every parent. There is nothing more scary than watching your kid go through pain, both big and small, if there is even such as a thing as small when describing what our own children are going through.

Empowering parents to be the biggest advocates for their children’s health journey is an essential step to build a healthier, more resilient generation who are empowered to make their health a priority.

We unfortunately cannot wrap our kids in bubble wraps and make sure they never get hurt. What we can do is to teach them skills to move through discomfort, focus on the light and the end of the tunnel, and know they are never alone. I am hoping through Piper+Enza I will be able to provide the tools and resources parents need in raising our next generation.

Rita, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Piper+Enza is a media company that focuses on creating children’s stories around health experiences. We believe healing begins with sharing stories! Whether it’s reading stories about our character’s experience on getting a needle poke , to our own children creating their own stories through drawings, stickers and more – we believe storytelling is one of the most powerful tool we have in our arsenal in building resilience, understanding and community.

We have created three books thus far – Running of the Noses (about sniffles), The Difference between Needles and Noodles (about needle fear), and Broken Bones and Broken Hearts (about urgent care, X-ray, getting a cast and cast removal). We believe talking about the uncomfortable things before the discomfort hits – so everyone involved can feel prepared when the discomforts do hit. Bringing these stories in a relatable and fun way onto dinner time/bedtime, we are able to show children the arc of the stories before it happens, empowering them to cope with the pain and the stress without any unwanted surprise.

As parents and founders of Piper+Enza, we have learnt SO MUCH from the experts we work with – Child Life Specialists, ECE experts, pediatricians and child psychologists. We are on a mission to wrap all of this knowledge in a box with a bow and send it out to the world. Every family, every parent, every child deserve this kind of knowledge, this kind of support. We can’t wait for everyone to join the Piper+Enza universe – and to know that when things get hard, we’re right there with them.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Piper+Enza’s mission has not changed since Day 1 – but for the past three years we have been going through pivot after pivot trying to hone in our product-market fit. From story books, to connection journal, to the latest tech-enabled pivot (yet to be announced) we have so far created a universe of tools that parents can choose from to support their children. During the past three years, there have been plenty of heartaches along the way – I had to donate things I couldn’t sell before the expiration date. I had to lay off employees.

What has kept me going is my conversations with other parents, and testimonials from those who have used our books and stories as tools to help their children through difficult experiences (think chemo).

We are here to stay – and we are here to make a difference in our collective parenting journey. We are here to raise a resilient, empowered next generation – by showing up, and NOT giving up on our mission.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Taraneh and I met serendipitously. I have already founded Piper+Enza – and needed communication support. I put out an ad – and Taraneh, a mom who has a special need child with an extensive communications background answered. We initially worked together as employer/contractor – but more we worked together, more I realized how we both are passionate about this cause, and how we would support each other, complement each other to make Piper+Enza a household name for all parents. This was three years ago, and the rest was history.

Taraneh’s experience in navigating her second born’s health challenges have become vital in informing what we do, in what we create here at P+E. We are both fueled by our love for our kids, and our love for fellow parents who have shared the challenges they face while supporting their children.

Contact Info:

• Website: piperandenza.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/piperandenza/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/piperandenza/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/piperandenza/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@piperandenza

Image Credits
Photo credit: Matt Cobleigh, Taraneh Arhamsadr