Tech entrepreneur Lilian Breidenbach and her mother Joana. Image: René Fietzek.

Our parents are our first role models, teaching us love, values and confidence from our childhood on. But how can we raise daughters to be strong women that forge their own paths, and that lead fulfilling lives both privately and professionally? Two mothers, one father and their daughters tell us how they do it.
 

Lilian Breidenbach, 26, broke into the tech-business world with her legal software, Legal OS. Entrepreneurial spirit runs in the family: her mother, Joana (54), created the donation platform betterplace.org.
 

JB: Becoming a mother shook something loose in me. I was in my mid-20s and scared out of my mind, but having children freed me. I realised I was a good mother. Just like that.
LB: I used to be rather reserved. But even as such a shy person, I always felt safety and support from my family. They lifted me up. My mum told me and my brother stories with us as the main characters, the bravest and smartest kids in the world. Much braver than in real life!
JB: I was worried for a while about how shy Lilian was. She cared so much for disadvantaged people, I was afraid she would miss out on her own life. But then she had a very empowering moment when she spent six months with a family friend in Bali. She was 16 and was dead set on doing it, so I said yes.
LB: And coincidentally, the time when I was apart from my family was when I discovered my confidence. I felt secure knowing my family would always have my back. My brother and I were raised with few rules and a lot of freedom, namely freedom to think for ourselves and make our own decisions. I looked like a boy; my brother grew out his hair. That’s how we liked it.
JB: They cut their own paths. And I’ve been astounded to see how Lilian has surpassed me professionally with her successful start-up. I see new sides of her and think, wow, that’s my daughter! She knows more than me and can do more than me. I think that’s terrific.
 

By Iris Mydlach