This week Youngmi speaks with Umeko Motoyoshi (they/them), the founder of the online home goods store Umeshiso. Motoyoshi speaks about growing up in a cult founded by their father—an environment where the adults in their community had poor boundaries and where Motoyoshi had to take on a parental role as a child. This was coupled with the exhausting masking of their autism, which led them to a suicide attempt at the age of 13. They were court ordered to attend their small town's branch of AA, which was unfortunately a branch rife with abuse, exacerbating their mental health issues further. Motoyoshi also discusses how they started an e-commerce home goods brand fueled by their passion for coffee with the experience they gained working at a tech startup.
