Amanda Franklin, a mother of three from Perth, has transformed a personal setback into a promising entrepreneurial venture. After losing her position at the Commonwealth Bank in November 2024, following a 15-year career, she decided to pursue a long-held dream of starting her own business, leading to the creation of Strollr, a new brand of safety-compliant wagon prams.
The idea for Strollr was born out of necessity. Franklin often found herself struggling to manage her groceries while caring for two toddlers and a newborn. “The market to sell them in Australia was obvious,” she noted. Despite having joked about the concept with her family, it wasn’t until her redundancy that she began to seriously consider entrepreneurship. “I found myself hoping I wouldn’t land another job. The idea of running my own business had taken hold,” she explained.
Turning Challenges into Opportunities
According to career and executive coach Kate Richardson, Franklin’s experience is not uncommon. Many individuals reevaluate their career paths after job losses, especially in uncertain job markets. “The idea that a job gives you security is becoming less real for people,” she stated. “Creating your own job can lead to real job security.”
Government statistics reveal that as of June 2024, over 63.6 percent of Australian businesses are classified as “self-employed,” up from 62.5 percent the previous August. However, the journey into self-employment is not without its risks. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicated that while 16.4 percent of the country’s 2.7 million businesses were new entrants between 2024 and 2025, 13.9 percent of businesses also closed during that period.
Career coach Emma Maslen suggests that a redundancy can serve as a catalyst for self-employment, provided individuals have the right mindset. “A redundancy payout can really help,” she reflected. Franklin used her redundancy money to invest in her business, viewing it as a reinvestment in herself and her family.
Building Strollr from the Ground Up
Franklin’s career at the Commonwealth Bank spanned various roles, culminating in her position as associate director of transaction banking solutions. This experience, particularly her work with the bank’s innovation lab, provided her with the skills necessary to launch Strollr successfully. “Helping other companies innovate gave me the confidence to do it myself,” she explained.
Strollr aims to fill a gap in the Australian market for wagon prams, which are common in the United States but rare in Australia. Franklin encountered this need firsthand when she discovered a wagon pram on Amazon, which was not compliant with Australian safety standards. “I had parents coming up to me everywhere, asking where I got it,” she said, highlighting the clear demand for such products in Australia.
Now, with an investment of $80,000, Franklin is preparing for Strollr’s public launch in October 2025. She reflects on the importance of lifestyle considerations in her decision to pivot to entrepreneurship. “The landscape changes when you’ve got kids,” she noted. “I saw an opportunity to change that landscape and make it my own story.”
Franklin’s journey exemplifies the potential for personal reinvention in the face of adversity, showcasing how a dream can become a reality, even in challenging times. As she prepares for her launch, the enthusiasm she has garnered from fellow parents signals a promising future for Strollr.
