Our story
Senior QA you can trust. Delivered by someone who's done it 200+ times.
15+ years. 200+ clients. ISTQB-certified. One founder who built The Moms Desk to give startups the senior QA and product expertise they need — without the agency price tag or junior handoffs.
The problem I saw
I noticed the same gap from two completely different sides.
My name is Shalini. I've spent 15+ years in quality assurance — building test strategies, running sprints, managing distributed teams, and shipping software that actually works.
But I kept seeing the same pain on the client side: small companies and indie developers who needed good QA, a capable PM, solid content — and couldn't afford any of it at agency rates. They'd skip QA entirely, hire the cheapest option they could find, or try to do everything themselves and burn out.
At the same time, I was watching incredibly talented women around me — friends, colleagues, women with 10+ years of real expertise — struggling to re-enter the workforce after career breaks. Maternity leave. A sick parent. A move. Life. Their skills hadn't gone anywhere, but the traditional job market had moved on without them.
I started The Moms Desk because I saw both problems clearly — and realised one business could solve both at once.
Problem 1 · Clients
Small teams can't afford quality work at big-agency prices.
Bootstrapped founders, indie developers, and small startups are building real products — but most quality agencies price them out. They deserve senior expertise, not budget-tier work.
Problem 2 · Talent
Experienced women professionals can't find flexible, respected work.
Career breaks, family responsibilities, or simply wanting to work on your own terms shouldn't mean your 10+ years of expertise becomes invisible. The Moms Desk is where that expertise gets used.
The answer
"A collective of senior women professionals delivering agency-quality work at independent rates — for the clients who need it most."
How we work
Our values in practice
Honesty over comfort
We tell you what we found, what it means, and what it will cost to fix. No sugarcoating bugs; no inflating scope.
Senior quality, lean price
We don't charge for overhead, office rent, or account managers. You pay for the person doing the work.
Async by default
We work across US, UK, and EU time zones. Clear documentation, predictable handoffs — no 3am standups required.
AI as amplifier
We use AI tools to move faster and test deeper — never as a replacement for judgment, experience, or attention to detail.
The team
Who we are
Everyone on the team has 8–15 years of experience. Most have worked at companies you've heard of. Several returned to work after career breaks. All are remote-first.
Shalini Gupta
Founder · QA & Product Lead
15+ years in QA and product ownership across SaaS, fintech, health tech, and crypto. ISTQB-certified (2012). 201 jobs on Upwork · 95% Job Success · Top Rated. Has run QA for products used by millions and sprints for teams across 4 time zones.
QA Strategy · AI/LLM Testing · Product Ownership · Jira · Linear · ClickUp
Priyanka Singh
QA Automation Specialist
8 years in test automation and security testing. Specialises in Cypress, Playwright, and Selenium. Builds CI/CD-integrated suites that engineers can maintain without a QA babysitter.
Cypress · Playwright · Selenium · Postman · BrowserStack · Security Testing
Radhika Patel
Project & Operations Lead
6 years in startup operations and project coordination. Manages timelines, stakeholder communications, and sprint delivery. 98% on-time delivery across 80+ engagements.
ClickUp Admin · Jira · Stakeholder Management · Risk Planning · Reporting
Ready to work together?
Tell us what you're building. We'll give you an honest scope and a fair quote — usually within 24 hours.