Our Story
Every mother deserves to give her child the best possible start in life.
The story behind Athena is personal. More than 25 years ago, founder Simone Spence found herself with a child support collection problem of her own. Determined to do right by her daughter, she spent countless hours digging deep into the system to learn its complexities and ultimately collect her arrears. She was shocked at how seemingly stacked against single moms the process was, and instantly knew she had to use her newfound knowledge to help other mothers like her. Soon Simone became the “kitchen table expert,” with moms gathering in her home after working hours to learn from her experience. Next, she self-published her first book about child support collection, which led to a book deal with a publishing house for her second one. Finally, she opened an office on a busy street, and built a decades-long business that helped more than a thousand moms get the money they deserved. Over time, Simone wrote additional books, spoke at countless events and even testified as an expert before Congress to spread her knowledge beyond her busy office. Still, she was determined to have a greater impact. Athena (originally Don’t Get Mad Get Paid) stemmed from that belief, as angel funders and tech experts helped Simone transform her approach into a platform that automates her now-proven methodology. Today, Athena is empowering thousands of women at a time, helping them collect the unpaid child support that is rightfully theirs.
Athena by the numbers
- 87% success rate helping women collect the unpaid child support they deserve
- $30,000 average amount of child support collected by a single mother through Athena
- 3 books authored by Athena founder, child support expert and activist Simone Spence. She has also testified on this subject before Congress
- More than $15 million total collections received as a result of working with Athena
