Welcome to Soft Launch, a cozy, reflective corner of the internet for women in their 30s navigating life’s never-ending in-between written by me, your 30-something internet bestie, Kayla Kleinman

If you’ve ever found yourself simultaneously setting big goals and wondering if you accidentally missed the “how to be an adult” handbook… you’re in the right place.

Soft Launch is part personal essay, part creative diary, part gentle guide. It’s for ambitious-but-exhausted women who are over hustle culture but still want to grow. For anyone craving softness in a world that tells us to be harder, faster, better. For those of us romanticizing our morning coffee, deep in a Notes app spiral, or trying to figure out who we are now… not who we were five years ago.

• Cozy, vulnerable reflections on life in your 30s (career pivots, friendship shifts, identity changes… y’know, all the fun stuff)

• Low-pressure journaling prompts and soft productivity tools

• Books. Lots and lots of books.

• Gentle reminders that it’s okay to not have it all figured out

I like to think of Soft Launch as a space where we can test, adjust, and grow together. Life isn’t a hard launch. It’s a series of quiet edits, tiny pivots, and moments of figuring it out in real time. And we’re allowed to do that slowly, awkwardly, beautifully.

If Carrie Bradshaw and Shoshanna Shapiro had a Substack baby, this might be it: a little chaotic, a little curated, deeply honest, and always caffeinated.

Whether you're here for the vibes, the voice notes, the book recs, or the journaling challenges, I’m so glad you’ve landed here.

Hi, I’m Kayla, a cozy content creator, journaling enthusiast, and former social media manager based in NYC.

I started Soft Launch as a place to process the in-between moments of life: the career pivots, identity shifts, quiet burnouts, and tiny joys that don’t always make it to Instagram.

I’m a Taurus sun and recovering overachiever learning to soften, and this space is where I share personal essays, book recs, and gentle rituals for anyone navigating their 30s with curiosity, exhaustion, and a deep love of iced coffee.

If you’ve ever felt seen, soothed, or sparked by something I’ve shared online, becoming a paid subscriber is a way to support me and my content.

Paid subscriptions help me carve out the time and space to write the deeper essays, create thoughtful journaling prompts, and keep this cozy little corner of the internet going.

You’ll get:

• Additional personal essays + deep-dives

• Access to the full archive

• Bonus downloads, journaling challenges, book clubs and little extras

• My gratitude for your support 💗
  

It’s like buying me an iced latte and saying, “keep going, I’m here for this.” And that means the world to me

Have any questions? Want to say hi? Email me at Kayla[at]kaylainthecity.com